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Open space and other ecology issues are the cause for many emotional debates. We're open to hearing from all points of views. Send them to us.
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UPDATE: FOREST ROADLESS
PROTECTION LEGISLATION
THE SEA-TO-SEA TRAIL
– DISNEYLAND MEETS WILDLANDS A project is being marketed that will not only have enormous impacts on our wildlands but fundamentally change the relationship between the public and the natural resources owned by the public. The Sea-to-Sea Trail Foundation has proposed a project that will extend a 140-mile recreational corridor from the Pacific Ocean to Salton Sea. This large project would link existing paths, blaze connecting trails through both public lands and private parcels to be purchased, and promote commercial enterprises such as horse stables and mountain bike rentals. The driving force behind the project is that the Foundation will construct Bed & Breakfast lodges approximately 15-miles apart on nearby private land. This project is a Trojan Horse that claims to offer a low-impact recreational trail, but, in fact, will use public wildlands for a commercial venture. No CEQA requirements have been met for this new project. Mountain Defense League opposes this blatant attempt at commercialization of our public wildlands for private profit. Further, we insist that proper environmental documentation and public review be completed for this huge project.
Plan Unveiled to Create New Wilderness Area in Washington StateTwo Washington lawmakers want to create the state's first new wilderness area in 18 years, setting aside thousands of acres of low-elevation old-growth forest and miles of salmon-spawning streams in an area twice the size of Seattle. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen want to designate 106,000 acres north of Highway 2 along the North Skykomish River system as "wilderness," the most-protective federal public-lands classification. The last such creation in the state was in 1984, when 1 million acres was classified as wilderness, including the adjacent Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area. The area Murray, D-Wash., and Larsen, D-Everett, are calling "Wild Sky" is home to 80,000 acres of mature and second-growth Douglas fir and Alaska cedar forests, with some trees towering 250 feet. The land is braided by streams and punctuated by rocky peaks and granite cliffs and provides habitat for spotted owls, marbled murrelets, bald eagles, cougars and lynxes. "If those animals are to be here for centuries into the future, we have to protect that habitat now," Murray said. If successful, the proposal would reclassify land within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, close 30 miles of old logging roads and permanently ban logging, road-building and motorized access for most vehicles except wheelchairs. But it would continue to allow for recreational use by hikers, cross-country skiers, climbers, hunters and anglers and kayakers. The 1964 Wilderness Act defines wilderness as "land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation." Murray and Larsen disclosed their proposal yesterday before an audience of about 60, but its future rests in large part on someone who wasn't in attendance: U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Bellevue. Only Congress can designate wilderness, and with the House and White House controlled by the GOP, making such a large swath of forest off-limits to logging isn't likely to happen without support of the state's highest-ranking Republican. "The delegation is probably the key most-important element," said Michael Francis, with the Wilderness Society in Washington, D.C. "If you've got a badly split delegation on the issue, it's probably not going to move. That's the congressional litmus test." So far, Dunn is noncommittal. "She hasn't seen the map," said Dunn spokeswoman Jen Burita. "She plans to look over it after the recess and see what areas are affected." Environmentalists have gone door to door in her district, encouraging voters to write letters to Dunn supporting the proposal. Environmental issues are of growing importance to suburban voters, especially in Dunn's district, which voted for Dunn and Democrat Al Gore in the 2000 election. "If it makes sense, and the impacts are light, then I think most folks in her district would be supportive," said Brett Bader, a conservative political consultant. "And frankly, let's face it: Jennifer's taken other environmental positions that appeared to be at odds with the GOP." Dunn supported efforts to strip Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling plans from President Bush's energy bill last summer. But Bader also pointed out that Republicans, including former U.S. Sens. Dan Evans and Slade Gorton, were instrumental in previous wilderness designations.
Boxer Introduces Bill to add 2.5 Million acres of Wilderness in CaliforniaIn the most ambitious attempt to expand California's protected lands in eight years, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has introduced legislation that would designate 2.5 million acres of the state's forests, deserts and river canyons as federal wilderness. The bill is supported by companion legislation sponsored by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Hilda Solis, D-El Monte. But rapid passage of the legislation appears unlikely, given that Republicans dominate the House of Representatives -- and they generally oppose additional wilderness designations. Under Boxer's bill, 77 areas from Mexico to Oregon would receive wilderness designation, while portions of 22 rivers would be protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Two additional rivers -- Cache Creek and the East Fork of the Carson River - - would be studied for possible wild or scenic status. Environmentalists responded enthusiastically. "This is an exciting day for California," said Jay Watson, the California director of the Wilderness Society. "California has a long and rich tradition of wilderness preservation," said Watson. "Wilderness and free-flowing rivers help define the quality of life here. Congress has passed more wilderness legislation affecting California than any other state, and this bill will continue in that tradition." The reaction generally was negative from groups favoring multiple uses of federal wildlands, including logging, mining and off-road vehicle touring. "California already has a sufficient amount of land designated as wilderness," said Chris Nance, a spokesman for the California Forestry Association. "Moreover, we don't believe additional wilderness will be acceptable to the people living and working in the areas where the designations will occur -- mainly because it prevents people from accessing those areas," he said. Positions on the bill in the Senate and House of Representatives are firmly divided along party lines. "None of my Republican colleagues in Congress has endorsed the (House) bills, but that doesn't mean they won't work with us," said Boxer. "(Passage) will probably be bit by bit, year by year. It took 14 years for the desert protection act to pass." Thompson, the companion bill co-sponsor, said the legislation probably won't make it through the House this year, "though it could squeeze through as part of a negotiation at the end of the session. "The main thing is, we're going to keep working on it. My district has most of the salmon habitat in the state, and salmon are extremely important to my constituents. To a large degree, the quality of the wilderness surrounding the salmon streams reflects the size of the salmon run." Republican congressional representatives labeled the bill "dead on arrival." "Any wilderness bill on the House side has to go through the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands," said Brian Kennedy, press secretary for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Fresno. "My boss is the chairman of that subcommittee," said Kennedy, "and he will consider Sen. Boxer's wilderness bill when she introduces legislation to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Even then, I wouldn't give it a hundred-to-one shot of making it through the subcommittee. In other words, it doesn't have much of a shot. Congressman Radanovich is enthusiastically opposed -- he considers it an egregious imposition on multiple uses, industries and the taxpayers who pay for the maintenance of these lands."
FOREST SERVICE TO ALLOW LOGGING ON ROADLESS AREAS IN ROUTT NATIONAL FOREST
DRAFT PLAN FOR LAKE MEAD OPENS AREA TO JET SKI USE If a draft National Park Service management plan for Lake Mead *************************************************************** For a full list of Action Items, visit http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm
LinksOpen Space Preservation - San Diego Based Sites
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