2009 in Review: We know that you care about Wilderness and the work that Wilderness Watch does-as you've followed wilderness news throughout 2009, reading about wilderness victories, learning about threats to Wilderness, and taking action to protect Wilderness. With this in mind, please consider giving a donation to Wilderness Watch when making your year-end contributions to the causes and organizations you support. Our staff, board of directors, volunteers and interns will continue working tirelessly in 2010 and your donation will help us, as we work with citizens like you, to protect the lands and waters in the 110 million-acre National Wilderness Preservation System.

Some highlights from the Guardian this year included:

January: We ran an action alert on a logging proposal along 80 miles of trails in the Sandia Mountain Wilderness in New Mexico. (This proposal was defeated.)
February: We let our readers know we filed a legal appeal with other groups challenging the construction of "guzzlers"-artificial water developments-in the Kofa Wilderness in Arizona. (Camera evidence showed the guzzlers were not being used by bighorns.)
March: We announced the launch of our new website.
April: We ran an action alert on a California Fish and Game Proposal to poison Silver King Creek in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness (WW and other organizations defeated a similar plan in 2005.).
May: We directed readers to our testimony at a hearing in the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (which would designate 24 million acres of Wilderness in MT, WY, ID, WA and ID).
June: We ran action alerts to re-wild two Wildernesses-by removing a dam in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in MT and by removing a bridge in the Pemigewasset Wilderness in NH. (Our efforts supported the USFS's decision to remove the bridge and caused the Forest Service to reconsider its plan for dam maintenance-the dam's ultimate fate is yet to be determined.)
July: We let our subscribers know that the Park Service was ending fish stocking (for now, at least) in the Stephen Mather Wilderness in WA.
August: We invited readers to an event with historian and author, Dr. Roderick Nash, in honor of the 45^th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the 20^th Anniversary of Wilderness Watch.
September: We let you know about the "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act," one of the more egregious quid-pro-quo bills, which releases Wilderness Study Areas, mandates commercial logging on public land, and contains numerous damaging provisions.
October: We let you know that we weighed in on an Idaho Fish & Game plan to use helicopters to dart, capture, and radio collar wolves in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho, and the Apostle Islands Draft General Management Plan and Wilderness Plan. We also invited you to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign Program, a prestigious charitable fundraising program for Federal civilian, postal, and military employees.
November: We updated readers on an ongoing threat to the Philip Burton Wilderness in CA—a commercial oyster farm trying to extend its permit there past its legal expiration, an effort supported by Senator Diane Feinstein.
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The oral argument for our appeal on the case was heard in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on 12/10/09. The judges asked a lot of questions. To listen to the 30-minute hearing, please click here.
Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife Service
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S. 1470 includes many provisions that are contrary to the Wilderness Act, will compromise the wilderness character of areas designated as Wilderness by the Act, and will likely establish harmful precedents for future wilderness bills. These provisions include pre-suppression activities for fire (including fuel reduction and other manipulation), installations of structures unnecessary for protecting Wilderness (such as snow sensors and stream gauges), military training exercises that include helicopter landings, fish and wildlife habitat manipulation projects, motorized ranching activities, and the grandfathering of outfitter permits. While Tester promotes S. 1470 as a "made in Montana" solution, the truth is that none of Montana's existing Wildernesses, more than 3 million acres, are encumbered with the plethora of weakening provisions found in S. 1470. Click here for more information, to take action, and to listen to the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 12/17/09 hearing.
Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF photo courtesy of US Forest Service
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It's Still a Really Bad Plan: Readers will recall an action alert in the September issue on an Idaho Fish and Game proposal for as many as 20 helicopter landings in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to dart, capture, and radio collar up to 12 wolves. This is the state's second attempt at predator control in Wilderness (a similar plan was defeated a few year ago), and the Forest Service (FS) is close to approving the plan. About 95% of public comments opposed the plan. Wilderness Watch and other conservation groups have been weighing their options if the FS does approve it.
Wilderness Watch file photo
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The USFS Had the Right Idea: Forest Service (FS) volunteers recently removed a door and stove pipe from a cabin in the Mokelumne Wilderness, which the Forest Service says has been illegally maintained for decades by the Monte Wolfe Society. According to the Record, a FS volunteer photographed "graffiti...inside the cabin, food stored at the cabin, pesticide drums stored there, and a crude water system at a nearby spring that used pipe with a November 2008 manufacturing date...and found modern equipment, dishes, and newly installed metal grating over a window." The Calaveras Enterprise reports Amador County district ranger, Doug Barber, as stating, "'I think there is still a dream alive among the Monte Wolfe Foundation that something will be done to maintain this cabin long-term. It ain't gonna happen.'" However, Barber has since apologized for the damage and pledged to repair the structure.

