Wilderness Watch - Issues

Maroon Bells Wilderness, CO


	Forest Service Plans Multi-Year Helicopter Invasion in Alaska Wilderness The Tongass National Forest is accepting comments on its proposal to authorize nearly 1100 helicopter landings in wilderness over a ten-year period to inventory vegetation. New Policy would Allow Poisons, Aerial Gunning, ATV's, Snowmobiles and Aircraft in Wilderness to "Control" Predators The Forest Service (USFS) is proposing destructive revisions to its national policies regarding predator control in designated wilderness. Steens Mountain in Dire Straits! Comments needed on proposal for unrestricted motor vehicle use by ranchers in the Steens Mtn Wilderness! Stop S. 1462! Tell Your Senator(s) to Keep the Cumberland Island Wilderness Wild! Protect the Lakes of the Bob Marshall & Scapegoat Wildernesses! The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MDFWP) and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) are proposing a massive trout poisoning and restocking program using helicopters and motorboats on twelve lakes in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Though the lakes were naturally fishless, they have historically been stocked with various species of trout that the proposal aims to replace with westslope cutthroat trout. New management plans slated for Gates of the Arctic, Wrangell - St. Elias, and Glacier Bay Wildernesses (AK). The National Park Service (NPS) recently announced its intention to draft new management plans for three National Parks in Alaska - Wrangell-St. Elias, Gates of the Arctic, and Glacier Bay... Help protect the Bob Marshall Wilderness (MT) The Forest Service is reviewing its proposal to re-issue 64 five-year outfitter and guide special use permits for the Bob Marshall Wilderness, MT...		Motorized Trips into Kalmiopsis Wilderness (OR) Banned by Federal Court in Precedent Setting Decision In January, Federal Magistrate John P. Cooney held that the "undisputed evidence" before him demonstrated that a landowner's claim to unlimited motorized access to build a destination resort on his mining claim in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness held no merit. OUTGOING CONGRESS WHACKS AWAY WILDERNESS PROTECTIONS Precedent Setting De-Designation of Wilderness in Last Minute Riders Wilderness Watch Challenges NPS' Decision to Helicopter Pre-Fabs into Olympic Wilderness. Tacoma, WA – Olympic National Park’s decision to airlift pre-fabricated buildings into designated wilderness is a violation of the Wilderness Act, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma by Olympic Park Associates, Wilderness Watch and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Court Rules Park Service Violates Wilderness Act - End of Vehicle Tours in Georgia’s Cumberland Island Wilderness. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has slammed the door on the National Park Service's motorized sightseeing tours through the Cumberland Island Wilderness... Appeals court rebukes Forest Service for allowing commercial packstock operations to harm two sierra wildernesses, CA The U. S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overturned a district court ruling that would have allowed the US Forest Service to permit commercial packstock operations in two Sierra Nevada Wildernesses at levels that continue to damage the wilderness character of the protected areas... Wilderness Watch Appeals FC-RONR Wilderness Management Plan A coalition of conservation and recreation organizations appealed the Forest Service’s Wilderness Management Plan for Idaho’s Frank Church – River of No Return Wilderness (FC-RONR), including the Wild & Scenic Salmon River. Far from preserving wilderness character and addressing the significant degradation of the FC-RONR, the Management Plan allows for increased damage to one of America’s premier Wildernesses. Forest Service Withdraws Decision to Allow Motorized Access in Kalmiopsis Wilderness, OR On April 13th, an U.S. District Court in Oregon settled a case challenging a Forest Service decision to grant motorized access to a private inholding located 8 miles within Oregon’s Kalmiopsis Wilderness... Judge Ok's Motorized Tours in Cumberland Island Wilderness (GA) In a rebuke of the Wilderness Act's prohibition on motorized recreation, a federal judge in Georgia has ruled that its okay for the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct motor vehicle tours through the Cumberland Island Wilderness... Guzzler Interupted - Massive construction project to place artificial drinking tanks in the Sheephole Valley Wilderness (CA) put on hold. The California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) is seeking approval from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to construct an extensive system of artificial water sources called "guzzlers" throughout a portion of the California Desert... Mt. Tipton Wilderness (AZ) threatened by development In October 2002 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved year-round motor vehicle travel through the Mt Tipton Wilderness for a property owner wishing to develop a 60-acre parcel of private land into a horse ranch... The challenge of protecting the Steens Mountain Wilderness (OR) in more than name alone In January 2003 BLM approved the continuation of the commercial Steens Mountain Running Camp within Wilderness... Commercial hunting operations pose challenges for Alaskan Wilderness Though charged with protecting the wilderness character of the refuges, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed hunting guide selection criteria places more weight on client satisfaction than on actions aimed at Wilderness protection... Crippen cabin victory! By July 2004, the Forest Service will burn and remove the controversial structure known as the Crippen cabin using non-mechanized means... Judge halts road construction in Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness In a victory for Wilderness, federal Magistrate Richard Anderson rejected plans to build nearly nine miles of road in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in southwest Montana. Victory in Gates of the Arctic The Gates of the Arctic Wilderness will remain unscathed by ATV use for another year.