Society for Wilderness Stewardship

A sad day and great loss to the wilderness community...

2011-12-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

From: George Nickas, Executive Director, Wilderness Watch
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2011 6:33 PM

Dear friends:

It is with great sadness that Wilderness Watch announces the death of Bill Worf, our founder, long-time board member, president emeritus, and inspirational leader. He was 85. Bill died of natural causes at his home in Missoula, Montana.

Bill dedicated his life to making certain the ideals expressed in the Wilderness Act would live on in the National Wilderness Preservation System. No one alive, then or now, worked as hard or with such great principle toward that goal.

Bill was raised on a homestead in Rosebud County, Montana, during the Great Depression where he learned the lessons of hard work and perseverance that were hallmarks of his life. He joined the Marines at 17, and soon found himself in the thick of combat in the invasion of Iwo Jima. After the war, he returned home, married Eva Jean Batey, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Montana, and started a storied 32-year-career with the U.S. Forest Service.

Bill began his 50-year affair with wilderness in 1961 when he was appointed forest supervisor overseeing the Bridger Wilderness in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. In typical fashion, Bill jumped into wilderness stewardship with a fervor that attracted the attention of all around him. He initiated the first wilderness management program and hired the first wilderness rangers. He became an outspoken proponent for the wilderness bill at a time when the Forest Service was lukewarm to the legislation. His advocacy for wilderness led the Chief of the Forest Service to select Bill as one of a small group to write the regulations and policies for implementing the Wilderness Act of 1964 shortly after it passed. Bill was then asked to lead the agency's wilderness program in the Washington Office, which he did for many years before getting his feet back on the ground in the regional office in Missoula, Montana.

Like many of his peers, Bill initially saw wilderness as a recreation resource. He saw his duties as a manager primarily to promote it as a backcountry playground. He often told the story of standing on the shore of Island Lake, gazing out at hordes of tents surrounding that wilderness gem. "We were making use of the country, and it made my Forest Service-heart swell with pride," Bill would recall with a laugh. But a pack trip with the Wilderness Act's author, Howard Zahniser, started an evolution in Bill's understanding. Wilderness stewardship was about much more than recreation. His understanding continued to grow as he worked with congressional leaders and their staffs while writing the policies to implement that visionary law.
As Bill often noted, "Those of us writing the policies had to forget much of what we knew about wilderness management in order to understand the higher goals the Wilderness Act was trying to achieve."

Upon his retirement from the US Forest Service in 1981 and with the active support of Eva Jean, Bill vowed to dedicate his remaining years to working for sound stewardship and protection of Wilderness.

In 1989, he and two colleagues founded Wilderness Watch, the only national citizens' organization dedicated solely to protecting designated wildernesses and wild rivers. As a measure of Bill's tremendous credibility, it wasn't long before former Secretary of Interior, Stewart Udall, and former Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman, accepted Bill's invitation to join the Wilderness Watch Board of Directors. Bill remained active with Wilderness Watch and wilderness issues until his death. "I shall not perish from this earth without doing everything within my realm to save its most precious non-human resource," he wrote.

Bill was the right person in the right place at the right time, and he made the most of it. He inspired an entire generation of wilderness rangers and wilderness advocates and was a hero to many.

All of us, but especially future generations of American citizens, are the fortunate recipients of Bill's dedication to the wilderness cause.

Bill Worf will be sorely missed, but his spirit lives on in all those who believe in the principled stewardship and defense of wilderness in America.

George Nickas
Executive Director
Wilderness Watch

Training for Wilderness Pros

2011-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

With another field season in the books it's time to look ahead (with a small peek over the shoulder for good measure). The backwards glance is to June 2010 and a week-long training session in the High Uintas Wilderness. Nearly a dozen Wilderness Rangers donned heavy packs and hiked northeastern Utah's high country learning the rudiments of trail maintenance, contacting visitors and developing wilderness skills...

Skill development is particularly apropos looking ahead to 2012 and the Society for Wilderness Stewardship's flagship program, the tentatively titled Wilderness Ranger Academy. Designed in conjunction with the Carhart Wilderness Training Center, the course is expected to feature online, classroom and field modules including Travel & Safety, Visitor Use Management and Resource Stewardship.

While it won't replace local unit training and orientation, the 4-6 week academy will eventually offer an accreditation/certificate which should give graduates a competitive advantage in the job market. With field sessions including map/compass/gps training, crosscut saw certification and river crossing techniques it sounds like a lot of fun too!

And so as Summer 2011 dissolves in the rear-view we're excited about offering wilderness professionals a comprehensive program of training and development sometime before 2013 nicks the horizon. Stay tuned...

Water or wilderness - Why not both?

2011-08-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Battles over water in the west continue. This time it involves the Arkansas River in Colorado. This past week, The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy Board voted 13-1 in opposition of federal expansion of wilderness areas in the Arkansas River basin. The Board has no current plans but is concerned that wilderness designation will prohibit future water development. What does this mean for wilderness?

Read full article here: http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/5370177/conservancy-boards-wary-of-wilderness-laws

Using fire as a management tool in wilderness

2011-08-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

A fire in the Washakie Wilderness southwest of Meeteetse, WY has burned 15,000 acres since it was started by lightning on July 22. It's been a slow moving fire that agency personnel have let burn as a "resource benefit" to help thin out stands of beetle killed trees. It's good to see this kind of wilderness management in action. The wilderness gets what it needs and it continues to reinforce to the public that not all wildfire is a bad thing.

From an article in the Billings Gazette:

CODY, Wyo. — After a lengthy period of inactivity, the Norton Point fire heated up again last week, sending smoke and ash into the Bighorn Basin. Burning in the Washakie Wilderness southwest of Meeteetse, the fire has burned 15,000 acres since it was started by lightning on July 22. The blaze had seen little growth since the beginning of August. But late last week, winds drove the fire back into heavy timber, allowing for additional growth.

“It was inactive for quite a while,” said public information officer Carl Jungck. “But just last Thursday, the conditions lined back up with the wind.” On its most active day last week, the fire made another run up Caldwell Creek, burning around 1,700 acres. Since then, the blaze has slowed, with cooler temperatures in the forecast.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_29d49b6b-db1d-5d3f-8d84-549bf3423258.html#ixzz1VCSjvSMS

The Wilderness Act and the pine beetle battle

2011-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

To save trees or to honor the intent of the Wilderness Act? This is the question.

Linda Merigliano, with the U.S. Forest Service, removes old verbenone patches on trees near Goodwin Lake in the Gros Ventre Wilderness on July 30. The patches, which were placed by TreeFight volunteers last year, have to be removed from trees each year. TreeFight is working with Merigliano and the Forest Service on balancing the issue of saving the trees while still honoring wilderness areas.

BRIDGER-TETON NATIONAL FOREST — Nestled in the Gros Ventre Wilderness, only a few miles from a trail head, Goodwin Lake attracts hikers on their way to Jackson Peak, families on overnight backpacking trips and fishermen staking out their favorite spots. It is an escape from Teton County’s more popular destinations.

The shore winds large enough for visitors to claim their own space. Prime real estate, though, is on a rocky peninsula with a landmark whitebark pine tree.

On July 28, David Gonzales cut into the bark and read the tree’s death sentence in the form of signs of pine beetle chambers. Then the founder of TreeFight sat with other volunteer members to discuss joint efforts with the U.S. Forest Service to save trees like this one in wilderness areas.

TreeFight is a volunteer organization that staples pheromone pouches onto whitebark pines to deter beetles that otherwise might burrow in and kill trees. Last year, in the group’s first summer, they placed the patches on trees near Goodwin Lake without thinking of the area’s wilderness status.

The federal Wilderness Act, established in 1964, includes the language “untrammeled.” It means wilderness is meant to remain as free as possible of human influence, said Linda Merigliano with the Forest Service. The act calls for allowing insect and plant diseases to run their course, to even avoid fire suppression unless it is human-caused.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_80409a5e-25e3-5802-ab0a-91f6db65e5d4.html#ixzz1UZ4kEN7h

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_80409a5e-25e3-5802-ab0a-91f6db65e5d4.html

Trappers Lake - Cradle of Wilderness

2011-08-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Trappers Lake - Cradle of Wilderness

In the summer of 1919, the Forest Service dispatched its first landscape architect to Trappers Lake with instructions to survey 100 planned summer home sites and a road around the lake. The 27 year old surveyor, Arthur H. Carhart, completed his plan and returned to Denver. But he closed his report with a strongly-worded recommendation that the area remain roadless and undeveloped:

"There are a number of places with scenic values of such great worth that they are rightfully the property of all people. They should be preserved for all time for the people of the Nation and the world. Trappers Lake is unquestionably a candidate for that classification."

In an unprecedented move, the Forest Service set the plans aside for further study and the proposed road was never built. Mr. Carhart went on to work with conservationist Aldo Leopold. The memorandum detailing their shared approach to preservation became the foundation and heart of the Wilderness concept.

In 1964, the Wilderness Act was signed into law. It set aside nine million acres of National Forest lands for the use and enjoyment of future generations. Since then, the system has grown to encompass lands in National Parks, Forests and Wildlife Refuges, as well as properties managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Flat Tops Wilderness, home to Trappers Lake, was designated in 1975.

Pew: Wilderness release act would ‘open area size of Wyoming to industrial activity’

2011-07-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Pew Environment Group today came out in opposition to a bill introduced last spring by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that would open up a “Wyoming-sized” chunk of national forest and Bureau of Land Management land to resource extraction, road building and motorized vehicle traffic.

“This legislation would undo decades of public land protections by opening up an area the size of Wyoming to new industrial activity,” Pew Environment Group Deputy Director Tom Wathen said in a prepared statement. “It would allow some of the country’s most pristine and spectacular landscapes to be exploited, including the vast majority of undisturbed national forests.”

Technically, McCarthy’s H.R.1581, the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act, would “release wilderness study areas administered by the BLM that are not suitable for wilderness designation from continued management as defacto wilderness areas,” according to the bill’s summary.

Read the full article here: http://coloradoindependent.com/95024/pew-wilderness-release-act-would-open-area-size-of-wyoming-to-industrial-activity

Hear McCarthy's testimony:

Table Rock Wilderness - Oregon

2011-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

2011-07-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

A decade ago Philip Connors left work as an editor at the Wall Street Journal and talked his way into a job far from the streets of lower Manhattan: working as one of the last fire lookouts in America. Spending nearly half the year in a 7' x 7' tower, 10,000 feet above sea level on Apache Peak in the Gila National Forest’s Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area, his tasks were simple: keep watch over one of the most fire-prone forests in the country and sound the alarm at the first sign of smoke. His book, Fire Season, captures his time as a fire lookout.

For more information on the book, visit Amazon.

Wilderness Toolbox

2011-07-13T08:14:00.001-07:00

Looking for wilderness resources? Look no further than Wilderness.net http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes No matter what your wilderness situation or needs, it's highly likely that you'll be able to find the resources you need here.

The other place to find resources, particularly expert advise is our Experts Database. This members-only benefit is invaluable for those needing expert consultation on specific wilderness issues.

Not yet a member of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship? Join today!

Alone in the Wilderness - Part II

2011-07-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Another great installment in the story of Dick Proenneke and his life at Twin Lakes in Alaska's Lake Clark National Park.

Two national forests begin revision of management plans

2011-07-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

The Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests, in a joint effort, are revising their forest plans.
The project will conclude with a new management plan for an area of nearly 5 million acres of National Forest lands. The forests stretch from the eastern foothills of Mount Rainier north to the Pasayten Wilderness at the Canadian border and east to the Salmo-Priest Wilderness in the far northeast corner of the state.

The National Forest Management Act requires each national forests to update their land management plans every 15 years. The Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests introduced their land management plans in 1989-90. Managers from the two forests released a plan revision proposed action on June 30, which began a 60-day comment period that ends Aug. 29.

Comments will help in the development of alternatives for a draft environmental impact statement which should be released in June 2012. A final environmental impact statement and Record of Decision is planned for fall 2013.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/07/03/1731010/two-national-forests-begin-revision.html#ixzz1R8ld1tPE

Winter Wildlands Alliance - Jedediah Smith and Winegar Hole Wilderness Areas

2011-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yosemite National Park

2011-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity..." --John Muir, 1898

Yosemite National Park – A true gem of the park system. While most visitors stick to Yosemite Valley — making the shuttle bus system a necessity — there are miles and miles of trails and tens of thousands of acres where you’re unlikely to run into another human being. More than 94 percent of the park is designated wilderness.

By the numbers:

Park size: 747,956 acres or 1,169 square miles
2010 visitation: 4,047,880
Busiest month: August, 659,857 visitors
Slowest month: January, 96,089 visitors
What you may not know: The park has five waterfalls of 1,000 feet or more.
Website: www.nps.gov/yose

For more on how wilderness is managed in Yosemite, visit: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yosemitewilderness.htm

Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center in Action!

2011-07-05T06:00:00.001-07:00

To learn more about the work of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, visit: http://carhart.wilderness.net/

Cars in wilderness?

2011-07-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

As I was reading through the wilderness headlines for the day, two strange links jumped out at me:

1. Aston Martin to tackle Alaskan Wilderness – http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1062480_aston-martin-rapide-to-tackle-alaskan-wilderness

2. Jeep Grand Cherokee Ready for Wilderness – http://www.autoevolution.com/news/xplore-jeep-grand-cherokee-ready-for-the-wilderness-36778.html

To say I find this amusing is an understatement. Not only do advertisers think that the rugged appeal of wilderness will sell cars, they obviously have no clue what wilderness actually is; what it actually means for an area to be wilderness.

This is one of the wilderness community's greatest challenges - ensuring that the public knows what wilderness is and why it's so important.

What are you doing today to raise awareness about wilderness?

Wilderness Rangers: Keeping it Wild

2011-06-27T06:25:00.001-07:00

Wildlife Conservation Society Calls for More Wilderness

2011-06-23T08:22:00.001-07:00

Over the past several months there have been numerous articles written regarding the idea that we do not need more wilderness designations in the U.S. There seems to be a sentiment that we need to adequately manage what wilderness we already have, and that pushing for more is foolhardy. The notion is that if we just keep creating new wilderness without managing existing wilderness, we'll actually lose support for wilderness designation over time, i.e. why should there be more when what you have is in shambles.

However, there are still those who are actively and loudly calling for more wilderness. And not just for the scenic values either. Wilderness provides habitat protection, clean water and healthy ecosystems. Most recently, the Wildlife Conservation Society has called for more wilderness...

Read full article here: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110623/LIFESTYLE05/106230315/WCS-study-calls-more-wilderness?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Living in the wilderness

2011-06-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

A great documentary/book. If you haven't seen or read about Dick Proenneke, and you like the idea of living in the wilderness, you'll enjoy his story.

Fire ban in full effect in New Mexico - National Forest Closed

2011-06-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

A stage 2 fire ban has been enacted in New Mexico, providing strict restrictions on open flame. This ban encompasses several wilderness areas in New Mexico, including: the Chama River Canyon Wilderness, the Dome Wilderness, the Pecos Wilderness and San Pedro Parks Wilderness.

