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January 2004
Volume 1
Interesting
Tidbits & Wilderness Quotes:
Quote: "We're challenged as [humankind] has never been challenged
before. To prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but
of ourselves." — Rachel Carson
Contents:
Wilderness News Briefs provide short issue summaries and contact
information. Action Alerts are full-length, time-sensitive postings.
Wilderness News Briefs:
(1) Emigrant Dams Decision: Maintain 11, allow 7 to deteriorate
(CA)
(2) Court rules hatchery violates Wilderness Act (AK)
(3) Wilderness Watch joins coalition to stop NPS "Blanket approval"
policy
(4) Frank Church management plan approved
(5) Road obliteration planned for 12 California Wildernesses
(6) Wilderness Watch granted intervener status in case to end illegal
grazing in the Gila and Aldo Leopold Wildernesses, NM
Action Alerts:
(1) New Building Construction Slated for Olympic Wilderness: Letters
and Emails are Needed to Keep the Olympics Wild
(2) Support the Forest Service’s proposal to pack out waste
in the John Muir Wilderness, CA
(3) Keep Joshua Tree Wild – Stop the Eagle Mountain dump!
*Wilderness News Briefs*
(1) Emigrant Dams Decision: Maintain 11, allow 7 to deteriorate
(CA)
Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn recently announced
his decision to maintain 11 rock-and-mortar dams in the Emigrant
Wilderness while allowing 7 to deteriorate over time. The structures
have sparked controversy since the Emigrant Wilderness was designated
in 1975, when Congress assumed that the 18 dilapidated dams within
its boundaries would be allowed to degrade naturally. Instead, the
debate concerning the fate of the dams has stretched for over 14
years. Concerned that the dams diminish the area’s wilderness
character and constitute unnecessary manipulation of the Emigrant
Wilderness, Wilderness Watch has submitted numerous comments calling
for the natural degradation of the dams pursuant to the guidelines
of the Wilderness Act.
Built between 1921 and 1950, the rock-and-mortar dams were constructed
primarily to boost or introduce fish populations for anglers. Proponents
of the dams drafted two bills, in 1999 and 2001 respectively, to
maintain all 18 dams. Though both bills died in the Senate, the
move to maintain and preserve the dams remained strong. The Supervisor’s
decision authorizes the Forest Service to organize volunteers to
repair and maintain the 11 dams, but fails to state whether such
work can be accomplished with motorized means. Wilderness Watch
plans to appeal the Supervisor’s decision.
(2) Court rules hatchery violates Wilderness Act
Tustumena Lake, AK -
In December, an "en banc" panel (11 judges) of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit unanimously ruled that a US
FWS-authorized salmon enhancement project in the Kenai Wilderness
violated the Wilderness Act's prohibition on commercial enterprise.
The project at issue involves trapping thousands of salmon each
year at Tustumena Lake in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and
Wilderness, removing the eggs, hauling them to a hatchery for incubation,
then dumping the 6 million salmon fry into the lake the following
year. The project is run by a cooperative formed by the commercial
fishing industry.
The Opinion contains a good discussion on the interplay of the Wilderness
Act's prohibited uses (section 4(c)), and the exceptions that are
contained in section 4(d). The court makes it clear that the exceptions
should be read narrowly. The case was brought by The Wilderness
Society and the Alaska Center for the Environment. They were represented
by Trustees for Alaska.
Download the opinion at:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/50DC73BD72A164B588256E0B007D772A/$file/0135266.pdf?openelement
Read more at:
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~1868453,00.html
Kenai Peninsula Online:
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/010404/new_010404new003001.shtml
(3) Wilderness Watch joins coalition to stop NPS "Blanket
approval" policy
Colorado River Weekender, AZ:
Groups seek end to Park Service's 'Blanket Approval' Policy
Four conservation groups have cited the National Park Service for
authorizing wholesale Wilderness Act violations by its own staff
at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California's Sierra
Nevada Mountains. Sequoia and Kings Canyon contains more than 700,000
acres of congressionally designated wilderness in some of the wildest
country in California. The Wilderness Act prohibits such things
as motor vehicles and aircraft landing in wilderness. The prohibitions
apply not only to the public who visit wilderness, but also the
federal agencies that administer it. The Act allows federal agencies
some latitude to engage in practices prohibited by the Wilderness
Act but only when the practices are absolutely needed for administering
the wilderness. This past summer, the Park Service adopted an internal
procedure for Sequoia and Kings Canyon that in effect voids the
restrictions on motor vehicles and equipment found in the Wilderness
Act for the Park Service’s own activities. The Sequoia and
Kings Canyon procedures, described as "blanket approvals,"
allow the park to use motor vehicles, helicopter landings, motorized
equipment without limit so long as these practices are in connection
with an NPS administrative activity, regardless of necessity…
Read more at:
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=639&NewsID=516935&CategoryID=1408&on=7
(4) Frank Church management plan approved
In November 2003, the Forest Service signed a record of decision
adopting Alternative D from its Final Environmental Impact Statement.
