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

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

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?

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

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

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

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’

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

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

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

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

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

Yosemite National Park

"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!

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

Cars in wilderness?

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

Wildlife Conservation Society Calls for More Wilderness

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

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

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

From Seminole County Florida...

Do you want a job in wilderness?

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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/