More from The Taos News:

Wildfires have consumed tens of thousands of acres in New Mexico so far this season, leading to structure fires, evacuations and closures of roads and forests. Local governments, as well as the Forest Service, have taken measures to prevent more fires.

Burn bans and other fire restrictions are in effect in Taos County as windy, dry conditions have increased wildfire danger. The Carson National Forest has announced Stage 1 fire restrictions, which went into effect June 10. Stage 1 restrictions prohibit using fires, campfires, and wood- or charcoal- burning stoves except at developed recreation sites in Forest Service grills and stoves.

Smoking is also prohibited except within enclosed vehicles, buildings or developed recreation sites; smoking is also allowed within a three-diameter- or-greater area that is "barren or cleared of all flammable material." Fireworks are also prohibited.

"The public can still visit, hike and camp on the Carson National Forest provided they observe all Stage I restrictions," a Forest Service release states. "As these high-fire danger levels persist, campers should ensure campfire safety by making sure your fire is cold to the touch, or dead out."

The Santa Fe National Forest, including the Chama River Canyon Wilderness, the Dome Wilderness, the Pecos Wilderness and San Pedro Parks Wilderness, as well as the Valles Caldera National Preserve near Los Alamos, were placed under Stage 2 fire restrictions June 10.

Under the more stringent Stage 2 restrictions, prohibitions include smoking except inside enclosed vehicles or buildings, possessing fireworks, operating chainsaws or other internal combustion enginepowered equipment between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and welding or operating torches with open flames. Under Stage 2 restrictions, forest users are not allowed to take their vehicles off Forest System roads, and fires, campfires, charcoal, coal, wood and stove fires are not permitted.

According to information from the Forest Service, violations are punishable by fines of up to $5,000 for individuals or $10,000 for organizations, as well as imprisonment up to six months. Fire danger The Track Fire in Colfax County started Sunday (June 12) and threatened more than 200 homes in Ratón and led to power outages, evacuations and road closures — including Interstate 25 between Ratón and Trinidad, Colo.

By Tuesday night (June 13), the Track Fire had burned an estimated 24,034 acres and was 5 percent contained. Nine structures had been lost or damaged, including two New Mexico homes, two hunting cabins and five outbuildings. Its cause had not been determined as of that time.

According to information from U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman's, D-NM, office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the state's request for assistance with the Track Fire, making New Mexico eligible for funding through the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program.

Under such a grant, the federal government pays 75 percent of the cost of firefighting activities including equipment and supplies, emergency work and operations centers, mobilization and demobilization costs and temporary repair of fire damage. In Southern New Mexico, forest closures are in effect.

All 1.1 million acres of the Lincoln National Forest were closed to visitors effective May 12 because of fire danger. Portions of the 3.3-million-acre Gila National Forest were also closed June 10 "due to the large fire activity on the Wallow Fire and the very high fire danger." Western portions of several ranger districts have been closed.

"The area closure is a precautionary measure taken to protect the public and provide for firefighter safety while working to contain the Wallow Fire," Forest Supervisor Kelly Russell said. "This closure will remain in effect until post-fire threats to public safety are eliminated."

The Miller Fire in the Gila grew to nearly 90,000 acres, leading to road and trail closures and some evacuations. It is still being monitored and mopped up. The Wallow Fire started in Arizona's Apache National Forest, in the Bear Wallow Wilderness, May 29.

According to an update published Wednesday (June 14), the fire had grown to nearly 470,000 acres, threatening 2,714 residences and destroying 32 residences, four commercial properties, several dozen outbuildings and a vehicle. Now reportedly the largest wildfire in Arizona's history, the Wallow Fire has also led to seven injuries.

As of Wednesday morning, it was 20 percent contained and had spread into New Mexico. Both the Miller Fire and Wallow Fire were humancaused. The Loop Fire, in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, had reportedly grown to 25,000 acres by Wednesday (June 15) morning and was 25 percent contained at that point. Structures including park buildings and the community of White City are reportedly threatened.

Park employees and visitors were evacuated due to fire and smoke, with the park to reopen when conditions are safe. Taos County has instituted a "burn ban." According to a statement from the county, it has also implemented Stage 1 fire restrictions on public and private lands within the county in a coordinated effort with the Forest Service.

"Contributing to this decision are prolonged climate patterns of high winds, low atmospheric moisture, warm temperatures and dry soil and vegetative conditions," the county's statement reads. The Stage 1 restrictions apply to public lands as noted above.

For private lands, no new burn permits will be issued and previously issued permits are revoked. Campfires, bonfires and the open burning of grass, weeds, brush, scrap wood and similar materials are prohibited.

"Pressurized gas grills, stoves and lanterns are permitted," the release states. Red River has also implemented Stage 1 fire restrictions, and Tuesday (June 14) the County Commission instituted a ban on the use of fireworks.

The Taos Town Council approved its own burn ban Tuesday and instructed staff to look into restricting the sale of fireworks during times of high fire danger.

The urban-wildland interface

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

From Seminole County Florida...

Do you want a job in wilderness?

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Look no further than the Society for Wilderness Stewardship! Our comprehensive online job listings are the most complete wilderness-related jobs you'll find on the web. In addition to jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities are also listed from time to time. This constantly updated list is the place to look for your next great wilderness opportunity. This exclusive member benefit is just one of a suite of benefits that you'll have as a member of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship. Join today and find that job you've always wanted in wilderness!

To join the Society, please visit: https://www.wildernessstewardship.org/register.php

If you'd like to post a job listing, please email the job description with posting dates, contact information and any additional details to info@wildernessstewardship.org.

Forest Service launches new PSA campaign

2011-06-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

USDA Forest Service and Ad Council Launch New PSAs to Re-connect Families and Kids with Nature – Campaign launch coincides with 4th Annual National Get Outdoors Day

Washington, D.C., June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Children in the U.S. spend 50 percent less time outdoors than they did 20 years ago. In an effort to motivate families and their children to get outside more often and re-connect with nature, the USDA Forest Service and the Ad Council today launched new public service advertisements (PSAs) to encourage families to take the time to discover the forest. The Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, will unveil the new PSAs on June 11 at Kingman Island in coordination with National Get Outdoors Day.

Initially launched in 2009, the campaign aims to encourage children and their families to get outside and experience the many benefits of nature. Research shows that children who play outside have a reduced risk for obesity, lower stress levels, more active imaginations and they’re more likely to become environmentally conscious adults.

The new television, radio, print and outdoor PSAs, created pro bono by ad agency, Turbine, are being released to coincide with National Get Outdoors Day on June 11. The PSAs encourage children and their parents to visit www.DiscoverTheForest.org (and the new Spanish version, DescubreElBosque.org), which includes an interactive map tool, powered by Google and Nature Find™ that enables users to search for nearby forests and parks, as well as downloadable activities for them to print and take with them when they visit.

Read the full article here: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/50579/

Give the gift of membership!

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Still not sure what to get dad forFather's Day? Why not give the gift of membership to the Society for Wilderness Stewardship! Dedicated to advancing the profession of wilderness stewardship, the Society is the national membership organization dedicated to informing, uniting, and supporting the extensive community groups and individuals actively engaged in stewardship of America’s National Wilderness Preservation System.

Our individual members include a wide range of people interested in the stewardship of wilderness: researchers, managers, educators, government and private conservation workers, volunteers, students, business owners, and American citizens. This community of professionals shares a strong passion for wilderness and a deeply-rooted sense of the intrinsic value of its benefits.

To join, please visit: https://www.wildernessstewardship.org/register.php

Member benefits include:

Existing Benefits

Expert Advice - Gain exclusive access to wilderness expertise from a diverse range of fields through our on-line, searchable Wilderness Experts database, and get the expert advice you need to address your wilderness issue.

Jobs – Post and access our growing list of internships, seasonal, temporary, full and part time permanent wilderness employment opportunities through our Jobs in Wilderness site. Access our searchable jobs library to find the job that’s right for you or to gain access to the best, brightest, and most diverse employees and volunteers to help advance your wilderness program.

Wilderness Working Groups & Standing Committees - Broaden your influence by sharing your ideas and exploring and investigating timely wilderness stewardship issues with like-minded wilderness colleagues through our on-line Wilderness Working Group forums. Influence Society for Wilderness Stewardship direction and policy through participation in one of several Committees.

Stewardship Resources - Find the Resources you need through access to wilderness publications, cutting-edge research, and state-of-the-art wilderness management practices. Whether you are a scientist or student, manager or volunteer you will find what you need to get the job done.

Leadership Access - Gain exclusive access to Society for Wilderness Stewardship Board meeting notes and the opportunity to nominate Board members.

Planned Benefits

Wilderness On-Line Store Discounts - Enjoy an exclusive 5% lifetime discount on all individual purchases from the Wilderness On-Line Store including wilderness maps, brochures, and other educational resources.

Networking Opportunities - Gain exclusive access to contact information for any Society member through our on-line, searchable Membership Directory and take advantage of networking opportunities.

Conferences & Workshops - Get discounted tuition to conferences and workshops that unite diverse wilderness professionals to explore, learn, and debate wilderness stewardship and policy issues, research, and best management practices. Gain access to the most comprehensive Wilderness Calendar of related meetings, conferences, workshops, and training opportunities.

Sign up dad today!

A real threat to wilderness: relevance

2011-06-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

According to new data released from a USDA Forest Service survey, visitation to wilderness areas on the Shoshone National Forest has decreased from 14 percent to 3 percent since 1986. However, the majority of those who do visit wilderness (77%) were satisfied with their wilderness experience. This highlights one of the real threats to wilderness: relevance. With wilderness visitation declining in many parts of the country, this simply further highlights the need for the wilderness community to work together to ensure that the life sustaining benefits and values of wilderness are both understood and treasured by the public.

Read the full article from the Billings Gazette here: http://tinyurl.com/64nscrq

Wilderness Stewardship Challenge Grants Awarded

2011-06-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

From the Montana Daily Inter Lake:

Two area organizations were among 21 nonprofit groups nationwide that received Wilderness Stewardship Challenge grants from the National Forest Foundation. More than $400,000 was awarded to support wilderness conservation.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation won for its “Pain in the Grass” proposal for noxious weed eradication in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

The Swan Ecosystem Center will receive a grant for its proposed Mission Mountain Wilderness Stewardship Partnership for the Mission Mountains Wilderness near Condon.

In 2004, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the U.S. Forest Service issued a Stewardship Challenge calling for all wilderness areas in the National Forest System to meet baseline management standards by 2014 — the 50th anniversary of the act. To meet this standard, wilderness areas are measured on 10 stewardship elements and must achieve 60 percent of the total available points.

Since 2004, the program has provided 1:1 matching grants to nonprofit partners for the implementation of on-the-ground conservation projects that directly benefit National Forest Wilderness Areas. This year, additional funding was available specifically for reduced-match grants to organizations with small operating budgets, providing the opportunity to support a greater diversity of projects and groups.

“Since the inception of the challenge, the National Forest Foundation has invested more than $2.5 million in the stewardship of National Forest Wilderness Areas,” says Bill Possiel, president of the National Forest Foundation. “Expanding the program to create opportunities for smaller organizations greatly increases the value of our investment by boosting the presence and capacity of those organizations within their communities and contributes to the advancement of the stewardship of designated wilderness areas.”

The many projects funded this year by the Wilderness Stewardship Challenge program will achieve invasive weed inventory and eradication, utilize volunteer wilderness rangers to inventory and rehabilitate impacted campsites, and reconstruct high-use trails.

For more information on the National Forest Foundation grants, visit: http://www.nationalforests.org/news/article/131/nff-announces-new-wilderness-grants

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Resuming Their Wilderness Stewardship Plan

2011-06-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI) is resuming their Wilderness Stewardship Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (WSP/EIS). The parks contain approximately 807,962 acres of designated wilderness (including the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness and John Krebs Wilderness).

To get involved in the process or to view the supporting documentation, please visit: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=33225

Howard Zahniser: Author of the Wilderness Act

2011-06-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Howard Zahniser was born on February 25, 1906, in Franklin, Pennsylvania. The son of a Free Methodist minister who changed churches every few years, he grew up in the Allegheny River region of northwestern Pennsylvania. He spent his teenage years in Tionesta, just west of what is now the Allegheny National Forest. It was here that he developed a life-long interest in nature and a love of literature. He attended Greenville College in Illinois where he received a degree in humanities. He taught school and worked as a newspaper reporter.

Zahniser wrote the first draft of the Act in 1956. An eloquent wordsmith, he chose the word "untrammeled" to characterize wilderness in the Act. Others questioned this choice, yet he was adament about its use as the right word to characterize wilderness.

"A wilderness...is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man..."

- The Wilderness Act.

To read more about Howard Zahniser, visit: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=feature0504

The Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011

2011-06-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Wild, a broad coalition of conservation organizations, applauded Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker for reintroducing legislation to designate new wilderness areas on the Cherokee National Forest. This measure could result in the first new wilderness for Tennessee in 25 years.

“We are thrilled with the Senators’ continued commitment to see our special wild places protected,” said Jeff Hunter Tennessee Wild campaign coordinator. “The Cherokee National Forest is popular with locals and tourists alike. It helps sustain local economies here in east Tennessee as well as provide clean drinking water and important wildlife habitat.”

The Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011, introduced May 24, will protect nearly 20,000 acres of public land, expanding five existing wilderness areas and creating the new Upper Bald River Wilderness Area. All of these areas were recommended for wilderness designation in the US Forest Service’s 2004 management plan.

Widespread support for additional wilderness in the Cherokee forest includes hikers, hunters, business owners, local lawmakers, members of the faith community, and others who endorse the bill.

“Only wilderness areas provide the opportunity for a complete getaway from the noise and stress of daily life. It’s increasingly difficult to hike, fish or hunt without hearing cars or chainsaws; wilderness allows us to experience the land as our forefathers did,” said Dawson Wheeler, owner of Rock Creek Outfitters in Chattanooga. “As a business owner I see the direct benefit wilderness provides to the local economy and the positive impact it has on real estate values and quality of life in surrounding regions.”

Hiking is a top activity in the proposed wilderness areas, which contain sections of the nationally popular Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails.

“The Appalachian Trail Conservancy continues to believe that wilderness is the best protection available for the A.T.,” said Morgan Sommerville, regional director of the organization that protects the A.T. “We endorse new wilderness designations along the A.T. as long as enough volunteers are available to help maintain the trail. Happily, regarding the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness and Extension in the Cherokee National Forest, new volunteers are rising to the challenge.”

The proposed wilderness additions are also havens for sportsmen and sportswomen. Mike Campbell, a Chattanooga-based attorney, expressed support for wilderness: “As a hunter and horseman, I believe it is imperative to go and be where there are no vehicles, no roads, just trails and the quiet forest.”

Senators Alexander and Corker first introduced the bill last year. “Time ran out last Congress for this bill,” added Hunter. “We hope the legislation moves quickly this Congress to provide the safeguards these lands to richly deserve.”

