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February 2004
Volume 2
Interesting
Tidbits & Wilderness Quotes:
Quote: "…the most distinctive, and perhaps the most impressive,
characteristic of American scenery is its wildness." —
John Muir
Contents:
Wilderness News Briefs provide short issue summaries and contact
information. Action Alerts are full-length, time-sensitive postings.
Wilderness News Briefs:
(1) Bureau of Land Management implements 10-year term for outfitter
permits
(2) National Park Service’s apparent disregard for Wilderness
leads to official’s resignation
(3) Olympic National Park to airlift prefabs to Wilderness Areas
(4) Forest Service proposes logging project within 500 feet of the
Rattlesnake Wilderness,MT
(5) No new commercial outfitter permits for Fort Niobrara Wilderness,
NE
(6) Izembek Wilderness (AK) will remain road-free…for now
Action Alerts:
(1) Keep hot tubs out of Idaho’s Frank Church – River
of No Return Wilderness! (and no, we’re not kidding!) March
5, 2004 Deadline
*Wilderness News Briefs*
(1) Bureau of Land Management implements 10-year term for outfitter
permits
A recent notice in the Federal Register finalized a change in BLM
regulations that now extends the term of a commercial outfitter/guide
permit to 10 years, up from 5 years.
"BLM received about 97 comments on the proposed rule. Of these,
4 opposed the provision in the rule that extended the maximum term
for Special Recreation Permits to 10 years, and 88 supported it
without reservation. The remainder expressed support for the change
if BLM would base its determination of the permit term on the performance
of the permittee.
This change should benefit existing permit holders. However, it
may reduce the ability of outfitters who currently do not hold a
permit to obtain one, but only in areas where resource sensitivity
or high demand for a limited recreational resource requires BLM
to impose limits on use allocations. BLM does not expect this rule
to present a substantial departure from current commercial outfitter
operations on BLM lands or diminish the ability of BLM staff to
monitor and enforce permit compliance.
From the business perspective, the change will improve the ability
of outfitters and guides to justify financing from lenders. Also,
the business climate should improve for larger scale commercial
permits and operations as a result of this change, in turn improving
business stability within local economies."
View the Register notice: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2004/February/Day-06/i2545.htm
(2) National Park Service’s apparent disregard for Wilderness
leads to official’s resignation
After 37 years with the National Park Service (NPS), Wilderness
program coordinator Jim Walters resigned in January. In a letter
to NPS director Fran Mainella, Walters charged that the agency "has
accomplished little in implementing either the letter or spirit
of the Wilderness Act."
In his letter, Walters cites concerns that the agency has failed
to properly identify and protect Wilderness, that managers demonstrate
a lack of concern and/or open hostility to their Wilderness responsibilities,
and that managers aim to ignore or circumvent the stewardship instructions
of the Wilderness Act. Claiming that the NPS’ Wilderness program
is "inherently weak", Walters states that continuing the
status quo "will undoubtedly expose the NPS to further litigation
and further dilute the Service’s fading image as a steward
of the nation’s natural resources." He urges Mainella
to overhaul the Wilderness program by implementing guidelines for
management accountability and consistency throughout the system.
Read more at:
http://www.ems.org/rls/2004/01/28/top_national_par.html
http://www.republicons.org/view_article.asp?RP_ARTICLE_ID=1174
(3) Olympic National Park to airlift prefabs to Wilderness Areas
From Public Employeess for Environmental Responsibility:
Washington, DC — The Olympic National Park is preparing to
airlift prefabricated buildings into its wilderness areas in violation
of the Wilderness Act, according to Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER).
The two structures are three-sided cabins, called trailside shelters,
and would be hoisted into the park's backcountry by Chinook helicopters.
These new shelters would replace two collapsed historic shelters
that the park had allowed to deteriorate. According to the park,
repairing the old shelters was rejected because it would "not
be healthful, productive, or esthetically and culturally pleasing
to most ONP visitors or staff."
Read more at:
http://www.ems.org/rls/2004/02/12/olympic_national.html
(4) Forest Service proposes logging project within 500 feet of the
Rattlesnake Wilderness
From Native Forest Network:
The 250 acre "Mineral Fire Salvage" project - located
in the upper Gold Creek drainage northeast of Missoula - would result
in logging within 500 feet of the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area -
an incredibly popular 65,000 acre designated Wilderness located
just a few miles north of Missoula. The project would also result
in logging for 1/3 of a mile along a popular recreation trail that
leads directly into the Wilderness.
It's important to note that this project is being proposed under
a new "Categorical Exclusion" authority released by the
Bush Administration in July 2003 - meaning that the public's right
to appeal this project has been waived.
