Program Updates
Restoration program
The results of the November elections appear to have given the entire world a new sense of hope for the future, and the environmental movement is no exception. The incoming Obama administration and the more environmentally-friendly 111th Congress present a huge opportunity for increasing efforts to revive and protect wild places on our public lands.
Accordingly, Wildlands CPR has been intimately involved with numerous partner organizations in drafting policy documents for the Obama Transition Team that call for increased support for watershed restoration, climate change protections and green jobs programs, as well as better enforcement of off-road vehicle use and forest road system analysis and planning.
With the collapse of financial markets and the onset of economic recession, the notion of a Green-Collar Jobs Program has picked up momentum. Sue Gunn, Wildlands CPR’s representative in Washington State, has been busy developing a proposal for a Forest Watershed Restoration Corps that could be incorporated into long-term economic stimulus legislation. She and Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder are also identifying other funding opportunities for watershed restoration and road removal (e.g. reauthorization of the Federal Highways bill; climate change legislation) and working to educate decision-makers about these options. We are continuing our efforts to increase the level of funding for last year’s Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative (LRRI) which received $39 million (see The Road RIPorter 13.3 for more information).
Sue and Wildlands CPR Communication Coordinator Franklin Seal helped organize a Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) media tour of ongoing road removal work in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The day-long field trip resulted in excellent TV coverage in Seattle, WA that highlighted how forest restoration gives a boost to local economies. The “Demand for Green-Collar Jobs Growing” TV news story can be viewed in our new online Video Archive (http://www.wildlandscpr.org/videos).
With the rapid increase in fire-suppression costs this summer and fall, the Forest Service transferred some of the $39 million in budgeted LRRI funds away from scheduled road removal projects (see The Road RIPorter 13.3 for more information), but due to diligent watch-dogging efforts by Sue, our partners in WWRI, as well as efforts by LRRI champion Rep. Norm Dicks (WA), no projects in Washington State were de-funded. Meanwhile, since the fire season ended, many of the funds borrowed from restoration projects in other western states have been restored, with the end result being that some projects were simply delayed.
In keeping with the new interest in Green Collar jobs, Wildlands CPR Research Associate Josh Hurd has been researching the economics of road removal beginning with a literature review of articles addressing the market and non-market benefits accruing from watershed restoration (see Bibliography Notes on pages 8-11). Josh has also been doing a study of public opinion and perception relevant to watershed restoration and road removal, as well as working with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to draft an official proposal to the North American Industrial Classification System (which tracks all sectors of the U.S. economy). The proposal would have them begin to track data on companies providing restoration services, something it currently does not do.
On a similar tack, Wildlands CPR’s Montana Restoration Coordinator Marnie Criley has been participating in the Regional Innovation Grant process for Western Montana. Western Montana received a $250,000 Regional Innovation Grant from the Department of Labor to come up with an economic strategy for the seven counties of western Montana. The aim of the program is to establish an infrastructure to support a regional approach to workforce, economic and educational development that will sustain efforts to promote and create diverse economies throughout the region. Marnie is working to ensure that it includes a strong emphasis on the restoration economy.
Marnie also gave a presentation at the Growing Montana’s Restoration Workforce workshop in Butte, MT on October 2. She noted that there seemed to be strong interest from both the Operating Engineers Union and the University of Montana College of Technology to organize a road decommissioning training program for heavy equipment operators.
Wildlands CPR Science Coordinator Adam Switalski has continued his work with intern Greg Peters, contractors and volunteers on a groundbreaking study to monitor the long-term effects on wildlife of road removal in the Clearwater National Forest. The team has been taking down field sites for the winter, uploading and organizing photos and analyzing data. Soon, the team will have amassed three years of information.
Transportation Program
Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder spent three days in the field with high-level Forest Service staff and leaders from a variety of recreation groups discussing how the Forest Service classifies trails — key to many aspects of off-road vehicle and roads management including funding, enforcement and closures. Other participants included the Back Country Horsemen of America, International Mountain Biking Association, Blue Ribbon Coalition, American Hiking Society, Quiet Use Coalition and the Great Old Broads for Wilderness. The event provided us an extraordinary opportunity to present some of our most pressing concerns about problems within the travel planning process, and problems with the agency’s proposed trails classifications. It also gave us a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with key allies.
Adam Rissien, Wildlands CPR’s Montana Off-Road Vehicle Coordinator, has completed work on an innovative use of the 3-D mapping environment Google Earth to demonstrate the extent of off-road vehicle intrusions into the existing Sapphire Mountain Wilderness Study Area in the Bitterroot National Forest. A video fly-over of the area showing user-created trails contrasted with proposed system routes is available online in our video archive (http://www.wildlandscpr.org/videos).
Adam has also spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the 2009 session of the Montana Legislature by working with multiple interest groups to identify opportunities to improve state level management of off-road vehicles, with an emphasis on enforcement. Adam has also been developing comments or organizing other groups to comment on several upcoming draft Travel Plans, including plans for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Bitterroot National Forest, and the Ashland District of the Custer National Forest.
Wildlands CPR Utah Off-Road Vehicle Coordinator Laurel Hagen completed work on a study of the economic impacts of the extensive Paiute ATV Trail (see her article on pages 3-5). She also assisted a local organization, The Uintah Mountain Club, in filing a formal protest of the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan for the Vernal Field Office due to poor management of off-road vehicle abuse. In addition, Laurel has been drafting a study of user conflicts between off-road vehicles and quiet recreation users in the Moab Field Office. The study will highlight the low economic inputs from off-road vehicle tourism and the low number of individual off-road vehicle tourists compared to the massive scale of area resources being dedicated to off-road vehicle users in the recently finalized Moab Travel Plan.