Rupert Cutler Wilderness: Yesterday and Today - Monday June 6, 2011 - 6:30pm - Golden, CO

2011-06-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Come hear Rupert Cutler of Roanoke, Virginia, former Assistant Executive Director of The Wilderness Society during the Lyndon Johnson Administration (1965-69) and the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources during the Jimmy Carter Administration (1977–1980), speak about the protection of wilderness. He has been instrumental in wilderness stewardship issues throughout his career.

When: Monday, June 6, 2011 - 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: American Mountaineering Center, Golden CO

Managers Work to Restore Native Cutthroat Populations in Wilderness Lakes

2011-05-31T05:43:00.000-07:00

Many parts of the west have seen a significant decline in native fish populations over the years, both in wilderness and in other areas. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently unveiled a plan to try and bring back native Westslop Cutthroat Trout to several lakes, including some in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The history on these lakes is interesting as some were stocked prior to the Wilderness Act with helicopter yet now the'll have to be stocked by more traditional means - pack string.

From the a recent article in the Missoulan:

"Historically in the South Fork, these were all fishless lakes," Boyer said. "But they were great fish habitat. So in the 1920s and '30s, they started stocking rainbows and Yellowstone cutthroats. They'd load them in milk cans and haul them in on mule trains. Later on, they'd use helicopters."

Boyer said because the Bob Marshall lakes were mechanically stocked before the area became federally designated wilderness in 1964, the state had an exemption to continue delivering fish by helicopter to all but Pyramid Lake. Volunteers from the Backcountry Horsemen's Association will deliver fish to that lake, which never saw helicopter activity before it became wilderness.

Read the full article here: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_2e1cc662-8b29-11e0-a202-001cc4c03286.html

September 3, 1964

2011-05-30T07:27:00.001-07:00

In the Rose Garden, September 3, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson has just signed the Wilderness Act and hands pens to Mardy Murie (left) and Alice Zahniser. Their husbands, Olaus and Howard, had died during the final year of the long lobbying campaign. Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall leans over the president as members of Congress look on: Senator Frank Church behind Murie; Representative Wayne Aspinall behind Zahniser; Senator Clinton P. Anderson to the right of Aspinall and directly above the president; and Representative John P. Saylor, with glasses, standing closest to Udall.

Wilderness vs. population growth

2011-05-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

From the Denver Post Op-Ed

Wilderness is a general term that includes: National Forests, National Parks, National Monuments, National Grasslands, and finally, designated Wilderness Areas created by the 1964 wilderness act. Our wild areas provide quiet places to experience solitude in nature, tourism benefits for nearby communities, and a variety of recreation opportunities such as boating, hiking, fishing and hunting.

The threats to wilderness:

1. Forest Fire Suppression

The National Interagency Fire Center reported the following on March 25, 2011: Year to date over the most recent 10 years, this year has seen more fires than all other years except for 2009 and 2006, and those 2011 fires consumed more acres of forests than in any year except 2006. These numbers are from just a snapshot in time but support the perception that fire news at least is on the upswing. Why do we now pay more attention to forest fires? I contend that it's largely because more and more people each year choose to live near or within forested areas, which are interconnected, with our national lands. When fire happens, homes are put at risk and firefighters spend their time protecting people and their homes rather than controlling a fire's progress.

2. Oil and Wilderness

Here in the west we have our full share of sensitive places to protect and the Roan Plateau near Rifle Colorado is the latest and perhaps the biggest. The Roan was owned and managed by the Department of energy until 1997, who then turned it over to the Bureau of Land Management with no protections in place. Initially the Department of energy wanted to develop an oil shale industry to extract the oil from the shale layers holding the oil and gas. Today the gas is apparently more valuable and can be extracted cost effectively. Opponents to drilling in any sensitive public land are speaking with a single voice. How can we allow an industry that has apparently taken chances with our environment at every turn, move heavy machinery and equipment into these areas with only their assurances that it will be alright after they leave.

3. Grazing and Wilderness

Cattle grazing on public lands were an undisputed part of the old west until the 1970s when new laws were instituted setting fees for grazing privileges. Grazing fees hit their highest mark in 1980 and have reduced on average since. The fees are supposed to be based on the economic value of the land. So far it has been Environmentalists against Ranchers, when these two disparate groups could work in harmony toward a common goal. That goal could simply be a healthy natural environment where neither group overuses any part of the wilderness. What each person and each group needs to decide is how much they are willing to sacrifice to achieve this goal.

4. Water Diversion

In Colorado there are already a couple dozen tunnels and ditches that transport water from the west slope of the mountains to the east. These diversions from west slope streams and lakes to those on the east now average over 500,000 acre-feet annually. The more water we take from the lakes and streams on the western slope the more risk to the fish populations, not to mention the wetlands habitat and the animals and birds that depend on that habitat. Water temperatures may increase, limiting the species that can survive in those waters and as flows decrease the dangers from drought are magnified, and fishermen and women will find somewhere else to spend their tourism dollars.

There are many more threats such as the pine beetle infestation, development nibbling at the edges of wilderness areas at the rate of 5,000 acres every day, and air and water pollution not directly related to drilling or other industrial use, but population growth fuels many of the pressures on wilderness.

The 2010 census reported the current population of the U.S. at 308 million people and growth is projected to reach the one billion mark by 2100. Right now our population density of 84 people per square mile is one of the lowest in the world, ranking us alongside The Bahamas, a group of watery islands and Brazil, home of the expansive Amazon Jungle.

Major cities are home to 90 percent of the population in both of those countries leaving vast natural areas free of development. It's different here in the United States and specifically Colorado, where 75 percent of our population lives in suburbs or rural areas. The way we are planning and building for growth is the chief threat to wilderness.

Mike Kephart lives in Denver. EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.

National Park Service Director Takes Chair Of North American Wilderness Committee

2011-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis has taken over as chair of the North American Wilderness Committee, an international organization focused on boosting wilderness conservation.

The committee is a coalition of seven U.S., Canadian, and Mexican federal land management agencies. It was established to "foster collaboration to ensure conservation, management and recovery of North American wilderness and other protected land- and seascapes; contribute to conserving the ecosystem integrity of wilderness in North America; help stakeholders achieve effective, efficient, and mutually beneficial wilderness conservation in North America; and foster communication regarding the management, conservation, and sustainable use of wilderness," a Park Service release said.

“This is an opportunity for the National Park Service to continue its leadership role in worldwide conservation and preservation,” Director Jarvis said. “National parks were America’s best idea, and that idea is one of our finest exports. We share habitats and species with our neighbors in Canada and Mexico and we face common challenges. This North American Wilderness Committee will help us face those challenges together.”

The committee came to being in late 2009. During its first 18 months of its work focused on transboundary cooperation, training, networking, ecosystem services, marine wilderness and monitoring. In the year ahead, agency staff plans to "cooperate and collaborate around issues of climate change, connectivity and monitoring, and the values of protected areas," the release said.

The other American committee members are Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management; Greg Siekaniec, assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and; Joel Holtrop, deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

The Mexican and Canadian committee members are Mariana Bellot Rojas, director general, Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas, Mexico; and Alan Latourelle, chief executive officer, Parks Canada Agency.

Desolation Wilderness permits now available online

2011-05-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (AP) --

Visitors to California's popular Desolation Wilderness Area near Lake Tahoe now will be able to make overnight permit reservations online.

The U.S. Forest Service says it no longer will accept permit reservations over the phone, through the mail or by fax. The agency also will no longer mail reserved permits.

The 64,000-acre wilderness area is located in both the agency's Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

The number of people allowed daily in various zones of the wilderness is regulated during the summer by a quota system.

Fifty percent of the quota in each zone is available for advanced reservations between Memorial Day weekend and Sept. 30.

The remaining quota is available on a first-come, first-served basis at permit offices on the date of entry.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/20/state/n182320D28.DTL#ixzz1NHAun9hS

Proposed legislation threatens wilderness - Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act

2011-05-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

Published on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:08 AM PDT

Christopher Lancette
From the Kern Valley Sun

The Wilderness Society recently condemned the introduction of a bill by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that would roll back existing protections and place at risk tens of millions more acres of wilderness-quality but unprotected National Forest and BLM public lands.

“This is the biggest attack on wilderness we have seen in the history of The Wilderness Society,” Wilderness Society policy analyst Paul Spitler said of the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act.

“This proposal flies in the face of values Americans hold dear with respect to stewardship of our public lands. It also flies in the face of nearly 50 years of legislation designating new wilderness areas. Your favorite places where you love to hunt, fish or hike? Gone. Protection for our drinking water and habitat for wildlife? Gone.”

If passed, this legislation would open wilderness-caliber lands to destructive threats, including oil and gas development, uncontrolled off-road vehicle use and other unchecked development. It would essentially prohibit the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management from managing pristine lands to protect their wilderness values.

“I want to stress that there has never been enough funding for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to to hire adequate personnel to monitor and provide adequate on-site surveillance of our wilderness area and our precious resources,” added Kernville resident Robin Little.

“The Congressman (McCarthy) should talk to Forest Service and BLM people who do their best to keep an eye on these folks and see first hand the unbelieveable damage they do when they blaze their own trails throughout the forests,” she said. “Talk about cost? Again, unbelieveable. Rebuilding these damaged areas is not good use of our taxes. We would appreciate hearing what the estimated cost of opening up Wilderness areas for multiple use purposes would be,” Little said.

“That this proposal comes from the Republican leadership in Congress makes it more alarming,” Spitler said. “An attack of this magnitude does not represent the vision of Theodore Roosevelt or all the other great Republican leaders who love our public lands.”

In an April 18 op-ed piece, the Bakersfield Californian attacked the proposal writing, “Perhaps most alarming, the bill essentially declares, ‘OK, that's enough wilderness.’ By prohibiting future administrations from protecting wilderness-caliber lands with special designations, the bill essentially closes the door on any further land-use changes relative to wilderness protection – except to move them out of protected status.”

Background on the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act

Rep. McCarthy’s bill would:

1. Remove existing legislative protections from millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management “Wilderness Study Areas.”

2. Remove existing protections on tens of millions of acres of unroaded national forest wild lands by terminating a decade-old policy that protected those places.

3. Repeal recent BLM policy that assures the agency will identify and protect lands harboring wilderness values when it prepares its land use plans.

4. Prohibit future administrations from ever protecting the wilderness characteristics on tens of millions of acres of wilderness-caliber lands.

A federal judge awarded $1.95 million to the family of a young boy killed in a 2007 bear attack

2011-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

This could have a huge ripple effect across all federally managed lands, and wilderness in particular where sometimes potential dangers (animals, weather, rock fall, wild rivers, etc.) are part of the experience.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

A federal judge on May 3rd awarded $1.95 million to the family of a young boy killed in a 2007 bear attack.

Samuel Ives, 11, was camping in American Fork Canyon with his mother, step-father and brother when he was ripped from his family’s tent and killed by a black bear on the night of June 17, 2007.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball said the U.S. Forest Service was required to warn the family that a dangerous animal was on the loose in canyon after reports that a bear had opened coolers and slashed through a tent in the area earlier that day.

Ives’ family "proved by a preponderance of evidence" that the Forest Service owed them a duty "to warn them about the earlier incident, whether the warning was oral, by posting signs on the gate of Timpooneke Road 56, and/or by roping off the specific campsite," Kimball wrote.

The boy’s grandmother, Sharon Ives, said Tuesday that her family was "thrilled" with the ruling and happy to put the lawsuit behind them.

"It’s hard enough to lose somebody in a violent manner," she said, "but to have to keep going through it and reliving it — it’s a nightmare."

Sharon Ives said Sam’s parents filed the lawsuit "to prevent this from happening to anybody else."

"Sam was always concerned about everybody else and we thought he would want this," she said. "Money doesn’t bring him back. We think about him every day."

Read the full article here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51744749-78/family-bear-forest-ives.html.csp?page=1

GPS fails again...

2011-05-16T08:37:00.001-07:00

As more and more wilderness visitors rely on GPS units to guide them, the traditional skills of map and compass are being lost.

From a recent article in Times of India:

Travelers in the western US should not rely solely on technology such as GPS for navigation, authorities said, after a Canadian couple were lost in the Nevada wilderness for 48 days.

Albert Chretien, 59, and his wife Rita Chretien, 56, sought a shorter route between Boise, Idaho and Jackpot, Nevada during a road trip from British Columbia to Las Vegas.

Rita Chretien drank water from a stream and rationed meager supplies until hunters found her on Friday. Albert Chretien has been missing since March 22, when he went to seek help.

The Chretians mapped the route on their hand-held GPS, an electronic device tied to global satellites and commonly used for navigation.

Law enforcement and search and rescue officials said that too many travelers are letting technology lull them into a false sense of security.

"There are times when you need to put the GPS down and look out the window," said Howard Paul, veteran search and rescue official with the Colorado Search and Rescue Board, the volunteer organization that coordinates that state's missions.

Sheriff's offices in remote, high-elevation parts of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming report the past two years have brought a rise in the number of GPS-guided travelers driving off marked and paved highways and into trouble.

The spike has prompted Death Valley National Park in California to caution on its web site that "GPS navigation to sites to remote locations like Death Valley are notoriously unreliable."

When two roads diverge in Western lands, take the one more traveled, authorities said.

"You've got people driving into the middle of a field because a machine showed a route that was shorter and quicker -- which it ultimately is not," said Rob DeBree, undersheriff in Albany County in southeastern Wyoming.

Searching for travelers who veer off an interstate highway in a county the size of Connecticut can be costly, time-consuming and dangerous for rescuers, he said.

Jerry Colson, sheriff of neighboring Carbon County, issued a broad appeal this winter to stay on paved roadways after several motorists consulted GPS devices for shortcuts and plowed into snowdrifts on roads to nowhere.

Authorities said such incidents show there is no substitute for common sense.

"Your machine may tell you the quickest route but it might not take into account there are impassable canyons between you and your destination," said Daryl Crandall, sheriff of Owyhee County in southwest Idaho.

Kevin McKinney, detective sergeant with the sheriff's office in Elko County, Nevada that is heading up the search for Albert Chretien, said motorists risk hardships on the patchwork of primitive roads in the wilds of northern Nevada where technology is ineffective.

"This country is as rugged and as unforgiving as you can get," he said.

Controlled Burn Causes Dispute

2011-04-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Fire is an occurrence that can be dangerous or beneficial depending on the circumstances, according to the National Park Service.

As the Park Service plans to implement prescribed burning in wilderness areas this spring, some environmental officials are skeptical.

The Park Service plans controlled fires at Fort Union, Knife River and the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is an area federally, defined as “wilderness,” said TRNP Chief of Resource Management Bill Whitworth.

The federal Wilderness Act defines wilderness as a piece of land that generally seems to have been primarily affected by nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable.

Zone Fire Management Officer Beth Card of the U.S. Forest Service in Dickinson has assisted the Park Service during past burns and she said there can be some conflict about burning in wilderness areas.

“Some people feel that in a wilderness area you should let it alone to do its own thing, other people feel wilderness areas need to be managed,” she said. “It depends on

perspective.”

TRNP Fire Management officer Rod Skalsky said burning helps to release nutrients and if managed carefully can be a useful tool.