We encourage you to contact the FS and ask them to enforce wilderness regulations and protect the wilderness character of the Mokelumne by ending illegal maintenance of the structure and by not "undoing" the damage to this structure, which should be allowed to eventually decay. The contact information is:

Doug Barber, District Ranger
Eldorado National Forest Amador District
26820 Silver Drive
Pioneer, CA 95666
dkbarber@fs.fed.us
209-295-4251
TTY 209-295-5996
FAX 209-295-5998
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Action Alert-Stop the Flooding of Little Lake Creek Wilderness: Montgomery County, Texas is proposing a dam that will flood thousands of acres of bottomland, slope, and upland forests in Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF), including all of Little Lake Creek Wilderness (LLCW), plus many miles of the Lone Star Hiking Trail, and thousands of acres of federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker habitat.

We encourage you to send a letter opposing this plan. Please send the letter before 1/6/10 to Judge Mark Evans, Chair, Region H Water Planning Group, c/o Reed Eichelberger, SJRA, P.O. Box 329, Conroe, Texas 77305-0329. You can email a copy of your letter to brandtshnfbt@juno.com and the Sierra Club will see that it is submitted at the meeting.

Some talking points to consider include:

• The proposed dam is not needed. There are other water management strategies in the RHW Plan that will provide sufficient water for Montgomery County until 2060.
• The proposed reservoir is on the Upper Little Lake Creek Watershed and has little drainage area. From an economic standpoint building a dam here makes no sense.
• Little Lake Creek Wilderness is the only wilderness that exists in SHNF. Flooding LLCW will result in a precedent-setting dismantlement of part of the National Wilderness System. Such a precedent endangers the entire National Wilderness System, which exists as a whole for the benefit of all Americans to protect an "enduring resource of wilderness."
• If you have been to the Little Lake Creek Wilderness, explain your personal affection for it-do you hike, horseback ride, bird, observe wildlife, bicycle, camp, hunt, or enjoy quiet, solitude, and natural sounds and scenery? Why is LLCW important and special for you and why do you want it protected?
• Sam Houston National Forest is the home of the largest and healthiest population of federally endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers in Texas. The loss of thousands of acres of habitat is not acceptable for this critically endangered bird.

For more information, contact Brandt Mannchen: 713-664-5962 or brandtshnfbt@juno.com.
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Give to Wilderness Watch Through the Combined Federal Campaign:  Did you know that Wilderness Watch is part of the Combined Federal Campaign? We are a member of the Conservation and Preservation Charities of America, a fund-raising initiative for federal and postal employees and those serving in the military. Wilderness Watch has earned the Independent Charities of America's "Best in America" certification, meeting the highest standards of public accountability and program effectiveness. Fewer than 2,000 of the 1,000,000 charities in the US have achieved this distinction.

If you are a federal employee or member of the military, you can contribute online by visiting www.conservenow.org. Click on Search for a Charity, type in Wilderness Watch, and make your contribution. Our 2009 CFC Number is 24968.

You can watch our two-minute "video speakers' bureau" presentation on our website.

Questions? Contact Jeff Smith, our Membership and Development Director, at: jsmith@wildernesswatch.org or 406 542-2048, x1.
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MN Mayor Charged with Wilderness Violations at Crooked Lake: According to the Duluth News Tribune, "Ely Mayor Roger Skraba faces three federal counts of wilderness violations in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Skraba, 48, was charged Nov. 9 with three misdemeanors in U.S. District Court in Duluth. One is for entering the Northeastern Minnesota wilderness without a permit, another is for possessing or using a motor vehicle in it and the third is for removing property."
Photo by Kevin Proescholdt
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Adirondacks Protector Dies at 104: Clarence Petty, whose long-time research and advocacy helped protect the Adirondack wilderness, died recently at the age of 104. Petty once said, "Not all people feel they need to have wilderness, but I do. If things go bad and everything seems to go wrong, the best place to go is right into the remote wilderness and everything's in balance there." We couldn't agree more.
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Just for Fun: Forever Wild Shop
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