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January 2003
Volume 1
Welcome to the Wilderness Guardian, a monthly online digest
dedicated to providing up-to-date news and
information concerning Wilderness protection and stewardship nationwide.
A service of Wilderness Watch, the
Guardian was created to help Wilderness advocates keep abreast of
breaking news, as well as providing
contact information to facilitate public participation.
Interesting Tidbits & Wilderness Quotes:
New Look, Same Message – Wilderness Watch is excited
to announce the unveiling of our new logo! Though we
may look different, we assure you that our mission remains unchanged
– advocating the preservation and
proper stewardship of those lands and rivers already included in
the National Wilderness Preservation System
and the National Wild & Scenic River System. Check out our new
look on our letterhead and newsletter (website
update coming soon)
Loved to Death? – In response to overuse, the Forest
Service is proposing user restrictions for the Cohutta
Wilderness in Georgia. Stating that "human caused resource
damage is extensive" the Forest Service is
considering banning overnight camping and alcoholic beverages in
heavily used areas. The proposal can
be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/conf
Wilderness Law Enforcement – The number of assaults against
rangers has increased, urging the Department of
Interior to beef up its law enforcement policies. While law enforcement
is important, some conservationists are
worried that new policies will shift the emphasis away from Wilderness
resource protection and further drain
available personnel and resources.
Quote:
"To put your hands in a river is to feel the chords that bind
the earth together." – Barry Lopez
Contents:
Wilderness News Briefs provide short issue summaries and contact
information. Action Alerts are full-length,
time-sensitive postings.
Wilderness News Briefs:
1. Ruling paves way for Wilderness Roads
2. 9th Circuit issues damaging Wilderness decision
3. BLM approves Steens Mountain Running Camp (OR)
4. Appeal filed to stop motorized access in Mt. Tipton Wilderness
(AZ)
5. American public speaks up for Wilderness
6. Snowmobile use in Denali Wilderness? (AK)
7. Mountain bikers in Wilderness? Read the opinions…
8. Court holds that wilderness study areas must be managed to preserve
wilderness character
*Wilderness News Briefs*
1. Ruling Paves the Way for Wilderness Roads
From the Washington Post, By Christopher Lee:
The Bush administration is about to make it easier for state and
local governments to gain control over
roads and paths on federal lands, a move environmentalists and some
lawmakers say will spur development
in wilderness areas and national parks. A rule to be published Thursday
in the Federal Register creates a
streamlined procedure to resolve title disputes over who controls
rights of way along many roads, trails and
rivers that cross federal lands, Interior Department officials said
yesterday. Environmental groups and their
allies on Capitol Hill said the policy would make national parks
and other public lands more vulnerable to
development. And they criticized the timing of the announcement
during the holiday season when most
Americans' attention is elsewhere.
To
view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35186-2002Dec24.html
Link to BLM’s web page that outlines the RS 2477 related road
rule change, including a link to the Federal
Register notice: www.blm.gov/nhp/news/regulatory/2003f.html#FinalRegs-2003>http://www.blm.gov/nhp/news/regulatory/2003f.html#FinalRegs-2003
2. 9th Circuit issues damaging Wilderness decision
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a terrible ruling
on an important Wilderness Act case:
Entitled, Wilderness Society and the Alaska Center for the Environment
v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
case can be accessed at the link below. The Wilderness Society (TWS)
and Alaska Center for the Environment
(ACE) challenged a FWS decision to allow the operation of a salmon
"enhancement project" (essentially a
hatchery) on Tustumena Lake in the Kenai Wilderness. The hatchery
is operated by a private entity for the
purpose of maintaining a high commercial salmon harvest in the coastal
waters off the Refuge. The plaintiffs
argued that the hatchery violated the Wilderness Act's requirements
to protect wilderness character and natural
conditions, and that it violated the prohibition on commercial enterprises.
The appeal court ruled against TWS,
though one of the three judges dissented.
The opinion can be downloaded at: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0135266p.pdf>http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/
9th/0135266p.pdf
3.
BLM approves Steens Mountain Running Camp (OR)
The Bureau of Land Management recently announced its decision to
issue a five-year permit to the Steens
Mountain Running Camp to continue their commercial running events
in the Steens Mountain Wilderness.
Wilderness Watch opposed the camp’s operations in Wilderness,
suggesting that they find alternative routes,
an option the camp chose not to consider. Wilderness Watch’s
objections were based on the Wilderness Act’s
prohibition of commercial activities in Wilderness, and on the concern
for the area’s untrammeled wilderness
character.
4. Appeal filed to stop motorized access in Mt. Tipton Wilderness
(AZ)
In early January, an appeal was filed with the Interior Board of
Land Appeals in response to BLM's decision to
allow a private property owner routine motorized access through
the Mt Tipton Wilderness in Arizona to reach
their inholding. Appellants include Wilderness Watch, the Arizona
Wilderness Coalition, Center for Biological
Diversity, Maricopa Audubon Society, and two individuals.
The inholder wants to develop his land into a commercial horse ranch,
so BLM has approved daily access for
trucks, trailers, a backhoe and drill rig during the construction
phase, then up to two motorized trips/week to
transport the owners, their clients, and horse trailers to the property.
BLM anticipates that other adjoining
landowners will soon be requesting similar motorized access to their
currently undeveloped land.