“Prescribed burns certainly have a place in wilderness under certain conditions,” Skalsky said. “There is a lot of flexibility in the definition of wilderness.”

Whitworth said that all fire was extinguished in this area for most of the 20th century because people were entrenched in the tradition that fire was dangerous, and now using prescribed burns will help to return the area to a more natural state.

“The intent of wilderness is to minimize the footprint of man and allow natural processes to take place — fire being one of those processes,” he said. “The problem with fire in this state and others is that it has been suppressed for many decades. Wilderness needs to be wild and it is not wild if you inhibit the natural processes.”

However, Minot State University Professor of Science Ron Royer said it seems counterintuitive to create something natural using man-made processes.

“If a fire occurred naturally in the area, my understanding is we would let it have its way if it did not pose a risk, but to bring it in and introduce it intentionally and artificially seems to be counter to the mission and idea of wilderness,” Royer said Tuesday.

The Park Service’s fire management plan was completed in the late 1990s and was revised in 2008, Whitworth said, adding that each scheduled burn has its own management plan that undergoes a regional office review and technical review.

Card said the Park Service’s fire management plan allows natural fires to burn if they are watched closely, but that has not happened in more than a decade. Usually the conditions aren’t right, she said.

Senior Wilderness Campaign director for the Wilderness Society Bart Koehler was concerned that natural fire was being replaced, instead of supplemented, by prescribed fire.

“Natural fires and prescribed fires both have their place in wilderness and both should be used in wise and careful management scenarios,” he said. “It needs to be managed in a case by case basis.”

Card said conditions are usually too dangerous.

“In this area, with the fuels we have it is much more difficult,” Card said. “When you are using wildfire as a tool to accomplish some sort of goal or objective, you have to have some time to do some planning so you can control it when you need to.”

When planning a burn, the environmental circumstances must fall within a predetermined range for moisture level, smoke dispersal, wind, temperature and humidity before a burn will be initiated, Card said.

Burns are always done with a specific purpose, Card said. She added that quite often they are used to reduce heavy buildup of flammable vegetation under circumstances that are safe.

“We go in under conditions we choose instead of having it burn in August when it is 95 degrees and 35 mile per hour winds,” She said. “So it reduces hazard fuels, which reduces fire danger in the area.”

Skalsky said that other goals may be to restore native prairie grasses, change soil composition to promote growth of new plants, reduce noxious weeds and exotic plants and alter grazing patterns.

Royer is concerned about the smaller influences in the ecosystem that may be affected.

“We know about wolves and cougars and elk, but we don’t pay attention to critters that are just as important ecologically, but not as conspicuous and in some cases not even yet known,” he said commenting on invertebrates in the area. “There are thousands upon thousands of other organisms we don’t know very well. There could be some species that are unique to that area that would be lost forever.”

Whitworth said that the Park Service strives for patchy burns to promote the retention of the current ecosystem in burned areas.

Skalsky said Thursday, if conditions are right, the burns could commence next week.

Forest Service battles invasive weeds in Boundary Waters

2011-04-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Superior National Forest officials on Monday asked for public comments on a new plan to battle invasive species on land in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The plan is to attack the invading plants at critical spots using herbicides, people power and education.

While its remote location has helped keep the relative abundance of invasive plant species down in the BWCAW, the Forest Service has identified about 1,000 known sites totaling 13 acres for treatment in St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties within the 1.1 million-acre wilderness.

Most of the problem spots are near campsites and portages, indicating the plants probably moved in as seeds by hitchhiking with unsuspecting campers.

Invading species can choke out native plants and can affect entire ecosystems, including wildlife that is dependent on native species.

For more information on the plan, or to comment, go to www.fs.usda.gov/superior, and select Land and Resource Management” then “Projects.” Look for “BWCAW Non-native Invasive Plan Management Project.”

Meanwhile, the National Park Service also plans to attack invasive species on land in the Upper Midwest and is forming a plan likely to be released later this year or in 2012. A regional plan would affect Voyageurs National Park, Apostles Islands National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park.

From the http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

Wilderness Stewardship Plan - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

2011-04-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

A meeting will be held 6-8 p.m. on Friday, April 29, on development of a Wilderness Stewardship Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (WSP/EIS) to guide existing and future wilderness use and management at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The meeting will be held at the Tulare County Office of Education “The Pit” at 2637 W. Burrel Ave. in Visalia.

A a presentation by National Park Service staff will kick off the meeting, then attendees will be able to meet with staff to discuss issues of interest.

Similar meetings are planned for Fresno, Oakland Los Angeles and Bishop.

All written comments must be transmitted, postmarked, or hand-delivered within 90 days of the date the “Notice of Intent” is published in the Federal Register. People can respond electronically via the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/sekiwild.

Or, written comments can be mailed to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Attn: Wilderness Stewardship Plan, 47050 Generals Highway, Three Rivers, CA 93271. Faxed comments will be accepted at 565-4202. Written comments will also be accepted at the public meetings.

For more information about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, visit www.nps.gov/seki.

Raw Material

2011-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Wilderness is the raw material out of which man has hammered the artifact called civilization."

-- Aldo Leopold

Wilderness Wildfire At Buffalo National River

2011-04-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

PONCA, Ark. (AP) — The National Park Service says firefighters are battling a forest fire in a wilderness area of the Buffalo National River in north Arkansas.

A news release said that the fire Thursday was human-caused, and under investigation.

The park service said the blaze was in the Ponca Wilderness Area northeast of the Newton County community of that name. That wilderness area includes some of the most spectacular features of the park, including Big Bluff and the Hemmed-in Hollow waterfall.

The agency said U.S. Forest Service crews were fighting the fire, along with personnel of the Compton Volunteer Fire Department. The release said two trails in the wilderness area were closed to hiking because of the fire — the Center Point trail to Sneed Creek and the Chimney Rock trail.

Threats to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

2011-04-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

When campers in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness look up on a clear night, they expect to see spectacular starry skies, the Milky Way, maybe even the Northern Lights. They don't expect to see a flashing red light from the top of a cellphone tower.

That's why Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness is going to court today to try to block ATT's plan to build a 450-foot tower near the edge of the wilderness area on Minnesota's border with Ontario.

The envirinmental groupsays the flashing lights would be visible from several BWCA lakes and waterways.

ATT Mobility LLC counters that one tall tower rather than the alternative of two smaller ones would do the best job of extending cellphone service to residents and cabins east of the gateway town of Ely and allow paddlers in remote areas to call for help.

The trial before Hennepin County District Judge Philip Bush is expected to last most of the week. The case will hinge on whether the proposed tower would violate the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. It lets citizens sue to protect to natural resources that are in danger of being impaired. Also at issue will be whether federal laws on wireless services trump state law.

Letter from new Board Chair - Roger Semler

2011-04-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Roger Semler, new Society for Wilderness Stewardship Board Chair
April 7, 2011

I am honored to serve as the Society for Wilderness Stewardship as Board Chair. I accept this role knowing that I am stepping into some very large “hiking boots” worn since the inception of SWS by Don Hunger, our outgoing Chair. The mission of SWS has been strongly influenced by Don’s vision and passion for Wilderness; and it has been a great privilege to work with Don since I joined the Society. Fortunately for SWS, Don will continue to support our mission as a Board Chair Emeritus!

My passion for Wilderness stewardship flourished during my 26-year career with the National Park Service. Highlights of that career included serving as the first Wilderness Manager for Glacier National Park and the Chief of Operations at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, where I retired in 2003.

Retirement from the interagency wilderness management community left a huge void in both my personal and professional interests and identity. SWS has helped fill that gap. I believe our mission represents a noble cause, which can energize wilderness professionals and foster improved stewardship of America’s wilderness resource. I am committed to fulfilling that mission.

SWS is a growing organization that requires the help of wilderness professionals around the country in order to succeed. That help can come in a variety of forms: future service as a Board or committee member; support through a personal or organizational membership; and through generous financial or in-kind contributions. All of those types of support will help SWS build capacity and provide value and service to our members.

In the near future the Society’s Biennial Business Plan that will guide our activities and initiatives through 2012 will be posted on our website. Highlights of this plan include but are not limited to an initiative to establish a wilderness ranger skills academy, a concept which I have personally envisioned for many years; the development of a senior wilderness mentor program; an initiative to address wilderness management job classifications; and our support of a Wilderness character-monitoring project on the White River National Forest in Colorado.

I invite all current and prospective members to review our committee descriptions and business plan and provide valuable feedback and suggestions to me or any Board member. Your input is vital to our understanding and better serving the needs of our members and the community of wilderness professionals.

Sincerely,
Roger Semler
Helena, MT

Society for Wilderness Stewardship – Chair’s Letter

2011-04-05T07:15:00.001-07:00

Society for Wilderness Stewardship – Chair’s Letter
Don Hunger
April 5, 2011

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship (SWS) began as a vision for building a community of wilderness professionals working in management, stewardship, science and education. At the heart of our mission, we saw the need for true public-private partnership founded in caring for the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS). We were committed to melding the preeminent expertise, knowledge and resources among the private sector and federal agencies to ensure its life-sustaining benefits for future generations.

As a career wilderness professional with both USFS and non-profits, I knew neither community had all the resources or expertise, but together we’d develop a mission and core responsibilities for supporting wilderness, and benefiting the public. I was blessed with a community of like-minded and passionate colleagues who felt the same way.

During my six years as chair, we have researched and invested in wilderness stewardship, management and youth. SWS has developed and launched a wilderness friends program combating invasive weeds, restoring trails and educating visitors in the USFS Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness; started a wilderness education and stewardship program for disadvantaged youth called North Cascades Wild, in North Cascades NP; hosted wilderness trail and restoration skills workshops; and, most recently, undertaken a Forest Service wilderness character monitoring program in Colorado; participated in the launch of the Wilderness Explorer’s Program for youth in Missoula; and begun work on a wilderness ranger academy.

The Society would not exist without the contributions of past and current board members. This is working board, with members providing financial contribution, knowledge and significant time, while also holding full-time jobs. It’s been a privilege to serve with Dr. John Miles, faculty and former dean of Huxley College, WWU; Brad Tuininga, UW doctoral candidate; John Steffenson, ESRI; Craig Mackey, Outdoor Industry Association; Saul Weisberg, executive director North Cascades Institute; Connie Myers, director Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center; Ralph Swain, USFS R2 wilderness coordinator: Greg Hansen, retired USFS wilderness; and others.

We know that wilderness needs a community. SWS is building one of like-minded individuals willing and able to envision an inter-disciplinary society that supports agency managers, wilderness scientists and researchers, non-profit wilderness educators working with school kids, volunteer organizations working on recreation and resource stewardship, and university faculty teaching wilderness-related studies. What the NWPS has lacked is the same professional commitment harnessed by the members of professional societies such as the Society of American Foresters, River Management Society and Society of Wetland Scientists. During the past few years, SWS has built a foundation for that community.

I leave the Society for Wilderness Stewardship under the excellent leadership and guidance of Roger Semler, chair, and Ben Lawhon, vice chair. Roger has served as SWS chair of the Professional Development Committee and on the Executive Committee. He recently retired from a NPS career in which he specialized in wilderness management. Ben is education director for Leave No Trace. He brings a passion and knowledge for connecting wilderness professionals with SWS and our mission.

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship is poised to establish its role in the wilderness community. It’s an honor to have served with this dynamic group of caring, inspiring, knowledgeable and committed professionals. The years ahead afford SWS an opportunity to boldly influence and support wilderness. I look forward to continued involvement with a great organization.

Don

Society Board Retreat in Missoula a Success!

2011-03-26T09:08:00.001-07:00

The Society had a great reception in Missoula last night with a broad cross section of the wilderness community in attendance. Folks from the USFS, Wilderness Watch, The University of Montana, The National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, The Leopold Institute, The Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation and many others came out and met the Society board and learned what the Society is undertaking in 2011/12. Thanks to all those who came out to meet the Society board, and for your support of this organization.

Buffalo in the Eagle Cap Wilderness?

2011-03-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

ENTERPRISE, Ore. (AP) -- A herd of buffalo numbering about 25 animals is roaming free on the northern fringe of the Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeastern Oregon.

Landowners tell The Oregonian newspaper the herd has been producing calves in the wild since escaping from a ranch along the Wallowa River about eight years ago.

But, the paper said, no landowner has taken responsibility for them.

Under Oregon law, the buffalo are considered private property and domestic animals -- like peacocks or llamas.

The buffalo generally stay in a remote spot, well away from people. So far, bison and humans haven't had major conflict, except that sometimes the buffalo eat hay that horse owners truck in to a trailhead.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Seeking Public Input on Wilderness Stewardship Plan

2011-03-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is initiating a combined Backcountry/Wilderness Stewardship Plan and is seeking public input. The purpose of this plan is to guide the park when making decisions regarding the future use and protection of the park's Congressionally-designated wilderness. This plan will also include the park's backcountry management zone which has been deemed eligible for further wilderness study and is currently managed as wilderness.

Access the planning documents here: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=34722

The relevant information can also be accessed via the Park's website: http://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm

Contact Information:
Michael Haynie: (915) 828-3251 x 2314
michael_haynie@nps.gov

Society for Wilderness Stewardship Reception - Missoula, MT - March 25th

2011-03-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

When: Friday, March 25 at 05:30 PM

Where: Holiday Inn at the Park - Missoula Board Room 200 South Pattee Street Missoula, MT 59802

Please come and join the Missoula wilderness community to learn more about the Society for Wilderness Stewardship in an informal atmosphere. The Society board would like to mingle with you and hear your ideas about priority goals and projects for the Society. Appetizers will be provided and beverages will be available.

Space is limited for this reception so please RSVP to membership@wildernessstewardship.org no later than March 18th.

We'd love to see you in Missoula!

New US Forest Service book calls for new era of parks and wilderness management

2011-03-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

The Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in Missoula today announced the release of a groundbreaking new book, "Beyond Naturalness," which focuses on parks and wilderness management in an era of global change. The book provides a synthesis of current thinking, contributed by experts in this field and offers critical questions, tools and techniques for managing into the future.

This book, subtitled Rethinking Park and Wilderness Stewardship in an Era of Rapid Change, will be the “game-changer of the first decade of the 21st century” says David Harmon, Director of the George Wright Society. The book challenges our perception of what “natural” means. The authors set out a variety of conservation approaches and identify a realm of future management strategies, providing “cutting-edge guidance to address pressing challenges in protected-area conservation,” according to Nikita Lopoukhine, Chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, World Commission on Protected Areas.

The basic premise of Beyond Naturalness, and the very reason why it will spark critical thinking and thought-provoking debates across the nation, is the assertion that the traditional guiding concept for park and wilderness stewardship—preserving naturalness—is no longer the best option in today’s changing world.

“The true value of Beyond Naturalness,” according to Dr. G. Sam Foster, Director of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, “is to move us beyond critiques of current wildland management philosophies and practices. Instead of focusing on what is no longer working, the authors offer a philosophical shift in thinking about natural processes and accompanying management options for the future designed to proactively tackle the challenges that threaten the core physical and spiritual character of these special places.”