For more information about this project, contact the Native Forest
Network at koehler@wildrockies.org
or call 406.542.7343.
(5) No new commercial outfitter permits for Fort Niobrara Wilderness,
NE
In August 2003, a District Court upheld a Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) decision to place a moratorium on issuing new commercial outfitter
permits in Nebraska’s Fort Niobrara Wilderness. A local outfitter
sued the FWS when the agency refused his request for a special use
permit even though the number of recreationists and the number of
outfitters had declined since the moratorium was put in place. The
Court found that it was appropriate to limit use while the agency
analyzed the impacts of such use: "Answering the 'how much
is too much' question is one of the most basic functions of the
Service." The court also found that while the 1997 Refuge Act
requires that the FWS should facilitate compatible wildlife-dependent
recreational use of the refuges, "Congress has given the Service
the power to control such compatible uses by 'restrictions and regulations'
to the extent 'necessary, reasonable, and appropriate."
(6) Izembek Wilderness (AK) will remain road-free…for now
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) recently announced its approval
of a 17.2-mile gravel road linking the villages of King Cove (pop.
800) and Cold Bay (pop. 80) near the Izembek Wilderness on the Gulf
of Alaska coast. Plans for a road between the towns once included
a proposal to allow for construction through the Izembek Wilderness.
Public outrage ended this proposal, and Congress allotted $20 million
to plan and develop an alternative route.
Though the proposed road does not cross the Izembek, the plan is
opposed by many conservation organizations who fear that the road
will provide an obvious jump-off point for a road across the Wilderness.
In addition, ACOE’s chosen alternative allows for the greatest
degree of construction, including 234 culverts, 90 turnouts, 5 bridges,
and untold amounts of gravel fill material that will be discharged
into wetland areas.
*Action Alerts*
(1) Keep hot tubs out of Idaho’s Frank Church – River
of No Return Wilderness! (and no, we’re not kidding!)
On February 18th, the Forest Service issued a scoping letter announcing
its intention to began environmental analysis on a request to use
hot tubs in three locations in the Frank Church – River of
No Return Wilderness. The request was made by commercial enterprises,
which want to provide the hot tubs to their clientele. The letter
states that the hot tubs:
"…would be temporary structures that would be set up in
the spring and taken down in the fall. Each hot tub holds 1250 gallons
and the water would be heated with a submergible "Snorkel"
wood stove. Water would be allowed to cool before it is drained
and tubs would be refilled on an average of every three days. No
soap or chemicals would be used in hot tubs."
The agency is soliciting input regarding what issues it should consider
in the environmental analysis. It is shocking that the agency would
commit scarce public dollars to conducting an analysis, as the outfitters’
request is so clearly at odds with the intent and purpose of the
Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness.
Please let the Forest Service know that hot tubs have no place in
the Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness! The following
list provides a few points you may want to consider:
(1) The
Wilderness Act allows commercial enterprise in Wilderness only "to
the extent necessary for activities which are proper for realizing
the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas."
(emphasis added) Installing hot tubs in Wilderness is far from necessary
for realizing any Wilderness purposes of the FC-RONR, and in fact
runs directly counter to the values and benefits for which the area
was designated.
(2) The Wilderness Act defines Wilderness as an area "retaining
its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements
or human habitation, which …generally appears to have been
affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of
man’s work substantially unnoticeable." Wilderness comprises
our last wild lands, providing essential habitat, clean air and
water, and opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation.
While hot tubs are acceptable throughout the vast majority of America,
they have no place in the public’s Wilderness.
(3) Outfitters serve as role models and Wilderness interpreters
to their clientele, many of who have never been in Wilderness and
who don’t understand the unique qualities that separate Wilderness
from or other public lands. Providing hot tubs for clients sends
the wrong message about Wilderness, turning it from a place of restraint,
humility and self-reliance into a vacation spa. The hot tubs’
sole purpose is to attract clientele to certain outfitter operations
– not to educate or enhance the visitor’s wilderness experience.
(4) Placing hot tubs in the FC-RONR will further increase the already
substantial impacts resulting from outfitter camps. Firewood must
be gathered to fuel the tubs, and the scoping letter only states
that the tubs will be dismantled, not that they will be removed
from the Wilderness. This will only add to the illegal caches that
already exist in the Wilderness.
Please send you comments by March 5, 2004 to:
Quinn Carver, District Ranger
Krassel Ranger District
PO Box 1026
McCall, Idaho 83638
F:(208) 634-0634.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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
Phone: (406) 542-2048
Fax: (406) 542-7714
http://www.wildernesswatch.org
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