Alternative D allows for unlimited expansion of aircraft and motorboat
use, continued degradation around campsites, lakes, streams, and
trails, serious impairment of the opportunity for a wilderness experience
on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon Rivers, and an unfair quota system
that commercializes much of the access to these rivers. Wilderness
Watch plans to appeal the Forest Service’s decision, and will
keep you updated as the process unfolds.
(5) Road obliteration planned for 12 California Wildernesses
The Needles Field Office (Bureau of Land Management) in California
plans to obliterate vehicle tracks leading into 12 Wildernesses
to discourage ORV trespass. Restoration work would include camouflaging
the tracks to blend in with the surrounding landscape and placing
dead vegetation and other materials over the roadbeds. The proposed
project would accomplish the restoration work using only non-motorized
hand tools. If the proposal is approved, the project will likely
be accomplished by the Student Conservation Association, which has
already obliterated tracks in 6 other California Wildernesses.
If you'd like to voice your support for this excellent project,
you can call or email Wilderness Coordinator Christi Oliver at (760)
326-7021; coliver@ca.blm.gov
(6) Wilderness Watch granted intervener status in case to end
illegal grazing in the Gila and Aldo Leopold Wildernesses, NM
A federal judge recently granted Wilderness Watch’s motion
to intervene in the case of Diamond Bar Cattle Company v. USA, a
suit seeking to end illegal and destructive grazing on the Gila
and Aldo Leopold Wildernesses. The suit arose from the actions of
the Laney family, who illegally released nearly 200 cattle into
the Wildernesses in the Spring of 2003. The Laney’s lost their
original grazing permit for these areas in 1996 (for failing to
pay grazing fees), but continued to graze their cattle without a
permit until they were ordered by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
to stop in 1999. In its ruling, the court made it clear that livestock
grazing on federal lands is a privilege rather than a right, and
can therefore be revoked at any time.
Despite this ruling, the Laney’s resumed grazing their cattle
and have threatened agency personnel not to interfere. Both of the
Wilderness allotments suffer drastic overgrazing, resulting in severe
riparian damage, defoliation, and the degradation of critical habitat
for the federally endangered Gila trout and the federally threatened
loach minnow, spikedace, and Mexican spotted owl.
Concerned that the Forest Service lacks the political incentive
to adequately protect the Wildernesses from illegal grazing, Wilderness
Watch and a coalition of conservation groups moved to gain intervener
status in the case. Intervener status allows the coalition to submit
briefs for the court’s consideration and, among other things,
to appeal the final decision. The blatantly illegal abuse of these
Wilderness lands has continued for far too long, and it is our hope
that the court and the Forest Service will finally enforce the rule
of law.
*Action Alerts*
(1) New Building Construction Slated for Olympic Wilderness:
Letters and Emails are Needed to Keep the Olympics Wild
From Olympic Park Associates:
Olympic National Park officials have determined that new, replica
forest service shelters now take precedence over wilderness protection.
And they've decided they don't need a Wilderness plan to guide them.
On January 10, the park released its Shelter Repair Environmental
Assessment (EA). The preferred alternative (B-1) is to airlift two
newly constructed shelters with heavy-lift helicopters into remote
subalpine meadows in heart of Olympic’s Wilderness. One will
be installed at Low Divide, the other at pristine Home Sweet Home
meadow in the upper Duckabush.
The shelters will replace two old Forest Service structures that
collapsed under winter snow several years ago. The park service
considers these structures irreplaceable cultural resources.
This is a clear instance where "No Action" (alternative
A) is the best choice. The park service will be accepting comments
until February 27, 2004. Please speak out for a wild Olympic Wilderness.
Olympic is a Wilderness jewel in the National Park System, a World
Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. In 1988 Congress placed 95%
of the park in the National Wilderness Preservation System to insure
protection of its matchless forests, rivers and stunning alpine
areas.
According to the Wilderness Act, "A wilderness, in contrast
to those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is...an
area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by
man."
Apparently, park officials disagree. They seem to think aging Forest
Service structures are cultural treasures, more significant than
the wildlands they were built to protect.
The EA states the shelters are needed for emergency protection.
In fact, high-elevation shelters have tended to attract the unprepared
in the past. The new replacement structures are neither historic
nor necessary. They have wood floors and picnic tables; the original
1930s-era structures had neither.
Olympic Park Associates, The Wilderness Society, National Parks
Conservation Association, The Mountaineers, Northwest Ecosystem
Alliance, Wilderness Watch, Olympic Forest Coalition, Public Employees
for Environmental Ethics and other organizations have written the
park service strongly objecting to this project. So have dozens
of individuals. The flights are planned for the fall of this year
(2004). We have one last chance to convince park officials to cancel
this misguided project.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Write, email or fax:
Superintendent William Laitner,
Olympic National Park
600 East park Avenue
Port Angles WA 98362
Fax: 360-565-3015
Email: olym_ea@nps.gov
Ask him to honor the spirit of the Wilderness Act by choosing
Alternative A, the "no action" alternative for this project.