This book was collaboratively edited by U.S.D.A. Forest Service and University of Montana researchers, with contributing authors, representing leaders in this field, from the Forest Service; the National Park Service; the U.S. Geological Survey; The Wilderness Society; The Nature Conservancy; Parks Canada; the University of Alaska; the University of California, Santa Cruz; the University of Montana; the University of North Carolina; the University of Western Australia; and the University of Victoria, Canada.

To order copies of Beyond Naturalness please visit the Island Press website at: http://islandpress.org/bookstore/deta...od_id=2013 . Copies are also available at libraries across the nation.

Reposed from the http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/

NLCS "Ask The Experts" Episode 1: Wilderness

2011-03-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wilderness in the news

2011-03-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few days for wilderness in the news. From legislation to proposed wilderness, there is no shortage of wilderness related news.

A few links:

From the Idaho Reporter : Idaho lawmakers tell to feds to back off ‘wild lands’ rules

The Idaho Legislature will send letters to Congress and federal officials saying that Idaho citizens should be involved in any efforts to designate more land in the state as wilderness. The action from lawmakers comes after an order from the Department of the Interior that has been criticized by many Idaho elected officials.

From Madison.com: Get back to nature in Florida wilderness

Winter in South Florida may be the best season to explore the three national parks that surround the region: Everglades, Biscayne and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Cool breezes, the absence of insects and lack of rainfall make hiking and biking more comfortable. Yet there’s still enough water around to enjoy canoeing and kayaking in many areas. These expansive wilderness areas invite visitors to become adventurers — to paddle secluded mangrove creeks, follow trails used by bears and panthers gaze at gators up close, and marvel at a cornucopia of birds that make winter homes here.

From the Mail Tribune: Wild Lands order is a common-sense approach

Americans love the wild places where they hike, fish, hunt, or just take a break from their busy lives, and they expect these lands to be managed wisely on their behalf. At the end of last year, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar laid out a common-sense approach to managing these special places with his Wild Lands policy, established by Secretarial Order 3310.

From the San Diego Union: Diverse support for wilderness bill

The editorial “A wilderness sliced in two” (March 1), advocating for protection of San Diego County’s natural beauty and rugged terrain, was a breath of fresh air. I was equally surprised to read that conservationists, chambers of commerce and local businesses all support Rep. Darrell Issa’s Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act. It’s clear that a bill attracting such diverse support is important to the community. It shows the bill does more than just protect places of beauty. It also boosts our economy by attracting residents and tourists to visit the area.

Society supports youth through Outdoors Explorers Mentor Program

2011-03-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship recently supported a Montana-based program, the Outdoors Explorers Mentor Program, in an effort to continue reaching out to the next generation of wilderness stewards.

From The Missoulain:

Saturday was not the best day to play outdoors.

The forecast high of 21 degrees was less than halfway there, and the previous storm's winds had crusted the snow like Styrofoam. The sky was primer-white, as inviting as an unfinished homework assignment.

So Jenn Lutman wasn't sure what to expect when she invited a dozen Big Brothers Big Sisters pairs and a bunch of University of Montana students to go animal tracking around McCormick Park. Could she lure them away from comfy living rooms, video games and a trip to the mall?

A bit to her surprise, the offer to brave the cold in search of critter signs earned a resounding "yes" at Saturday's first Outdoors Explorers Mentor Program gathering. After a quick lesson in track and gait identification from the Montana Natural History Center's Tina Hanke, everyone dressed for wind chill and headed for an irrigation ditch to see what they could find.
"Just getting them connected with their own backyard is really important," explained Lutman, who is interning with the federal Arthur Carhart Natural Wilderness Training Center at UM. "Then we can get more kids in the woods."

It sounds like something out of President Barack Obama's new America's Great Outdoors initiative, except the Outdoors Explorers idea was actually in the works before the national program was announced last week. Carhart director Connie Myers said this pilot effort could be the model the rest of the country could borrow.

Kids jump at Natural History Center invitation to get out and explore

Read the full article here: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_17d01020-4232-11e0-a71f-001cc4c002e0.html

For more information about Outdoors Explorers and the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, contact Jenn Lutman at (406) 243-4601 or go to www.wilderness.net.

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship wants your input!

2011-03-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship is seeking feedback from both current members and partners as well as potential members and partners. As a professional society, we desire to meet the needs of our membership while advancing the profession of wilderness stewardship. Your input is invaluable as the Society and we hope you'll take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts:

http://s-80f831-i.sgizmo.com/s3/i-000000-141342/

Thanks for your support of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship and, perhaps more importantly, of wilderness. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please Welcome New Board Member - Tom Carlson

2011-02-28T11:08:00.001-08:00

Tom Carlson, former USDA Forest Service Representative for the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center from 2002 - 2010, recently became the newest member of the Society's Board of Directors. Tom has a venerable history with wilderness, and brings years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to the Society.

Most recently, Tom focused on developing and implementing interagency training courses and workshops, identifying and responding to wilderness information needs, and supporting wilderness education efforts. Tom was also involved with developing content for Wilderness.net such as the on-line ‘toolboxes’, and revising and implementing the Wilderness Distance Education Program training courses, He was a member of the Forest Service Chief’s Wilderness Advisory Group and the Wilderness Information Management Steering Team. Prior to his last position, Tom worked as a Wilderness Manager on the Eagle Cap Ranger District/Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and on several national forests in Oregon, Colorado, and Wyoming.

Tom, a forestry grad from the University of Minnesota worked on a number of wilderness projects while at the Carhart Center, including:

Developing a visitor use capacity determination guide for wilderness.
Planning and implementing classroom and field training courses for line officers and staff.
Developing and delivering new on-line training courses in Visitor Use Management and Natural and Cultural Resource Management
Assisting Washington Office Staff and field managers with achievement of the 10 Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge and preparing new policy for current wilderness management issues.

Past positions that Tom has held include:

Recreation Forester, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, Ft. Co0llins. CO, 1978-1988
Recreation Technician, Deschutes National Forest, Bend, OR, 1988-1990
Recreation Planner, Willamette National Forest, Sweet Home. OR, 1990-1992
Recreation and Wilderness Manager, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Enterprise, OR, 1992-2002

"I joined the Society for Wilderness Stewardship because I agree with the mission and goals," said Tom. "There has long been a need to support the professionals who manage and contribute to management of wilderness in the same way that other professional societies have. I want to help grow the Society and assist it to become an influential organization for wilderness."

Researcher: Forests will bounce back from beetles

2011-02-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

From the Associated Press:

ASPEN, Colo.—Western forests are already showing signs of a comeback amid a bark beetle epidemic that has killed millions of lodgepole pines in Colorado and Wyoming, a researcher says.

Greg Aplet, senior forest scientist at The Wilderness Society, told a weekend conference in Aspen that forests that have been attacked by bark beetles will eventually bounce back with more diversity in the ages and species of trees.

But Aplet said it may not happen in the lifetime of anyone alive today, The Aspen Times reported.

An aerial survey by the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service showed the epidemic has spread across 4 million acres of trees in Colorado and Wyoming, devastating entire forests in Colorado's Summit, Grand and Eagle counties.

The lack of variety in today's forests is a remnant of the mining era, when mountainsides were stripped bare of their vegetation and used for fuel, Aplet said.

Lodgepole pines then proved to be especially resilient and competitive when they spread through the West in the wake of the fires and droughts that wiped out what was left of the greenery.

Studies have shown that 80 percent of lodgepole trees in Colorado were all around the same age before succumbing to the beetles.

But the drought that struck in the previous decade weakened trees of all types and laid the foundation for an intense and severe beetle epidemic, Aplet said.

He said climate change has also contributed to the problem, with warmer temperatures allowing beetles to infest more varieties of trees in higher elevations.

Lodgepoles have withstood epidemics before and won't disappear from the Rockies, Aplet said. He said he is optimistic that spruces and firs will eventually replace the dead lodgepole population.

The Four Cornerstones of Wilderness Stewardship

2011-02-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Four Cornerstones of Wilderness Stewardship

The Four Cornerstones were developed by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center to help implement law and agency policy and to repackage the management principles to address the evolving issues of wilderness management. They represent the essence of wilderness management by reflecting the types of decisions that managers commonly have to make.

1. Manage wilderness as a whole.

AnneMarie LaRosa, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, AK: USFWS

2. Preserve wildness and natural conditions.

Jim Kenna, Palm Springs Field Office, CA: BLM

3. Protect wilderness benefits.

Jim Bedwell, Mt. Evans Wilderness, CO: USFS

4. Provide and use the minimum necessary.

Maureen Finnerty, Marjory Stoneman Dougles Wilderness (Everglades NP), FL: NPS

This information is excerpted from a document contained within Wilderness Fundamentals Toolbox on Wilderness.net. Since other related resources found in this toolbox may be of interest, you can visit this toolbox by visiting the following URL: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=awareness. All toolboxes are products of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center.

Climate Change Hits Alaskan Wilderness

2011-02-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

National Parks in Alaska, many of which include significant chunks of wilderness, are being reshaped by climate changes. In many ways, this could fundamentally change the way that parks, and the wilderness areas in those parks, are managed. A recent article in Reuters looks at how the National Park Service is monitoring climate change in Alaskan national parks.

From the article:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Thawing permafrost triggers mudslides on a road traveled by busloads of sightseers. Tall bushes on the tundra block panoramic views and the rapid melting of glaciers poses new flood risks.

These are just a few of the ways a rapidly warming climate is reshaping Denali, Kenai Fjords and other national parks -- the crown jewels of Alaska's heritage as America's last frontier.

These and some better-known impacts -- proliferation of invasive plants and fish, greater frequency and intensity of wildfires, and declines in wildlife populations that depend on sea ice and glaciers -- are outlined in a recent National Park Service report.
Since the mid-1970s, Alaska has warmed at three times the rate of the Lower 48 states, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And with nearly two-thirds of U.S. national parkland located in Alaska, the issue of climate change is especially pressing there, officials say.

In some far northern parks such as Gates of the Arctic, average temperatures are expected to shift in coming years from below freezing to above freezing, crossing a crucial threshold, said Bob Winfree, Alaska science adviser for the Park Service.

Read the full article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_alaska_climate

USDA Forest Service Chief on Sustainable Recreation

2011-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

For more information, visit: http://prdp2fs.ess.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5270170.pdf

Wilderness Manager's Meeting for the Intermountian Region - USFS Region 4

2011-02-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

Prior to the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance National Meeting, wilderness managers from the Intermountain Region (R4) will be meeting in Las Vegas, March 8th - 10th, 2011. This meeting will cover a variety of wilderness stewardship issues as well as program information useful for agency employees and wilderness stewards. Wilderness Stewardship groups are invited to send a representative or drop in for any topics of interest on the agenda. For planning purposes, please contact Randy Welsh, 801-625-5250 or rwelsh@fs.fed.us to let him know of your possible attendance.

Death by GPS

2011-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

As the use of handheld global positioning system (GPS) units has exploded over the past several years, so to have the number of wilderness visitors who've gotten themselves into serious trouble as a result of incorrect directions. Add this to the list of issues that wilderness managers are dealing with on a sometimes daily basis. An article on Foxnews.com explored how these issues are affecting managers at both Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. It has reached a point at Death Valley where managers had to add a disclaimer to their website regarding the use of GPS units:

While GPS technology and the availability of handheld units has increased recreational opportunities, it's also given less experienced outdoor enthusiasts a false sense of security. Couple that with cell phones (or the belief that one can get out of trouble with a quick phone call to 911) and it's a recipe for trouble.

To read the full article, visit: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/04/death-gps-rise/

Wilderness vs. wilderness study area - what's the difference?

2011-02-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

As stewards of wilderness, it's incumbent upon us to help tell the story of wilderness, why it exist and what it provides in terms of life-sustaining benefits. As someone who's been involved in wilderness conservation, stewardship, education and management for many years, I know firsthand just how few in the recreating public understand the differences in wilderness, wilderness study area or even backcountry. To many, these are all just "the outdoor" or "nature" - a place to escape the day to day grind. However, when you drill down into the specifics, things can get complicated.

The wilderness stewardship community simply has to do a better job of telling the story of wilderness in addition to supporting proper stewardship and management of existing wilderness.

A recent article in the Macon County News, based in Franklin, NC, explored the ramifications of moving from a wilderness study area designation to congressionally designated wilderness. From the article:

The issue will likely be raised again at the next meeting of the board on Tuesday, but at this point, commissioners say it is still unclear how the change in designation from Wilderness Study Area to Wilderness Area, which requires an act of Congress, would change the way the area is managed. Any resolution passed by the commissioners would be non-binding, but would be forwarded on to Congressman Heath Shuler (D) for his consideration.

The Overflow Wilderness Study Area is a 3,200 acre tract of land in Blue Valley, south of Highlands, N.C. Several conservation groups, as well as the Town of Highlands, are advocating that it be renamed and reassigned as the Bob Zahner Wilderness area.

The 3,200 acre tract of land in Blue Valley was first established as a Wilderness Study Area in 1984 with the passage of North Carolina’s last wilderness bill. Overflow Creek feeds into the headwaters of the Chattooga River. The study area includes areas of old-growth, hardwood forest, and is a rich, diverse habitat for the region’s flora and fauna.

Read the full article here: http://www.maconnews.com/outdoors/295-commissioners-unclear-on-significance-of-wilderness-designation

Lawsuit accuses Forest Service of ducking its own rules on off-road vehicles use

2011-02-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

From the Colorado Independent:

Few things get Coloradans as riled up as access to our public lands. The debate tends to rage on numerous fronts, but by far the most contentious battles are fought over off-road vehicle access: where, when, how and when is enough enough?

Officials with the Pike-San Isabel National Forest in southern-central Colorado touched off a powder keg of controversy recently when they issued a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) that conservationists say includes more than 500 miles of illegal roads and tracks – or “rogue” trails – formed by all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or motorcycles over the years.

The groups filed suit last week in U.S. District Court alleging the U.S. Forest Service failed to properly vet the roads for environmental impacts, including their potential effect on endangered species and other recreational activities such as hiking and biking.

Represented by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the groups include the Quiet Use Coalition, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Center for Native Ecosystems, Wildlands CPR and The Wilderness Society. The groups also say the roads were added without any public input.

Critics claim that the more than 800 trails, roads and tracks will only add to a USFS maintenance and upgrade backlog on the existing network in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, which is in the top 10 most popular national forests in the United States. The Forest Service is currently $16 million behind in just maintaining existing roads, the groups claim.

“I’m really upset because this forest means so much to me and my family,” Quiet Use Coalition President Alan Heald said in a release “Everyone knows that this forest’s management and enforcement of [off-road vehicles] has been lackadaisical for decades. But now, instead of utilizing the new rules to rein it in, they are attempting to officially lock in the decades of illegal use without a public and environmental process.”

Heald is an avid hiker who says he has dealt with years of off-road vehicle trespass problems around his family’s mining claim in the Pike-San Isabel.

Off-road vehicle groups in other parts of the state have battled with lower-impact forest users over inclusion of new public lands in wilderness proposals in the White River National Forest, where the Hidden Gems proposal sparked heated debate in recent years.