The access will require significant clearing of an old vehicle track
that in some places is almost invisible. Local
ranch hands believe no one has driven on this route in 20 years
or more. The route crosses approximately 1.2
miles of the Mt. Tipton Wilderness. The inholder purchased the private
parcel in 1998, which is 8 years after the
area was designated Wilderness. In its decision, BLM stated that
use of horse packstrings for transportation
would have had similarly negative impacts on wilderness character
by being highly visible to visitors, and by
churning up the track and causing ruts with their hooves. Apparently,
a string of V-8 engine-powered machines
in Wilderness is much more benign!
For more information contact TinaMarie Ekker, Wilderness Watch,
(406) 542-2048, tmekker@wildernesswatch.org
5. American public speaks up for Wilderness
From the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition:
This is from a recently released Forest Service publication summarizing
survey results. Members of the American
public were asked about their values with respect to the public
lands and objectives for the management of public
lands, among other things.
"The public sees the promotion of ecosystem health as an important
objective and role for the agency. There is
strong support for protecting watersheds. The public supports multiple
uses, but not all uses equally. Motorized
recreation is not a high priority objective, while preserving the
ability to have a "wilderness experience" is
important. There is moderate support for providing resources to
dependent communities. The provision of less
consumptive services is more than those that are more consumptive.
There is a lack of support for subsidies for
development and leasing of public lands. Preservation of traditional
uses is a somewhat important objective.
Development and use of the best scientific information enjoys wide
support...."
For the report see
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr095.pdf (121 pages) "Survey
Results of the American
Public's Values, Objectives, Beliefs, and Attitudes Regarding Forests
and Grasslands: A Technical Document
Supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment"
6. Snowmobile use in Denali Wilderness?
From the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition:
The Coalition and other organizations are receiving very credible
reports that Attorney Bill Horn is drafting
legislation to authorize snowmobile use in the Park’s Wilderness
core. Such legislation would most likely be
attached as a rider on an appropriations bill, including an omnibus
appropriations measure that Congress is
expected to approve early next year. Therefore, we believe this
is an immediate threat that will demand a
concerted national response.
In June 2000, two regulations were finalized by the Park Service.
One regulation reiterated the Park Service's
long standing decision to keep snow machines out of Denali's Wilderness
core. The other regulation defined
"traditional uses." Under this definition of "traditional
uses," the Park Service found that recreational snow machine
use was not applicable to the ANILCA definition of "traditional
activities" and therefore would not be allowed in the
Park's Wilderness core in the future. Our intelligence indicates
that the Horn/snowmobile industry rider language
would overturn the "traditional activities" definition.
Senator Stevens has not agreed to specific language according to
our sources on the Hill and elsewhere. We need
to make sure our message is clear - opening Denali's Wilderness
core is a terrible idea. Furthermore, it would
stand at odds with over 90 percent of Alaskans who commented on
the rule agreeing with the Park Service's
decision that recreational snow machine use does not belong in Denali's
Wilderness.
For More Information:
Natural Trails and Waters Coalition: Scott Kovarovics, Director,
scott_kovarovics@tws.org
7. Mountain bikers in Wilderness? Read the opinions…
Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News, recently published
two opinion pieces considering whether
mountain bikes should be allowed in Wilderness. The opinion pieces
can be reviewed on the Denver Post website
at: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E172%257E1099695,00.html
(the "Yes" column will appear immediately, see the link
to the "No" column, entitled "We can Prevent Trail
Degradation", on the left-hand margin.)
8. Court hold that wilderness study areas must be managed to
preserve wilderness character
From the Missoulian, January 7, 2003:
The U.S. Forest Service has a legal obligation to maintain the wild
character of seven wilderness study areas in
Montana, even after 25 years of congressional inaction, the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
A three-judge panel sent back to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy
of Missoula a lawsuit filed by
environmentalists after the Forest Service built trails for all-terrain
vehicles, expanded snowmobile grooming
and issued permits for mining exploration in the proposed wilderness
areas.
Molloy was correct, the appellate court said, in ruling that the
Montana Wilderness Study Act did more than
"provide a mere policy statement or general guidance."
The act, the court said, required the Forest Service
"to administer the study areas to maintain wilderness character
and potential for inclusion in the wilderness
system."
However, the appeals court said Molloy erred in granting a summary
judgment in favor of the
environmentalists' lawsuit - without hearing testimony from the
Forest Service. A trial is warranted, said
circuit court judges Stephen Trott, Thomas Nelson and Sidney Thomas.
For the full article, see:
http://www.missoulian.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2003/January/07-1848-news02.txt
Associated Press:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/01/07/state1327EST7705.DTL
&type=printable
Since
its founding in 1989, Wilderness Watch has pursued its mission
as the citizen voice for Wilderness
stewardship, giving a voice to the wilderness and wild rivers of
our national preservation systems. We
seek to preserve our unique natural heritage - the public will articulated
by the Wilderness Act and Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act.
To join Wilderness Watch please visit our website at www.wildernesswatch.org.
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe from
this list, have any questions, or would like to post a news
release, please contact Hilary Wood at hwood@wildernesswatch.org.
If you prefer the post, please send your
letters to:
Wilderness Watch
P.O. Box 9175
Missoula, MT 59807
Ph: (406) 542-2048
Fax: (406) 542-7714
http://www.wildernesswatch.org
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