Blog Archives for December, 2009

By Sarah Peters - December 23, 2009    Today Judge Molloy signed a settlement agreement between Wildlands CPR, Friends of the Bitterroot, and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest that removes authorization for snowmobile grooming in the northern half of the West Pioneers Wilderness Study Area for the 2009-2010 season, and terminates the authorization entirely after the present season. 

By Bethanie Walder - December 22, 2009    I was intrigued and pleased to see an article in the Spokane, WA Spokesman-Review the other day highlighting potential snowmobile closures as a result of illegal activity.  Since beginning to research off-road vehicle enforcement issues nearly 5 years ago, Wildlands CPR is always on the lookout for off-road vehicle enforcement changes that impose real consequences for bad behavior.  In our Six Strategies for Success Enforcement Report, f

By Bethanie Walder - December 21, 2009    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dec. 21, 2009 Future gets brighter for state's aging national forest roads OLYMPIA - Congress and the Obama administration are responding with on-the-ground results in response to appeals by a coalition of conservation groups and the state Departments of Ecology and Fish & Wildlife. Federal action is now occurring to repair and reclaim crumbling national forest roads in Washington state that have been harming endangered salmon and clean water.

By Bethanie Walder - December 9, 2009    On October 30, Congress appropriated $90 million for the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative.  The funds are used to protect and restore clean water by reclaiming unneeded roads and fixing the roads we do need.  We just received the 2010 regional allocations, and added them into a chart showing how they compare to the 2008 ($40 million) and 2009 ($50 million) allocations:

By Adam Rissien - December 9, 2009    Wildlands CPR worked with Montanans for Quiet Recreation this past summer helping to coordinate off-road vehicle monitoring on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.  Overall, MQR conducted or received monitoring data on 28 trails and areas, and collected 322 pictures showing a variety of ORV impacts as well as signs, closure devices and scenic views. Some of the worst damage was found at trailheads leading into in the West Pioneer WSA, and from user-created routes in the East Pioneer IRA.

By Sarah Peters - December 8, 2009    Yesterday Wildlands CPR and four other conservation groups, Cascadia Wildlands, Umpqua Watersheds, Oregon Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity, joined forces to challenge a trail construction project slated for an undeveloped Roadless Area in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area on the Siuslaw National Forest.