A watered down version of that proposal was proposed by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, in the last session of Congress. Its fate remains uncertain in the current Republican-controlled House.

And for years now Colorado has been working through a laborious process to craft its own rules for managing federal public lands designated as “roadless” areas. The state is seeking certain exemptions for ski area expansion and extractive industries such as gas drilling and logging.

Some Western Counties Feel They Have Enough Wilderness

2011-01-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

Over the past several weeks, there have been county commissioners from a number of western states who feel that their respective counties have enough land designated as wilderness. Many people feel that wilderness designations "tie up land" indefinitely, as well as restrict development of resources at the local level. A new wildlands initiative announced recently by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that requires the Bureau of Land Management to inventory property for possible designation as wildlands, which has created a stir in counties such as Iron County in Utah.

To read more about the issue, visit: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51146802-76/county-wilderness-management-plan.html.csp

New NPS Director's Order Could Affect Climbing Regulations in Wilderness

2011-01-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

Rocky Mountain National Park in north central Colorado is a fairly recent addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System. While the park was managed as wilderness for many years, it's relatively new wilderness designation 2009 has park managers exploring new options for managing use and impacts from climbing. A recent article in the http://www.coloradoan.com/ details steps that the National Park Service (NPS) is taking in order to operate in compliance with NPS wilderness guidelines...

"The NPS is taking public comments through March 10 on Director's Order 41, which governs how the agency manages wilderness areas within the 394 units of the National Park Service. The order mandates "clean climbing" and Leave No Trace techniques, which encourage the use of temporary equipment and anchors that can be removed from rock faces without altering them. At Rocky Mountain National Park, the order could mean the park might eventually implement a permitting system for the installation of fixed anchors within the park's 249,000 acres of designated wilderness, Chief Ranger Mark Magnuson said."

Read the full article here: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20110128/NEWS01/101280322/Park-Service-seeks-comment-on-change-to-climbing-rules

Wilderness permit system goes online

2011-01-27T06:52:00.000-08:00

At least one wilderness area requiring permits has shifted from hand-processing applications to a more streamlined and efficient online application process. The Enchantments Lakes Basin area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington's Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will shift to the new system in February.

For more than 20 years the ranger district has processed annual applications, now numbering in the thousands annually. The online reservation system is operated by the National Recreation Reservation Service at www.recreation.gov and is faster and offers more security, according to the news release. Details are still being worked out, but there should still be a "walk-in" lottery for day-of-entry permits for backpackers at the ranger station in Leavenworth. (Day hikers can get free permits at trailheads.) The on-line system will provide area information and alerts to notify people as their trips draw near about special conditions such as wildfires.

Because so many wilderness enthusiasts, and recreationists in general, use the internet these days for everything from information gathering to trip planning to obtaining maps, this is a logical extension of this existing use. Not only is the system far more efficient, it's timely in that wilderness managers are more stretched than ever in terms of staffing resources.

This is the kind of "new school" wilderness management tool that could prove useful across the agency spectrum in the future.

Not your typical wilderness stewards...or are they?

2011-01-24T14:54:00.001-08:00

Have you ever heard of Great Old Broads for Wilderness? Their mission states that "Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a national organization that uses the voices and activism of elders to preserve and protect wilderness and wild public lands."

Based in Durango, Colorado, the Broads brand of advocacy ranges from education to litigation. They’ve been called the “evidence gathering arm of wilderness advocacy” as well as “the fun bunch.”

The organization was recently highlighted in an article in the Silver City Sun-News:

SILVER CITY - A great group of old broads is getting together Saturday morning to host a wolf parade through downtown Silver City to raise awareness about the plight of the endangered Mexican Gray Wolf and declaring 2011 "The Year of the Mexican Wolf."

They don't mind being called "old broads" - that's what they call themselves, as a local chapter of the national organization, Great Old Broads for Wilderness. The national group seeks to use "the voices and activism of elders to preserve and protect wilderness and wild public lands," its website states.

Saturday's wolf parade, followed by an education session and then an early evening gathering, will be the local chapter's first event.

Read the full article here: http://www.scsun-news.com/ci_17155048?source=most_viewed

Air Quality in Wilderness

2011-01-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- A group of environmentalists has sued the federal government in an effort to force a declaration on the source of air pollution over national parks and wilderness areas in the West.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, contends that emissions from two coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Nation and a third in Washington state have obscured views at places like the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde and Mount Rainier.

The nine groups have accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Interior Department of unreasonably delaying a response to petitions for formal certification of visibility impairment.

"If DOI and DOA were to grant plaintiffs' petitions, large sources of air pollution that are presently causing visibility impairment in many national parks and wilderness areas would more likely be required to reduce their emissions," the lawsuit said. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already is addressing visibility impairment under a 1999 regional haze rule that covers air pollutants from sources over a wide geographic area.

Read full article here: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_az_parks_air_pollution.html

Feds designate new wilderness area in NorCal

2011-01-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

Ukiah, Calif. (AP) --

Federal land managers have designated nearly 11,300 acres of land in Mendocino County as new wilderness.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Thursday entered the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness Area into the National Preservation System.

Elkhorn Ridge was included in the 2006 Northern California Wilderness Heritage Act, a law that required BLM to restore part of the area before it could be officially deemed wilderness.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson of St. Helena, who authored the heritage act, said the official designation would ensure the land's wildlife and undisturbed ancient forest could be enjoyed by future generations.

Located about 60 miles north of Ukiah, the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness includes forest thick with redwoods and a seven-mile-long stretch of the Eel River that is important salmon and steelhead habitat.

A voice against wilderness

2011-01-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

Wilderness, and more precisely wilderness designation, is a touchy issue for many. While there are those who want more wilderness and those who can't stand the mere discussion of new wilderness designations, there are yet those who would simply like to see existing wilderness managed to the minimum standard.

A recent op/ed piece in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner gives an interesting perspective on new wilderness designations in Alaska. This viewpoint is from a person who is directly associated with the oil and gas industry, and the emotion surrounding the issue is palpable.

The article starts out: The 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge must continue to be excluded from wilderness designation. There is no need for additional wilderness designations in ANWR, given that 92 percent of the refuge is already closed to development.

Alaskans strongly oppose a wilderness designation on ANWR’s coastal plain. In fact, 78 percent of Alaskans support oil exploration in the 1002 area. Every Alaska governor and every legislature and elected congressional representative and senator from Alaska have supported responsible development.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Sustain Alaska’s economy

National Wilderness Conference - March 11-12, 2011

2011-01-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

The newly formed National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, a natural ally of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship, has a mission to develop a growing network of volunteer-based organizations (e.g. wilderness friends groups) to provide stewardship for America's enduring resource of wilderness.

The NWSA will hold it's first National Conference March 11 & 12, 2011 in Las Vegas. The conference will be action-oriented: speakers, presentations, and mini-workshops all designed to help wilderness stewards do an even better job protecting wilderness resources.

For more information on the conference visit:http://www.nationalwildernessstewardshipalliance.org/news/latest-news/30-save-the-dates

111th Congress Did Well In Terms of National Park Wilderness

2011-01-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's already the 4th day of 2011. That said, it's a good time to reflect on how Congress worked on wilderness in 2010.

A review of how the 111th Congress acted on wilderness legislation shows that the National Park System benefited quite nicely, but it could have fared better.

According to Frank Buono, a former National Park Service official who now tracks wilderness issues, "the 111th Congress designated wilderness in more separate park units (6) than in any Congress since 1980 in the Carter Administration."

That said, he notes that "the number of acres designated was dwarfed by the park wilderness in the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and in the California Desert Protection Act of 1994."

Read full article here: http://tinyurl.com/2uwhdd4

US Fish & Wildlife Service In Lawsuit Over Wilderness Management

2010-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

From the Courthouse News Service:

(CN) - Two rainwater collectors in an Arizona desert refuge built to help an ailing bighorn sheep population may have to be dismantled, the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday. The federal appeals panel in San Francisco revived a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which in 2007 built the Yaqui and McPherson water structures in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness, a 600,000-acre desert refuge.

Wilderness Watch, the Arizona Wilderness Coalition and three other groups say the 13,000-gallon tanks violate the federal Wilderness Act, which prohibits, with a few exceptions, the building of structures in a designated wilderness area. The groups claimed in a lawsuit filed just after the collectors were built that the agency had failed to meet the requirements for an exception.

Congress designated most of the Kofa Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area in 1990, while only 18 percent of the land is a wildlife refuge subject to the "arguably less restrictive" federal Wildlife Act, the ruling states.

The area is in a sparsely populated, isolated and extremely rugged corner of the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, and it has been a recognized haven for bighorn sheep since at least 1939.

The sheep population in the area remained fairly stable at around 700 sheep since the early 1990s, but there was a marked decline in the estimated population in 2003. Three years later, a survey estimated that there were only about 390 sheep in the area - a population loss of 30 percent to 50 percent in about 20 years.

Fish and Wildlife found that the water scarcity, mountain-lion predation, translocation, hunting and disturbances by hikers could have all contributed to the population drop.

Ultimately, it decided to build the two water catchments to more evenly distribute the scant 7 inches of rainfall that falls in the area annually, and to avoid moving Kofa sheep to other areas.

Read full article here: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/21/32787.htm

Glacier Bay National Park - A Wilderness Quandary

2010-12-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

NPS File Photo

Managers in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska are trying to gather key information on salmon populations in one of the park's popular rivers, the Bartlett River. The river has seen a two-fold increase in fishing pressure in the past decade, and park managers are concerned about the potential impact on the fishery. The National Park Service has been studying fish populations in the river for many years but the traditional method of having a person stationed at a remote location and counting fish isn't a very efficient or in some cases, an effective, option. Therefore the NPS is considering the use of SONAR to get more accurate data, and to be more efficient with data collection in times of turbid water and low light conditions. Sounds like a great solution, right?

Not so fast. The location where the NPS would like to use SONAR is in federally designated wilderness, and it's possible that this kind of technology isn't compatible with the park's management plans.

From a recent article in National Parks Traveler Magazine:

The park is proposing a four year study (2011-2014); the equipment would be put in place from June through October and removed the rest of the year. The sonar device would be installed about two miles upstream from the locations where most angling activity occurs, so few visitors would be aware of the equipment's presence.

This seems to be a pretty straightforward idea, but the site for the proposed study is located in designated wilderness. As a result, the park will complete an Environmental Assessment (EA) analyzing potential effects of the installation, and the staff is currently inviting public comments.

A park spokesperson noted, "Potential issues to be discussed include wilderness quality and character, impacts to Coho and sockeye salmon, impacts to visitor use and quality of experience, concerns over equipment maintenance and operation, and protection from wildlife." The EA will also analyze other alternatives to use of the sonar equipment.

To read the full article, visit: http://tinyurl.com/3yrarnc

To read the NPS proposal, visit: http://www.nps.gov/glba/parknews/bartlett-river-sonar-proposal.htm

Wilderness Volunteers - Giving Something Back

2010-12-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

A recent article in the Marin Independent Journal recounted a volunteer experience facilitated through the non-profit organization, Wilderness Volunteers. Without volunteer stewards, many of the critical projects undertaken on public lands, and in wilderness in particular, would never get accomplished. Motivation for spending your time doing volunteer work in the woods runs the gamut from "I love wilderness", to "I just want to give back", to "working on the land is good for my soul." Without volunteers public lands would suffer. It's a simple fact.

From the article:

Not everyone can wrap his or her head around the appeal of spending a week in the Utah wilderness ripping out invasive Russian olive trees and paying for the privilege. Fortunately there are enough people who are eager to do that and similar service projects to make Wilderness Volunteers -- a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 and dedicated to organizing volunteer service to America's wild lands -- a success story.

Read the full article here: http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_16859096

Mules - The Wilderness Supply Train

2010-12-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

BUFFALO FORK GUARD STATION, Mont. -- The rain is pouring down hard enough to soak through "waterproof" boots. Snow and low clouds shroud the surrounding mountaintops. Across this vast and uninviting landscape of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness north of the Wyoming border, Bob Hoverson and Mark Pengelly lead their string of pack mules up the Buffalo Fork trail, the mules' hooves making sucking sounds in the deep mud.

It's just another, wetter day at the office for the members of the Ninemile pack train.

Read the full article here: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_be7f682b-9afd-55c2-a1e8-60a2e1c910bc.html

The Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute - Resources for Wilderness Stewards

2010-12-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

The Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute is the only Federal research group in the United States dedicated to the development and dissemination of knowledge needed to improve management of wilderness, parks, and similarly protected areas. Located on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, the Leopold Institute was formally established in 1993 by the U.S. Forest Service and is administered by the Rocky Mountain Research Station. The Institute operates under a Memorandum of Understanding among the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Managers and scientists from these agencies play an active role in developing Leopold Institute programs and priorities. The Institute provides a national center for scientists from different disciplines and backgrounds to address the wilderness research needs of land management agencies and organizations.

See what's new at the Leopold Institute: http://leopold.wilderness.net/whatsnew.htm

Resolution Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Weeks Act Approved by the U.S. Senate

2010-12-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – On Nov. 29, 2010, a resolution authored by U.S. Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Weeks Act (S. Res. 679) was approved by the U.S. Senate. In addition to celebrating the law’s centennial anniversary, the bipartisan resolution provides deserving recognition to the law’s author, John Weeks, a Massachusetts Congressman born in Lancaster, New Hampshire. It also recognizes that the acquisition of the first 7,000 acres of White Mountain National Forest was made possible using the authorities provided by the Weeks Act. Lastly, the resolution acknowledges the work and cooperation of local conservation groups, businesses, industrialists, and the tourism industry to ensure passage of the original law, and encourages further collaboration and continued support for the White Mountain National Forest.

Read more here: http://gregg.senate.gov/news/press/release/?id=DE652846-4B68-41C0-86D9-7DF89C818482

For information on wilderness areas on the White Mountain National Forest, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/recreation/wilderness/

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 50th Anniversary

2010-12-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Pine Beetle Wars

2010-12-06T09:20:00.001-08:00

The Black Hills of South Dakota, the Black Elk Wilderness in particular, is just one of any number of areas in the western US that has a significant pine beetle infestation. The issue of how to manage damage from beetle kill is no small task, especially when federally designated wilderness is brought into the discussion. Land managers across the western US are wrestling with the pine beetle and what do about it, in addition to other threats to wilderness.

The mountain pine beetle (MPB), Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton and measures about 5 millimeters, about the size of a grain of rice. Mountain pine beetles inhabit ponderosa, lodgepole, Scotch and limber pine trees. During early stages of an outbreak, attacks are limited largely to trees under stress from injury, poor site conditions, fire damage, overcrowding, root disease, or old age. As beetle populations increase, the beetles attack the largest trees in the outbreak area.

A recent article in the South Dakota Rapid City Journal explores the issues surrounding the pine beetle both inside and outside of wilderness.

From the Rapid City Journal:

The fight is over in the Black Elk Wilderness. The beetles won.

And they’re winning all through the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve, a 35,000-acre tract of relative isolation that includes the 13,000-acre Black Elk and the state’s highest point at Harney Peak.