Points you can make:
* Issues that seriously impact wilderness values should be determined
by a Wilderness Management Plan with an environmental impact statement
(EIS) and to full public review. Fifteen years after wilderness
designation, Olympic still lacks such a plan.
* New construction is unnecessary under the National Historic Preservation
Act and park service guidelines ("Historic structures . . .may
be removed" EA, p. 15) and inappropriate under the Wilderness
Act.
* The park has failed to demonstrate the overwhelming cultural significance
of these structures or the urgency of replacing them before a general
management plan and wilderness plan is completed.
* With serious budget shortfalls and more than a million dollars
in storm damage to wilderness trails and bridges this year alone,
the $160,000-plus being spent on this project could be put to much
more beneficial use.
Remind Superintendent Laitner that Olympic National Park was created
by Congress to protect the Olympic’s spectacular forests, rivers,
Glacier-capped peaks and magnificent wildlife -- not to build monuments
to past agency management.
Olympic National Park Shelter Repair Environmental Assessment can
be viewed at: www.nps.gov/olym/ea/shelter_repair/index.htm
(2) Support the Forest Service’s proposal to pack out waste
in the John Muir Wilderness, CA.
In 2001, Wilderness Watch and a number of other conservation groups
challenged a Forest Service proposal to replace two existing toilets
in the John Muir Wilderness with buildings with a "500 square
foot footprint" made of poured concrete and standing two stories
tall. For removing the waste, the Forest Service proposed that:
"The process … would involve depositing it into large
bins, draining the liquid from the waste, and evaporating it. The
remaining waste would then be dehydrated and flown out by helicopter."
The Inyo National Forest recently released an Environmental Assessment
regarding the future of the toilet facilities in the John Muir Wilderness.
The Environmental Assessment, or EA, analyzes various alternatives
to the existing toilets along the Mt. Whitney Trail. The Forest
Service preferred alternative is to remove the toilets and institute
a mandatory "Pack-It-Out" program. The Forest will be
soliciting comments on the EA throughout the month of January.
View the EA at the Inyo National Forest website http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo
Hard copies are available by contacting Brian Spitek at the Mt.
Whitney Ranger Station at 760-876-6217 or by e-mail at bspitek@fs.fed.us
Public comments on the Mt. Whitney Toilet EA must be postmarked
no later than February 4, 2004. They should be submitted to:
Garry Oye
District Ranger
White Mountain Ranger Station
798 N. Main Street
Bishop, CA 93514
FAX: (760) 873-2563
EMAIL: comments-pacificsouthwest-inyo@fs.fed.us
For more information regarding the Environmental Assessment, or
if you have specific questions, please contact Deputy District Ranger
Mary DeAguero at 760-876-6227
(3) Keep Joshua Tree Wild – Stop the Eagle Mountain dump!
From The Citizens for the Chuckwalla Valley:
Join the Give It Back! Campaign
It is a new year and it is hard to believe that we have been battling
the proposed Eagle Mountain dump for 17 years! The Citizens for
the Chuckwalla Valley and the Center for Community Action &
Environmental Justice have developed a campaign to stop a proposed
dump in order to maintain the integrity of Joshua Tree National
Park. The lands omitted from Joshua Tree National Monument in 1950
were to be used to mine minerals, and if not, the Highest and Best
Use is to return the land to the Public, i.e. Joshua Tree National
Park.
There are no plans to mine these lands in the future, and Kaiser
(the mining company) relinquished all of its claims in the hopes
of building the world’s largest dump. The old Kaiser Mine and
campsite/townsite will be designated a National Historic Landmark,
managed by National Park Service ("NPS") for its superlative
interpretive value, and its unique role in American culture in the
creation of the steel industry in the West Coast.
The following link takes you to the Give It Back! Campaign: http://www.ccaej.org/projects/desert_protection/action_alerts2.html
Please take a few minutes to visit the web site above for more information,
including a map of the area in question, and a Support Form. It
will take only a few moments of your time to help preserve a National
Treasure for future generations to enjoy. It is imperative to return
these lands to Joshua Tree National Park even when we defeat the
dump in Court, because for as long as the BLM is going to give the
land away to developers at bargain basement prices, we will be putting
out fires. We say just GIVE IT BACK!
We are seeking support from individuals as well as organizations.
PLEASE pass this onto your list of friends and supporters. If your
organization has a web site, we would appreciate it if you would
include the Give It Back! link. Please do not hesitate contacting
us if you have any questions.
Donna
Donna Charpied
Citizens for the Chuckwalla Valley
PO Box 397
Desert Center, CA 92239
(760) 574-1887
_____________________________________________________________________________
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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