The results of the November elections appear to have given the entire world a new sense of hope for the future, and the environmental movement is no exception. The incoming Obama administration and the more environmentally-friendly 111th Congress present a huge opportunity for increasing efforts to revive and protect wild places on our public lands.
Accordingly, Wildlands CPR has been intimately involved with numerous partner organizations in drafting policy documents for the Obama Transition Team that call for increased support for watershed restoration, climate change protections and green jobs programs, as well as better enforcement of off-road vehicle use and forest road system analysis and planning.
With the collapse of financial markets and the onset of economic recession, the notion of a Green-Collar Jobs Program has picked up momentum. Sue Gunn, Wildlands CPR’s representative in Washington State, has been busy developing a proposal for a Forest Watershed Restoration Corps that could be incorporated into long-term economic stimulus legislation. She and Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder are also identifying other funding opportunities for watershed restoration and road removal (e.g. reauthorization of the Federal Highways bill; climate change legislation) and working to educate decision-makers about these options. We are continuing our efforts to increase the level of funding for last year’s Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative (LRRI) which received $39 million (see The Road RIPorter 13.3 for more information).
Sue and Wildlands CPR Communication Coordinator Franklin Seal helped organize a Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) media tour of ongoing road removal work in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The day-long field trip resulted in excellent TV coverage in Seattle, WA that highlighted how forest restoration gives a boost to local economies. The “Demand for Green-Collar Jobs Growing” TV news story can be viewed in our new online Video Archive (http://www.wildlandscpr.org/videos).
With the rapid increase in fire-suppression costs this summer and fall, the Forest Service transferred some of the $39 million in budgeted LRRI funds away from scheduled road removal projects (see The Road RIPorter 13.3 for more information), but due to diligent watch-dogging efforts by Sue, our partners in WWRI, as well as efforts by LRRI champion Rep. Norm Dicks (WA), no projects in Washington State were de-funded. Meanwhile, since the fire season ended, many of the funds borrowed from restoration projects in other western states have been restored, with the end result being that some projects were simply delayed.
In keeping with the new interest in Green Collar jobs, Wildlands CPR Research Associate Josh Hurd has been researching the economics of road removal beginning with a literature review of articles addressing the market and non-market benefits accruing from watershed restoration (see Bibliography Notes on pages 8-11). Josh has also been doing a study of public opinion and perception relevant to watershed restoration and road removal, as well as working with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to draft an official proposal to the North American Industrial Classification System (which tracks all sectors of the U.S. economy). The proposal would have them begin to track data on companies providing restoration services, something it currently does not do.
On a similar tack, Wildlands CPR’s Montana Restoration Coordinator Marnie Criley has been participating in the Regional Innovation Grant process for Western Montana. Western Montana received a $250,000 Regional Innovation Grant from the Department of Labor to come up with an economic strategy for the seven counties of western Montana. The aim of the program is to establish an infrastructure to support a regional approach to workforce, economic and educational development that will sustain efforts to promote and create diverse economies throughout the region. Marnie is working to ensure that it includes a strong emphasis on the restoration economy.
Marnie also gave a presentation at the Growing Montana’s Restoration Workforce workshop in Butte, MT on October 2. She noted that there seemed to be strong interest from both the Operating Engineers Union and the University of Montana College of Technology to organize a road decommissioning training program for heavy equipment operators.
Wildlands CPR Science Coordinator Adam Switalski has continued his work with intern Greg Peters, contractors and volunteers on a groundbreaking study to monitor the long-term effects on wildlife of road removal in the Clearwater National Forest. The team has been taking down field sites for the winter, uploading and organizing photos and analyzing data. Soon, the team will have amassed three years of information.
Transportation Program
Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder spent three days in the field with high-level Forest Service staff and leaders from a variety of recreation groups discussing how the Forest Service classifies trails — key to many aspects of off-road vehicle and roads management including funding, enforcement and closures. Other participants included the Back Country Horsemen of America, International Mountain Biking Association, Blue Ribbon Coalition, American Hiking Society, Quiet Use Coalition and the Great Old Broads for Wilderness. The event provided us an extraordinary opportunity to present some of our most pressing concerns about problems within the travel planning process, and problems with the agency’s proposed trails classifications. It also gave us a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with key allies.
Adam Rissien, Wildlands CPR’s Montana Off-Road Vehicle Coordinator, has completed work on an innovative use of the 3-D mapping environment Google Earth to demonstrate the extent of off-road vehicle intrusions into the existing Sapphire Mountain Wilderness Study Area in the Bitterroot National Forest. A video fly-over of the area showing user-created trails contrasted with proposed system routes is available online in our video archive (http://www.wildlandscpr.org/videos).
Adam has also spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the 2009 session of the Montana Legislature by working with multiple interest groups to identify opportunities to improve state level management of off-road vehicles, with an emphasis on enforcement. Adam has also been developing comments or organizing other groups to comment on several upcoming draft Travel Plans, including plans for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Bitterroot National Forest, and the Ashland District of the Custer National Forest.
Wildlands CPR Utah Off-Road Vehicle Coordinator Laurel Hagen completed work on a study of the economic impacts of the extensive Paiute ATV Trail (see her article on pages 3-5). She also assisted a local organization, The Uintah Mountain Club, in filing a formal protest of the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan for the Vernal Field Office due to poor management of off-road vehicle abuse. In addition, Laurel has been drafting a study of user conflicts between off-road vehicles and quiet recreation users in the Moab Field Office. The study will highlight the low economic inputs from off-road vehicle tourism and the low number of individual off-road vehicle tourists compared to the massive scale of area resources being dedicated to off-road vehicle users in the recently finalized Moab Travel Plan.