That ravaged piece of high-country landscape is the epicenter of a plague of mountain pine beetles that is eating its way across the Black Hills. It is a biological version of a wildfire that could for generations change the face of this island of forest rising up from the surrounding plains.

The patches of rusty-brown pine trees that mark the destructive path of the beetles are appearing everywhere. Once limited to a few patches of dead or dying trees in the high country, they are now apparent from the highway near Crazy Horse, along the road to Rochford and on the ridges of Spearfish Mountain.

“Just about anywhere you go in the forest these days you can throw a rock and hit a beetle tree sooner or later,” said Kurt Allen, an entomologist for the U.S. Forest Service in Rapid City. “In my travels around the Hills, I’ve seen it just about everywhere.”

Read the full article here: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_aeb883cc-0034-11e0-a6a5-001cc4c03286.html

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship to play key role in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act

2010-12-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

As many of you are already aware, history was made on September 3, 1964 - when President LB Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, thus establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. The 50th anniversary of this important legislative triumph is approaching quickly in 2014, and as a result, a planning team of wilderness-affiliated non-governmental organizations and the four wilderness-managing federal agencies is currently being assembled to plan the activities for this once-in-a-lifetime wilderness anniversary celebration.

The initial goals for the 50th Anniversary Planning Team are to bring the wilderness community together to celebrate and steward wilderness, and to help the general public become more aware of the many benefits and values of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Society for Wilderness Stewardship's Program Committee Chair has been asked to serve as the 50th Anniversary Planning Team's Co-Chairperson and has willingly accepted this position. The planning team meets monthly via teleconference and working committees, that will accomplish the bulk of the on-the-ground work for the 2014 celebration, which is currently being formulated.

The American people have supported wilderness since its inception, as the NWPS has grown from its original 9.1 million acres to over 100 million total acres in less than fifty years. Let's all take the unique opportunity of the 50th to come together as wilderness advocates, to do whatever is needed to make the 50th Anniversary Celebration an experience for the ages, and to use this distinctive event to propel us into a new time of shared stewardship and sincere collaborative wildlands management.

For more information on becoming involved with one of the 50th Anniversary working committees please contact the planning team Co-Chair

redroadone@aol.com

Wilderness in the news

2010-11-29T09:28:00.001-08:00

The Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for wilderness in the news. From Maine to Nevada, wilderness management, legislation and designation were all hot topics. It's amazing to see how much press wilderness gets on a daily basis in the media but just as amazing are the number of people who just aren't aware of wilderness. Couple that with a National Wilderness Preservation System that is under a variety of threats and you begin to get a sense of the challenges we wilderness stewards face on a daily basis. That said, the more wilderness stays on the front burner, the better!

To see what's affecting wilderness areas (existing or proposed), check out these links from the past few days:

From the Naples, Florida Naples News: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/nov/24/wilderness-area-big-cypress-shrink-off-road-atv/

From the Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces Sun News: http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_16713762

From the Crestview, Florida Crestview Bulletin News: http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/managing-12265-northwest-wilderness.html

From the Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks Herald: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/184863/

From the Petroleum News: http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/67082282.shtml

From the Waterville, Maine Morning Sentinel: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/letters/Wilderness-protection-bills-deserve-support-.html

National Forest Foundation - Grants for Wilderness Stewardship

2010-11-24T10:34:00.001-08:00

Wilderness Stewardship Challenge

In 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness Preservation System, under the Wilderness Act. The legislation allows certain federal lands to be set aside as Wilderness Areas - lands generally 5,000 acres or larger that exist mainly in their "natural" state. The Wilderness Act describes these areas as places "...where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." The U.S. Forest Service is one of four federal agencies charged with management of the National Wilderness Preservation System, with responsibility for 35 million acres of wilderness areas, or 33% of the overall Wilderness system and 20% of Forest Service land.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the U.S. Forest Service issued a Stewardship Challenge, calling for all Wilderness areas in the National Forest System to meet baseline management standards by 2014. To meet this standard, Wilderness Areas are measured on 10 stewardship elements and must achieve 60% of the total available points. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2008, only a small fraction of Wilderness Areas met this standard. The National Forest Foundation (NFF), as the official nonprofit partner of the Forest Service, has increased the resources available to meet this challenge since its inception, providing matching grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofit partners for the implementation of on-the-ground conservation projects that directly benefit National Forest Wilderness Areas.

For 2011, two types of federal grants will be available: (a) requiring a 1:1 nonfederal cash match, or (b) requiring a reduced match of 50% in nonfederal in-kind contributions. Only organizations with an operating budget under $150,000 are eligible to apply for a reduced-match grant. Within this category, priority will be given to smaller organizations, provided the same quality of work.

The NFF encourages organizations to conduct the highest priority work to help meet the Challenge. The NFF will provide weighted advantage for (a) work in Wilderness Area(s) that do not meet the minimum stewardship level and for (b) work that advances or helps meet any individual stewardship element(s) that are not managed to the baseline standard.

For more information or to apply, please visit: http://nationalforests.org/conserve/grantprograms/ontheground/wilderness/application

Why we need wilderness

2010-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

For the past several months wilderness has been a hot topic in Colorado. Discussion about new wilderness designations and of those involved has reached a fever pitch. Amidst all the discussion, the fundamental idea of wilderness often gets lost in the shuffle.

A recent article in the Sky-Hi Daily News zeroed in on the need for wilderness, and specifically focused on the benefits and values of federally designated wilderness. From the article:

“We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.” - Wallace Stegner's Wilderness Letter, December 3, 1960

Why Wilderness Matters

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” (The Wilderness Act).

There are 78,986 acres of congressionally designated “wilderness” on the National Forest Service lands in Grand County, and 92,888 acres of wilderness within Rocky Mountain National Park, offering hikers and backpackers the solitude they might not find on other public land.

In addition to the beauty of being surrounded by wilderness, there are long-term economic benefits.

Last August, The Wilderness Society reported the role wilderness plays in local economies: “Federally designated wilderness areas provide incredibly valuable services — like increasing local income and employment, boosting recreation and tourism and naturally filtering our air and drinking water. Economic studies show that wilderness can boost residential property values by almost 19 percent. Wilderness is also often a motivation for people to move to and stay in places, which leads to economic development.”

Read the full article here: http://www.tinyurl.com/23sm56r

Property Acquisition Helps Secure Washington's Wild Sky Wilderness

2010-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash., Nov. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Wilderness Land Trust and The United States Forest Service announce the protection of a 113-acre property in the Wild Sky Wilderness in Snohomish County, Wash., with the transfer of the property from The Wilderness Land Trust to the United States for inclusion in the 106,000-acre Wild Sky Wilderness.

The property is located in the Bitter Creek drainage a few miles upstream of the North Fork Skykomish River. The Skykomish drains a vast watershed on the edge of the Cascades just outside of Seattle. The property contains a thick canopy of Douglas fir, silver fir, cedar, and mountain hemlock and expansive views of the surrounding mountain peaks.

The transfer completes a process that started in August of 2006 when The Wilderness Land Trust purchased the property from a private seller. The Trust's acquisition of the property helped the Wild Sky designation move forward to a successful completion in 2008. The purchase also allowed the Forest Service to terminate an existing road right of way that had been used in the mid 1900s for timber harvests. The old road can now be used for a trail into the wilderness.

"This acquisition would not have been possible without the strong partnership of the Wilderness Land Trust and the support of the many within the environmental community. This is a wonderful legacy for the Wild Sky Wilderness," said Rob Iwamoto, Forest Supervisor for the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

"The Wilderness Land Trust is pleased to assist the Forest Service with this transaction. With the private property now becoming part of the wilderness and the road going away, the quick-growing Cascade forest will soon return the Wild Sky to its natural condition," said David Kirk, Senior Lands Specialist for the Trust. "These transactions take a while, but the long-term result of secured wilderness makes it all worthwhile. I highly recommend a hike up into this area."

The Wilderness Land Trust acquires unprotected private land within wilderness, returning it to public ownership to guarantee that future generations can enjoy the enduring resources of wilderness. The Trust is a small, highly specialized non-profit organization established to buy and protect wilderness land. Since it was founded in 1992, the organization has preserved more than 344 parcels comprising more than 31,000 acres of wilderness inholdings in 76 designated and proposed wilderness areas. Read more at http://www.wildernesslandtrust.org

Wilderness and politics

2010-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's a fact that wilderness, wilderness stewardship, wilderness management, wilderness designation and even support for wilderness is at times directly linked to politics. Even something as pure as wilderness isn't immune to political swings and changes over time. An article recently published in Seattle PI Local looks at how a changing Natural Resources Committee Chair could have impacts on wilderness in the coming years.

From the article:

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Congressman Doc Hastings, a soft-spoken conservative who toes the Republican party line on most issues, generally doesn't garner much public attention outside his sweeping U.S. House district in central Washington. That's likely to change with GOP control of the chamber come January.

Hastings is set to take over the Natural Resources Committee, a panel that has jurisdiction over most federal land and water policy, covering national parks, wilderness areas and American Indian reservations.

Issues in those areas resonate across large swaths of the American West, not just in Hastings' 4th District, which stretches from north-central Washington to the Oregon border.

In a telephone interview this week, Hastings noted that he has yet to be named chairman, but said he's pleased his colleagues named him ranking member beginning in 2009. Hastings, 69, first won his seat in 1994 and has won re-election, often handily, in each election since.

Read the full article here: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_hastings_congress.html

Industrial air pollution - external threats to wilderness mount

2010-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Some of the biggest threats to federally designated wilderness come from outside the wilderness boundary. There are times when those who steward wilderness can adequately address these threats and times when the specific threat is linked to a much bigger environmental issue. A recent op/ed piece in the Duluth News Tribune discusses how industrial air pollution is impacting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, what the causes are and some potential solutions. As wilderness stewards, we have to be aware of both internal and external threats in order to effectively manage and protect the life sustaining benefits and values of wilderness.

From the Duluth News Tribune:

Haze generally is thought of as a city problem. Unfortunately, haze and industrial air pollution also invade our national parks and wilderness areas. One in three national parks across the country suffers from air pollution levels that exceed health standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In Minnesota, haze hangs over the splendor of Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, not only spoiling pristine views but also making the air unhealthy for visitors, plants and wildlife.

Full article here: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/183307/group/Opinion/

Society signs national Memorandum of Understanding with US Forest Service

2010-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the USDA Forest Service. This national level MOU is designed to foster "cooperation between the Society and the Forest Service to identify and collaboratively resolve issues related to stewardship of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS)." The MOU was signed by Society Board Chair, Don Hunger and Deputy Chief of the US Forest Service, Joel Holtrop.

"It's great to have the USDA Forest Service support the Society for Wilderness Stewardship. This MOU acknowledges our commitment to a professional society supporting the environmental, economic and educational benefits of America's National Wilderness Preservation System. We look forward to a strong partnership with the Forest Service," said Chair Don Hunger.

The Society is pursuing MOU's with other federal land management agencies that manage wilderness, including the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the US Fish & Wildlife Service to achieve a shared vision of proper stewardship for lands managed under the NWPS.

30 years of Wilderness: Designation has helped define Kenai Peninsula

2010-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

In an interesting retrospective article, managers from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge – 1.35 million acres of which are federally designated wilderness – look at the history of the refuge, the significance of the wilderness designation and the future of the lands protected under the Wilderness Act that compromise the refuge. Specific management topics such as invasive species, fire and traditional use of wilderness are discussed.

From the Peninsula Clarion:

Rick Johnston spoke to a small audience inside a cabin on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Images of moose, bears and past managers hiking through the forest were cast onto the back wall by a projector while the longtime Fish and Wildlife Service employee spoke about the genesis of the refuge. When Johnston first came to work there, it was called the Kenai Moose Range. The title changed 30 years ago when the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act turned the game sanctuary into federally designated Wilderness.

Wilderness comprises more than two-thirds of the 1.95 million-acre refuge. By the Wilderness Act's definition, the 1.35 million acres on the refuge are "untrammeled by man" and have no established signs of civilization. The Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, but the refuge didn't become the refuge until 1980 passage of ANILCA.

No permanent structures can exist in the Wilderness; historic cabins, however, and related structures can be protected under the National Register of Historic Places. The act allows hiking and camping, but bans generators, chainsaws and any kind of motor-powered or mechanical device. Anyone who stays within the lands is bound to practice "leave no trace" camping.
The spike in the Peninsula's population and changes in the planet's climate could drastically alter the refuge's untouched lands, but Supervisory Biologist John Morton said that they're still deliberating on solutions for the unmanaged expanses.

Read the full article here: http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/101110/new_718960679.shtml

Wilderness is a necessity...

2010-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Wilderness is a necessity ... They will see what I meant in time. There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow."

- John Muir, conservationist and founder, The Sierra Club

Very large protected areas preserve wilderness but ignore rare species

2010-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Study finds that the areas are most important for a limited range of land cover types

Protected areas are generally seen as a triumph for the preservation of nature, yet the reality on the ground is more complex.

The world's largest protected areas encompass vast amounts of wilderness but do not extensively overlap the highest priority areas for conservation or include unusually large numbers of birds, amphibians, or mammals, according to an analysis published in the November issue of BioScience. The study, by Lisette Cantú-Salazar and Kevin J. Gaston of the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, nonetheless describes anecdotal evidence that some very large protected areas play an important conservation role, by preserving natural species assemblages and populations of regional concern.

Cantú-Salazar and Gaston examined in detail the 63 protected areas that each extend over 25,000 square kilometers or more (about the area of Vermont). These huge areas are found in all continents except Antarctica, and are preferentially found in areas where there are few people. The findings thus seem to support the idea that such areas are created in places where they will least inconvenience people, rather than where they would do the most for conservation.

Yet very large protected areas are also likely to include particular land-cover types, such as snow and ice, bare areas, and areas with sparse vegetation. Examination of individual cases reveals that several ecoregions of high conservation priority are partly included in very large protected areas, including the Guianan Highlands Moist Forests, the Tibetan Plateau Steppe, and the Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows. Their preservation is therefore important. And many of the largest protected areas are vulnerable, Cantú-Salazar and Gaston conclude. Some have inadequate management. Others are threatened by incursions for logging, fishing, grazing, and mining, and the effects of climate change and political instability.

###

By noon EST on 1 November 2010 and until early December, the full text of the article will be available for free download through the copy of this press release available atwww.aibs.org/bioscience-press-releases/.

Contact: Timothy M. Beardsley
tbeardsley@aibs.org
202-628-1500 x226
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Colorado: Wilderness proposal still in limbo

2010-11-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

There has been significant press about proposed wilderness in Colorado. While the issue can be polarizing, it does keep wilderness and wilderness issues on the forefront in many areas, which can be a good thing.

