Our News and Views

Wildlands CPR Staff maintain a regularly updated blog ("Our News and Views"), with insightful commentary on off-road vehicle, wildland road, and restoration issues. Check out the posts below, or subscribe to our blog's RSS feed.

A sequel documentary project with a roads focus – needs support.

Created by Marlies Wierenga on August 17, 2012

 

In 1996, Alan Honick produced “Torrents of Change” – a documentary that focused on how a storm can devastate a forest that had been subject to intensive logging for decades.  The documentary highlighted how roads were a significant contributor to the havoc that ensued during the storm.  The film also zoomed in on the Siuslaw National Forest and the beginnings of a forest wide restoration effort – with road decommission, storage and maintenance being one of the key components.

Press Release: Wildlands CPR Appeals the Island Unit Trail System Additions Project

Created by Adam Rissien on August 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

August 16, 2012

Decision Appealed to Expand Motorized Trails in Blacktail Mt Area

Lakeside, MT – Tired of the dust, noise and damage from all the off road vehicles on  Blacktail Mountain, local resident Leslie Gray and many of her neighbors were incensed when the Swan Lake District Ranger Rich Kehr signed a decision to expand motorized trails near their homes and further back in an area referred to by the Forest Service as the Island Unit.

Healthy Watersheds = Healthy Drinking Water

Created by Thomas R Petersen on August 9, 2012

Check out this newcast about Helena Montana's Ten Mile watershed, which is used as their primary water source. While the newscast talks more about the effects of fire than roads, I heard a number of implicit references to the effects of roads nonetheless.

For example, Helena’s Water Treatment Superintendent Don Clark described one of the streams in the watershed, Beaver Creek, as lined by the green leaves of bushes and healthy trees.

Road project may sting native bees

Created by Bethanie Walder on August 8, 2012

Wildlife monitoring on reclaimed roads

Created by adamswitalski on August 3, 2012

 

Island Unit...The Story Continues

Created by Adam Rissien on August 2, 2012

Today's issue of the Missoula Independent  included a decent article on the plight of residents along Blacktail Mt. Road due to the recent decision to expand motorized trails in an area called the Island Unit located just west of Lakeside, MT. You can read more details in my previous post here.

It is field season! And work is being done…

Created by Marlies Wierenga on August 1, 2012

Yesterday, I got to spend the entire day in the Middle Fork Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest (in Oregon) viewing projects supported (partially and fully) by the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program. 

Turtles and snakes and tarantulas, oh my!

Created by Bethanie Walder on July 19, 2012

Check out this fun (yes, it really is fun) video about a roadkill science experiment. The narrator wanted to see if earlier data about drivers intentionally swerving to hit snakes and turtles was true or not, so he put together a little experiment to find out. And in case turtles and snakes weren't enough, he amped up the experiment by also testing reactions to tarantulas.

Island Unit Motorized Use Expansion Project Approved

Created by Adam Rissien on July 13, 2012

Back in March, the Swan Lake District on the Flathead National Forest issued an environmental assessment to expand motorized recreation opportunities in an area called the Island Unit just west of Lakeside, MT. You can read some background on this in my previous blog post.

Big Cypress National Preserve Protected from Off Road Vehicle Abuse!

Created by Sarah Peters on July 11, 2012

Late yesterday we received word that a federal judge in Florida agreed with us on all counts to overturn a National Park Service decision to open additional trails in Big Cypress to damaging ORV use.  This win secures valuable habitat for the Florida Panther, as well as provides sensitive meadows and wetlands a chance to recover from ORV damage.  More details on the decision can be found in the press release pasted below.

Federal Court Rejects National Park Service Decision to Open More Off-Road Vehicle Trails in Big Cypress National Preserve

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