Articles

January 5, 2010 - Greg Peters   This report is the culmination of several months of research and investigation into the Forest Service’s road management strategies and protocols.  In 2005, Wildlands CPR sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Forest Service asking for any and all documents relating to the road system and the methods that the agency uses to manage and track this system. After nearly two years of negotiation, the information started arriving.

January 5, 2010 -    Winter’s a little late this year, so we’re all getting as much work done as possible in anticipation of the inevitable (at least we hope) snow. But organizationally, we have a lot to give thanks for as we enter the holiday season – read on:

January 5, 2010 - Bethanie Walder   On Friday, October 30, President Obama signed the Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. The bill provides funding for public lands management across the country, including the national forests. While there are many great provisions in this legislation, Wildlands CPR is thrilled that the Act includes $90 million in funding for the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative for 2010. This is equivalent to the total amount allocated to Legacy Roads and Trails in 2008 and 2009 combined.

January 5, 2010 - Wildlands CPR Staff   Restoration ProgramThe top story in this quarter’s restoration news is the allocation of $90 million to the Forest Service for the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative for fiscal year 2010.   This effectively doubles the allocation to Legacy Roads in FY08 and FY09 combined!   As we reported in the fall, our Restoration Campaign Director, Sue Gunn, led the campaign to allocate and increase this watershed restoration funding.

January 5, 2010 - David A. Lien   “Fair chase” hunting—hunting for food or to manage game populations with certain ethical standards—is very acceptable to most Americans.  Fair chase is fundamental to ethical hunting because it addresses a balance between hunters and the prey we pursue, but today this fair chase ethic is under assault, on many fronts.

January 5, 2010 - Sarah Peters, with assistance from Southern Environmental Law Center   The Tellico River flows from its headwaters in Cherokee County, North Carolina on into Tennessee.  As it does, it supports a self-sustaining population of wild native brook trout.  Valued for their beauty, their delicious taste, and their sport-fish qualities, they are also indicators of the broader health of the watersheds where they live.

January 5, 2010 - Bethanie Walder   In early October, I attended a Western Governors’ Wildlife Council (“Council”) meeting in Helena, MT where the key discussion topic was how to improve wildlife connectivity and linkage zones across the western states.  To be sitting at a committee meeting of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) talking about wildlife connectivity is not something I would have predicted a decade ago, but western states are now trying to anticipate development impacts by identifying areas of particular importance to fish and wildlife.  Such forward-thinking, integrated planning is very encouraging,

October 6, 2009 -    Much to our delight, there hasn’t been a wildfire in sight this summer. It’s been pleasantly cool, with a few hot days sprinkled in here and there to remind us that it’s summer, though the record-breaking rain in August definitely made us question what season it really was. And in the midst of all this really nice weather, we’ve been managing to get a bunch of work done, too…

October 6, 2009 -    The number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park would be cut by more than half under an Obama administration proposal announced in July. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the proposed rule would limit snowmobile use to 318 snowmobiles and 78 multi-passenger snowcoaches daily for the next two winters, down from 720 snowmobiles per day allowed last winter.

October 6, 2009 -     Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) recently introduced The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009, which was  developed through a partnership of organizations and individuals working on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Tester took a lot of heat for not making the details of the bill more public as he, his staff, and a select few constituents were working out the final version. The full text can now be found at: www.tester.senate.gov/forest.