From the Summit Daily News:

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis' newly introduced and pared-down Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act has received mixed criticism from Summit County citizens. It's been labeled a controversial bill, with some standing firm against it and others saying it's a commendable effort at mediation and compromise. “The Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act seeks to add new designated wilderness areas in the White River National Forest within Summit and Eagle Counties to the National Wilderness Preservation System,” Polis' website said. “Designated areas would hold the highest level of land protection, with public access and usage still available, but certain types of development and activities prohibited.” The goal of the legislation is to preserve Colorado's wild areas by designating some as wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964 and designating others as special management or companion use areas. The bill was introduced on Sept. 29, just before Congress voted to adjourn for the fall campaign. It's on hold until the House reconvenes, which could be with an entirely different makeup of Democrats and Republicans. Polis' constituents include Summit County, which is in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. It's unknown when action will take place, as nothing can be done while the House is in recess.

The basics

Nearly 88,000 acres in Eagle and Summit counties would be designated as wilderness while another 78,000 would be deemed “special management areas” under the Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act. Special management areas have greater protection than most public lands but aren't as strict as rules for wilderness. Several high-profile areas were taken out of the original proposal, such as Elliot Ridge in Summit County, which has been a contentious area in discussions. The goal, Polis' website says, is to create consensus, bringing users together to establish ways to protect Colorado's gems while allowing various types of recreation where appropriate and bolster the Colorado economy without unintended conflicts. By bringing different users together, from snowmobilers to hikers, several areas have been removed from the original Hidden Gems proposal. Several environmental groups suggested the congressman carry a bill that created 244,000 wilderness acres — not including additional land in Pitkin and Gunnison counties. Areas not included in wilderness designation include 12,150 acres on Basalt Mountain as well as an extension of wilderness on Elliot Ridge. Areas of Hoosier Ridge didn't get the high level of protection, either.

The response

Mountain biking isn't allowed in wilderness areas, according to the language of the Wilderness Act. So, when several popular trails were included in the original Hidden Gems proposal, the Summit Fat Tire Society pushed back. According to a statement on the Summit Fat Tire Society website, for two years, they worked with Hidden Gems proponents to find common ground and balance areas where they didn't agree. What came out of the discussion was the idea of “companion designations,” which is a relatively new way to protect land while still allowing certain uses. “We believe companion designations offer the opportunity to protect lands around Wilderness but also create areas where bikes are allowed,” the Summit Fat Tire Society website says. Still, members of the Summit Fat Tire Society are working to fine-tune the boundaries and alignments of various designations “where we don't see eye-to-eye,” their statement says. “Where needed, we will work hard to continue to push for more protection and access to mountain biking. Until then, we're proud of the ultimate agreement to bring companion designation to fruition, which is really the definition of progress for any group,” the statement continues. Tom Jones, owner of Wilderness Sports and a resident of Evergreen who recreates in Summit County, also voiced support for the mountain biking compromises. “I support protecting as much pristine land as possible from motorized use,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Once it has been degraded by motorized access, it will never go back to the way it once was. Pristine land is absolutely a finite, limited resource.” Currie Craven, chair of the Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness, commended efforts to include all users in the federal proposal as it evolved from a citizen proposal. “It's a unique approach,” he said. As an advocate of encouraging stewardship of the forest above all else, Craven hopes bringing stakeholders together at the same table may dispel myths that different users “have horns and tails” and are people who enjoy recreation, too. “If people are working together and helping maintain the resources, ... people find out it breaks down barriers between user groups that may be somewhat arbitrary,” he said. Craven pointed to several areas where compromises were made, such as the companion designations for mountain bikers, “over the snow” motorized travel designations in some areas and not adjusting the motorized travel boundary at Elliot Ridge. Areas such as that around Hoosier Ridge have biological reasons for being established as wilderness, Craven added. Rare plant species there aren't found anywhere else on the planet, he said, which would mean it's probably not appropriate for snowmobile traffic. He felt that was honored in the proposal. Yet he personally wishes for more wilderness designations, such as the area above the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels. “Maybe the definition of a compromise is that no one is happy,” Craven said, but he added that everyone had a say. “We're all Americans and this is all public land,” he said. “We have to consider what the generations in the womb of time will get.”

Consensus — and disagreement

Rick Warren, the president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club, said he vocally supported Polis' proposal at a meeting months ago in Breckenridge. Now, he's glad to see give-and-take to form a bill that's palatable for many of the affected parties. “Hidden Gems did a good job,” he said. “When it first came out, there was a lot of push back from mountain bikers and snowmobilers. ... But they worked it out and there were concessions.” Chuck Ginsberg, president of the Summit County Off-Road Riders, said the wilderness proposal doesn't much affect the single-track motorcycle riders. But he still doesn't support it. He and other SCORR members believe better protection for land can come from the U.S. Forest Service's travel management plan, which began several years ago and isn't complete. “More thought has gone into it,” Ginsberg said. “I support a well-thought-out plan. We would have to make sacrifices, with many areas we're used to riding that could be off-limits. But I'm OK making sacrifices for something that's thought out.”

‘The real work begins'

State Sen. Dan Gibbs commends the work done to find common ground in the wilderness proposal, but said “the real work begins once the bill is introduced.” “I applaud Polis and stakeholder groups for coming together to find common ground” among user groups, he said. “It means dramatically different things for different people.” But now, it's up to Polis to present the bill on the House floor and translate conversations had in Summit and Eagle counties to the language of Washington, D.C. “I'll be interested to see how it will unfold,” Gibbs said. The reporting of the Aspen Times' Scott Condon contributed to this story. SDN reporter Janice Kurbjun can be contacted at (970) 668-4630 or at jkurbjun@summitdaily.com.

U.S.-Mexico Border Wilderness Issues

2010-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

A recently released report takes a look at interagency cooperation on US-Mexico Border Wilderness Issues.

The full report can be downloaded here: http://kirk_emerson.home.mindspring.com/Interagency_Border_Cooperation.pdf

Executive Summary

This report documents interagency cooperation at work on the U.S.-Mexico border to improve both security at the border and the protection of adjacent wilderness areas. Despite the challenges and conflicts that can make such cooperation difficult, there are numerous examples of how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its agencies have been working together with the U.S Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and their land management agencies on our southern border.

This report summarizes the recent history of interagency cooperation with an emphasis on U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and federal land management agencies. It enumerates the different ways in which such cooperation occurs and illustrates this interagency cooperation through six case studies. The report is based on research conducted during the summer of 2010, including over 50 interviews with border security professionals, land management agencies, and border areas stakeholders.

Wilderness, Wild and Scenic River Stewards Receive Forest Service Awards

2010-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, October 18, 2010 -- The USDA Forest Service recently recognized the outstanding contributions and accomplishments of six individuals and four groups regarding their stewardship of National Forest System wilderness and wild and scenic rivers.

"The exceptional efforts and leadership of these dedicated employees and colleagues will allow us to continue our legacy of quality wilderness management and the protection of wild and scenic rivers," said Tom Tidwell, the Chief of the Forest Service. "Their work will help ensure an enduring wilderness resource for future generations."

The 2010 National Wilderness Awards recognize accomplishments in the fields of education, research and leadership to keep Forest Service wilderness areas in their natural, wild state. Recipients include:

Stephen Hendricks - Aldo Leopold Award for Overall Wilderness Stewardship Program. Hendricks, of Asheville, N.C., recently retired as the forest planner for the National Forests in North Carolina.
The Wilderness Institute, University of Montana -Aldo Leopold Group Award for Overall Wilderness Stewardship for Wilderness Stewardship Challenge accomplishments in Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.
Clem Pope - Bob Marshall Award for Individual Champion of Wilderness Stewardship. Pope, of McCall, Idaho, is the Wilderness Manager for the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, Payette National Forest, Idaho.
Sitka Conservation Society, Sitka, Alaska - Bob Marshall Award for Group Champion of Wilderness Stewardship.
Laurie Matthews - Wilderness Education Leadership Award. Matthews, of Challis, Idaho, is the Wilderness Program Manager on the Middle Fork Ranger District, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho.
Rusty Thompson - Traditional Skills and Minimum Tool Leadership. Thompson, of Entiat, Wash., is the Trail Program Manager for the Wenatchie Ranger District, Okanongan Wenatchee National Forests.
White Mountain National Forest (New Hampshire) Wilderness Team - Traditional Skills and Minimum Tool Leadership group award for basic principles of wilderness stewardship. The minimum tool concept involves the use of traditional or primitive tools to keep wilderness areas in their natural, wild state.

The National 2010 Wild and Scenic River awards recognize stewardship accomplishments to promote and protect the Forest Service's Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, which currently manages 119 wild and scenic rivers. These rivers provide outstanding scenery, critical habitat for fish and wildlife, offer recreational opportunities, and sustain water resources for a growing population. Recipients include:

The Huron-Manistee National Forests (Mich. - Outstanding Stewardship of River Resources.
Mollie Chaudet - Outstanding River Manger. Chaudet, of Bend, Ore., is the wild and scenic river coordinator and NEPA litigation coordinator for the Deschutes National Forest, Ore.
Amy Unthank - Line Officer/Staff Wild and Scenic River Leadership Award. The award recognizes her work as Regional Fisheries Program Leader in the Southwestern Region based in Albuquerque. Unthank is now the National Fisheries Program Leader in Washington, D.C.

A Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented to Jackie Diedrich, the agency's National Wild and Scenic River Program Manager. Diedrich, from Portland, Ore., is recognized as an international leader for wild and scenic rivers and currently serves as the Council Chair for the federal Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council. The award recognizes her 33 years with the agency as a wild and scenic river steward of great insight and a champion of partner collaborations to benefit and preserve wild and scenic rivers.

The Forest Service wilderness program is a major component of the National Wilderness Preservation System which encompasses all federal land management agencies that manage wilderness areas. This system includes 756 wilderness units with more than 109 million acres. For more information, please visit www.wilderness.net. For more information about The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, visit www.rivers.gov.

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

Contact:

Press Office
(202) 205-1134

Court ruling upheld on forest management outside Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

2010-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

From the Duluth News Tribune

The Eighth District U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court decision saying the Superior National Forest management plan for forests around the perimeter of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness were properly developed.

The lawsuit, brought by the Sierra Club, had claimed that the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act in revising the forest plan for the Superior National Forest. The group claimed the Forest Service failed to properly consider impacts of activities outside the BWCAW on the wilderness.

The case was dismissed in January 2009 by District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. In its ruling filed Monday, the appeals court said the Forest Service “took the ‘hard look’ required of it” under the environmental policy act and that the “Forest Service did not act arbitrarily or capriciously” in developing a management plan for the area around the BWCAW.

Wayne Brandt, executive vice president of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association and Minnesota Forest Industries, said in a statement that the courts have made the correct decisions in upholding Forest Service policy for management of the BWCAW and surrounding lands that are open to logging.

Society for Wilderness Stewardship Brings on New Board Member - Sue Gunn

2010-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship recently added new board member Sue Gunn! Sue, current Restoration Campaign Director for Wildlands CPR, brings years of wilderness experience to the Society and is an excellent addition to the board. "Sue is just the kind of board member that the Society needs to help the organization achieve its goal of professionalizing the discipline of wilderness stewardship," said Ben Lawhon, Vice Chair of the Society's board.

Sue has a PhD in isotope geochemistry and conducted research in igneous petrology for the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA for over a decade. Her doctorate fieldwork was conducted on the Cretaceous granites of southwestern Montana and the research for her MS was in a remote area of Baja, CA. Her undergraduate degree is in Political Science with an emphasis on constitutional law.

Sue has an extensive policy background and worked for a decade in Washington DC as the director of Budget and Appropriations and later the director of the the National Parks Program for The Wilderness Society. She moved to Olympia, WA in 2006 to get closer to big wilderness and has worked on water and environmental issues. Sue is currently the Restoration Campaign Director for Wildlands CPR and the campaign coordinator for the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative.

Mountain climbing group backs Polis, Salazar wilderness bills

2010-10-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Access Fund, a national climbing advocacy group, recently announced its support for a pair of proposed bills that would designate more than 121,000 acres of federal lands in Colorado as wilderness and another 99,000 acres as special management areas.

The Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, who represents Eagle and Summit counties in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, would create more than 88,000 acres of new wilderness.

The San Juans Mountains Wilderness Act, sponsored in the House by Democratic Congressman John Salazar, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, and in the U.S. Senate by Democrats Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, would create more 33,000 acres of new wilderness in Southwest Colorado.

The Access Fund, which lobbies to “keep climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment,” represents more than 2.3 million rock climbers, ice climbers, mountaineers and bouldering enthusiasts around the country.

“The Access Fund is happy to join with recreation and conservation groups across the state to support these public land conservation initiatives that preserve backcountry climbing and recreation opportunities,” Access Fund Executive Director Brady Robinson said on the group’s website.

“We support all types of climbing experiences, from the remote wilderness peaks to urban crags and bouldering areas. The opportunity to climb in protected wilderness areas is a key value that many climbers cherish. We hope our Colorado membership will contact their federal legislators in support of these proposals.”

New wilderness area proposed for North Fork Mountain, West Virginia

2010-10-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

From the Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., has introduced legislation that would create a new 6,042 acre wilderness area encompassing a stretch of North Fork Mountain in Grant County.

The proposed North Fork Mountain Wilderness is a scaled-down version of a wilderness proposal for the Grant County peak that was deleted from last year's Wild Monongahela Wilderness Act. The 2009 wilderness package created three new wilderness areas and added wild land to three existing areas, bringing wilderness status to an additional 38,000 acres of the Monongahela National Forest.

The earlier version of the proposed North Fork Mountain Wilderness included 9,200 acres.

"A third of the initial area was dropped to make the area more appealing to certain user groups," said Mike Costello of the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition.

Costello said the new wilderness proposal would leave Redman Run Trail and most of the North Fork Mountain Trail open to mountain biking. It also would ensure that the Division of Natural Resources' trout-stocking program in the adjacent, angler-popular North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River would be unaffected.

The views from atop North Fork Mountain have been described as "the best scenery in the East" by Outside magazine, and the North Fork Mountain Trail was labeled "the most scenic trail in West Virginia" by Backpacker magazine.

The sheer sandstone cliffs atop the mountain provide nesting sites for peregrine falcons and habitat for the Allegheny woodrat, a species of concern due to plummeting populations in the region. Several caves that penetrate the mountain shelter hibernating bats, including several threatened or endangered species.

"A lot of the local businesses that cater to tourism have gotten behind a wilderness designation for the area," said Costello.

When North Fork Mountain was initially proposed as a wilderness area in 2004, U.S. Forest Service planners gave it their highest rating for "natural integrity."

Mollohan, who lost his re-election bid in May after 14 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, "has been a champion of public lands during his tenure," said Costello. "This is something he wanted to do before he left Congress."

Mollohan's Monongahela Conservation Legacy Act has been referred to the House Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

Asheville Conservationist Stephen E. Hendricks Receives National Wilderness Award

2010-10-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

ASHEVILLE — Stephen E. Hendricks, of Asheville, was awarded the 2010 Aldo Leopold Stewardship Award, to be presented Thursday in Washington.

The U.S. Forest Service has given the award for the past two decades for excellence in wilderness stewardship.

It is named in honor of Aldo Leopold, a Forest Service employee in the 1920s, recognized as one of the nation's greatest conservationists and the father of the American wilderness.

Hendricks, a recently retired 32-year Forest Service employee, served as planner/landscape architect for the National Forests in North Carolina for the past eight years.