Blog Archives for October, 2009

By Bethanie Walder - October 26, 2009    We've been trying to figure out exactly what the FS has accomplished during the first two years of the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative. We crunched some numbers from the agency and put together a short fact sheet highlighting their successes so far.  In their first two years, they allocated funds to:

By Bethanie Walder - October 23, 2009    On Thursday, October 22, the Forest Service published an announcement about their national 2009 Rise to the Future and National Watershed Awards. We're delighted to report that the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative won the "Public Awareness Award."  Here's what the FS had to say about our work:

By Sarah Peters - October 14, 2009    The Forest Service announced today that it will be permanently closing the Upper Tellico OHV System to off road vehicle use.  This decision comes after over two years of study and heated debate.  Managers of the Forest finally admitted that the area is simply unsuitable for off road recreational use.  You can access the decision documents and Forest Service press release here.

By Thomas R Petersen - October 8, 2009   

By Bethanie Walder - October 7, 2009    I spent the last two days at the Western Governor’s Association (WGA) Wildlife Council (WGWC) meeting in Helena.  The meeting focused on progress toward implementing a resolution for improving wildlife connectivity and linkage zones across the western states.

By Sarah Peters - October 7, 2009    Last week a federal judge determined that the Forest Service did not adequately evaluate the effects of allowing road building and other activites on almost 1 million acres where that activity had previously been restricted. You can read more about the decision here.

By Bethanie Walder - October 2, 2009    Last week the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, in partnership with the MT Dept of Natural Resources, released a new report entitled: An Estimation of Montana’s Restoration Economy.   The  purpose of the project was to “estimate the economic activity resulting from public spending on restoration activities in Montana.”