Your Comments Made a Difference Wilderness Watch received good news that the Forest Service (FS) will not be logging the Sandia Mountain Wilderness in New Mexico to make it safe for visitors! Earlier this year, the FS had proposed to use chainsaws to cut down insect and disease-killed trees along 80 miles of trails, claiming they present a hazard to visitors. Instead, the FS has been using news releases, trailhead signage, and a revised trails brochure and Forest website to inform the public about potential hazards. This is the approach suggested by Wilderness Watch.

Visit our website to view the proposal and our comments.

Photo by J.D. Thompson, courtesy of wilderness.net
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Apostle Islands Draft General Management Plan and Wilderness Plan:
The Gaylord Nelson Wilderness covers 80% of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, and at 33,500 acres is the state's largest. The islands have cliffs, sea caves, and some of the most pristine beaches in the Great Lakes region. Wilderness Watch's comments emphasized two primary concerns related to preserving wilderness character: administrative use of motorized/mechanical equipment and management of historical structures. Our comments also supported many of the excellent concerns expressed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility regarding the National Park Service's (NPS) Draft General Management/Wilderness Management Plan (which will guide management decisions for a long time). Please visit our website to read our comments submitted to the NPS.
Photo courtesy of National Park Service

Idaho Fish & Game Helicopter Plan: In the September Guardian, we alerted our readers to an Idaho Fish & Game Department plan to use helicopters in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to capture and collar wolves in an attempt to increase their ability to control the population. Please visit our website to read our comments submitted to the Forest Service.

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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 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B52xi2z5ia4

Questions? Contact Jeff Smith, our Membership and Development Director, at: jsmith@wildernesswatch.org or 406 542-2048, x1.

Help us save Wilderness! Contribute to Wilderness Watch, today.

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Current Legislation Threatens Wilderness:  There are a number of destructive wilderness bills introduced in Congress, with provisions ranging from amending the Wilderness Act to allow unlimited recreation to bills allowing fish stocking and oyster farming in Wilderness. Visit our website for more information.

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Click here for more information, including public meeting dates.

Photo by Peter Druschke, courtesy of wilderness.net
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Keeping WSA's Wild:  Five National Forests in the Forest Service's Northern Region have proposed bans on mountain biking in Wilderness Study Areas, including in Montana: 23 miles of the Gallatin NF, 74 miles of the Bitterroot NF, 139 miles of the Kootenai, and 367 miles of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF, along with 79 miles of the Clearwater NF in Idaho.

The Northern Region's director for recreation, minerals, lands, heritage and wilderness explains in a NY Times article, "We can reduce the level of nonconforming uses so there's not a contingency that then would cause Congress to have second thoughts on our recommendation."

National Park Service officials seem to share this sentiment. According to Park Service wilderness chief Garry Oye, "Existing lands that have been determined to be eligible for wilderness, they should not be considered for potential mountain bike trails at this point. We wouldn't want to authorize a use if we've already determined that the lands should be considered for wilderness. We wouldn't want to allow a use that would compromise that future designation. That's consistent with our policies."

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Military Training—the new excuse de jour:  The Army is concerned the proposed Hidden Gems Wilderness in Colorado will eliminate its only high-altitude helicopter training site. According to an Associated Press article, "The site, known by the acronym HAATS, is the only helicopter training site the U.S. where the terrain and conditions are similar to what pilots encounter in Afghanistan." Interestingly, in Senator Tester's (D-MT) Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, the Highlands proposed Wilderness near Butte allows for military training with Tester's office claiming it's the only military training site where terrain and conditions are similar to Afghanistan. 

Photo by John Fielde
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Photo courtesy US Forest Service
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Couldn't They Do This Somewhere Else?  An eagle scout project saved a deteriorating cabin in the South Baranof Wilderness in Alaska. According to The Sitka Sentinel, "Annemarie LaPalme, cabin and trail manager for the U.S. Forest Service's Sitka Ranger District, said the Davidoff cabin was ‘slated to go away' unless major repairs were made."

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Donated Land Added to Bosque del Apache Wilderness: Congress has approved the addition of 140 acres of land, including Chupadera Mountain, to the Bosque del Apache Wilderness in New Mexico. The land, adjacent to the Wilderness, was donated to the federal government late in 2007. This addition is the first time the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has used a provision of the Wilderness Act authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to accept and designate as Wilderness a donation of land immediately adjacent to a designated wilderness area.

Photo by Aaron Drew, courtesy of wilderness.net
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Just for Fun: Bear Chills with Beer

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