Blog Archives for Sarah Peters

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 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. 

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 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 Sarah Peters - June 5, 2009    Next Thursday evening, June 11 at 7pm at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, MT is a film screening of a new movie entitled "Division Street," co-sponsored by American Wildlands and Transportation For America. A panel discussion with the film's producer, Eric Bendick, and representatives from Tranportation For America and America Wildlands will begin at 8:15pm.  “Division Street” presents a new generation of ecologists, engineers, city-planners, and everyday citizens who are making way for wildlife by transforming the future of the American road.

By Sarah Peters - May 26, 2009    Last week the Minnesota Governor signed a state parks bill into law that also increased the fines for resource damage casued by ORVs.  The law makes reckless destruction of wetlands a gross misdemeanor, rather than just a misdemeanor.  This means that individuals convicted of wetland violations or illegal riding in rivers, lakes, state parks or state natural areas could face a penalty of up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $3,000.  They would also be banned from riding an ORV for a year.  If caught a second time, their machine could be immediately confiscated and forfeiture pro

By Sarah Peters - April 14, 2009    Yesterday, the Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision that Kane and Garfield Counties were wrong in their assertion of rights to multiple roads within the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. 

By Sarah Peters - April 2, 2009    Check out these pictures from "The Redneck Yacht Club" in Punta Gorda, Florida.  And after you've whetted your appetite there, you can read the accompanying story here. 

By Sarah Peters - April 1, 2009    I was encouraged to see an opinion editorial in The Arizona Republic a few days ago from the president of the Arizona Wildlife Federation.  Arizona is one of the many states where the Forest Service is deep in the throes of travel planning, and where it is greatly needed for people who enjoy the quiet and wildlife of the forest to speak up.

By Sarah Peters - March 17, 2009    The Lewis and Clark National Forest issued a decision yesterday that bodes well for quiet for both wildlife, the Blackfeet Indian Tribe, and recreationists.  The travel planning decision dedicated 187 miles of previously motorized trail to nonmotorized uses, while leaving access open to important trailheads. The Blackfeet tribe and local conservationists applauded the decision and supported the Forest Service's rationale behind the decision.  Unfortunately, motorized access groups are disgruntled over the decision, and plan to appeal it.