May 29, 2008

wildlandscpr — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:33:44 -0600

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	News: 10 National Parks to Get Better Protection From ORV Damage With the recently announced settlement of a longstanding lawsuit, park administrators have finally acknowledged the severity of the problem and pledged to take new action to protect park resources from off-road vehicle damage. Ten parks will become part of a new national pilot program of special public outreach campaigns and enforcement activities. more ...
	News: Three ORV areas on Hatteras Island closed under consent decree The National Park Service closed down three popular areas on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to off-road vehicles. They are the first major closures under the terms of a consent decree that was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle and that ended a contentious legal battle over ORV access on the seashore. more ...
	News: Road war ruling favors the feds U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled that the placement of 39 county road signs in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is illegal because it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution - which declares that federal law trumps state and local law. more ...
	Featured Resource: Greenhouse Gas and Public Health Impacts of ORV Use in California Motorized off-road vehicle use in California releases as much greenhouse gas as burning 500,000 barrels of oil each year — equivalent to more than 1.5 million car trips from San Francisco to Los Angeles — according to a groundbreaking report released today by the Center for Biological Diversity and Clean Air Initiative. more ...
	Photo: On-the-ground restoration workshop to protect bull trout Members of the Elk Creek Management Group, together with local landowners, state agency representatives, forest restoration professionals and Wildlands CPR staff members, discuss strategies for restoring a section of heavily logged and roaded forest land in Swan Valley, MT during a recent weekend workshop held on the parcel. Check it out.

Wildlands CPR is the only national conservation group in the U.S. that specifically targets off-road vehicle abuse of public lands and actively promotes wildland restoration, road removal and the prevention of wildland road construction.

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April 30, 2008

wildlandscpr — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:42:00 -0600

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	When Good Policies Lead to Bad Decisions A few weeks ago I got a demoralizing phone call, highlighting how some people refuse to see things in any colors other than black and white. I'm a feminist woman and an environmentalist and the Forest Service is more offended by a cartoon of a topless woman on a dune buggy than by the damage that dune buggy causes the land. more ...
	News: Legacy Roads Remediation funding in Region One (Montana, Northern Idaho) In late March, the Northern Region of the Forest Service, announced the dispersal of $4.7 million in new road management funds. About 20% of the overall northern region funding will go to restore fish passage by fixing culverts, and approximately 20% will go to road reclamation. more ...
	News: Plum Creek/USFS road easement redesignation Behind closed doors the Forest Service has been in negotiation with Plum Creek about road easements. If successful in redesignating their easements as public access, Plum Creek will be able to develop hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and potentially place additional burdens of road maintenance upon the already-burdened public. more ...
	Opinion: Our State Is Clean, Green and Collaborative Washington Congressman Norm Dicks and Governor Chris Gregoire discuss the role that collaboration plays in environmental restoration in Washington. They single out the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative as a "Yet another win-win - protecting working forests is good for the environment and keeps people working in the forest products industry." more ...
	Photos: Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah Fighting the tide of locals escaping town during the ugliest event of the tourist season, our brave Utah Coordinator ventures into the desert to capture these images of one of the nation's most high-profile off-roading events. Check it out.

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April 1, 2008

wildlandscpr — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:20:09 -0600

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	ORV Oversight Hearings On March 13, the Subcommittee On National Parks, Forests And Public Lands held an oversight hearing on "The Impacts Of Unmanaged Off-Road Vehicles On Federal Land." The hearing was about, "the agencies' inability to manage the areas that are being overrun." more ...
	News: Colorado passes state law to expand ORV enforcement Gov. Bill Ritter has signed a bill that tightens the rules for off-road vehicles that allows 250 state officers to enforce laws on federal lands. The new law (House Bill 1069) prohibits motor vehicles from using public lands, trails, or roads unless it's authorized by a sign or other means. more ...
	News: Forest Service Hikes Fines in Colorado Fees have gone up, in some cases dramatically, for violations on Colorado's national forest land. The fine for using a motorized vehicle, such as a snowmobile or a dirt bike, in a designated wilderness area is now $500, up from $75. The fine for being off of a designated road is now $250, up from $75. more ...
	News: Arizona Trailblazing Bill The Arizona House recently passed a bipartisan and widely-supported bill addressing ATV use on public lands. The bill would require ATV registration, and would use the fees from that registration to fund education, maintenance, and reclamation programs. The bill is now in the senate. more ...
	New Resource: ORV Best Management Practices Wildlands CPR recently released a set of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for off-road vehicles on forestlands. These BMPs are designed as a resource for public land management agency staff, law enforcement officials, and citizens groups. Check it out.
	Wildlands CPR Annual Report Bringing home the bacon… That short phrase pretty much sums up Wildlands CPR's most significant successes last year. Through two campaigns, we helped secure $73 million for federal and state agencies for public lands watershed restoration. Check it out.

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February 14, 2008

wildlandscpr — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:09:42 -0700

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	Road Reclamation & Remediation Needs A new Wildlands CPR report highlights several national forests where road remediation and reclamation are needed. These and similar projects could be funded by the recent $39 million federal appropriation for the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative. Executive Director Bethanie Walder presented this survey of watershed restoration opportunities to top Forest Service officials in a January meeting. Click here.
	News: California Toll Road Voted Down After a marathon public hearing in which hundreds of people spoke, the California Coastal Commission voted late Wednesday to deny approval for a toll road through a popular beach state park. The road would have bisected California’s fifth-most-visited state park, San Onofre State Beach in north San Diego County. more ...
	News: Restoration in Colorado's San Juans More than 6,400 miles of road lace San Juan public lands, and more than half of those miles are either user-created or no longer maintained. A collaborative effort is now hoping to enhance the area’s wildlife habitat and water quality by erasing some of that unnecessary mileage. more ...
	News: Nevada City Bans ORVs The Reno City Council on January 30 directed its staff to draw up a new ordinance banning all private motorized vehicles on city land, including open space. Offenders would be subject to a misdemeanor, which could include up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. more ...
	Resource: Recent Road Research We just updated our annotated list of all review articles published about road impacts in the last ten years. This updated compilation should be your first source for understanding the most recent science about road effects on water, wildlife and wildlands. Check it out.
	Resource: Recent ORV Research We also just updated our annotated bibliography of the most recent off-road vehicle research available. This compilation includes abstracts from every off-road vehicle article that has been published in the last ten years. Check it out.
	Image: ORV Damage in the Big Cypress National Preserve Check out this image by Marcel Huijser documenting extremey wide off-road vehicle damage in the Big Cypress National Preserve. A good visual reminder of what we are trying so hard to prevent. more ...

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January 14, 2008

wildlandscpr — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:39:21 -0700

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	Share your story about off-road vehicles and wild areas Wildlands CPR is launching a new section on our website where our supporters and interested visitors can share their stories of off-road vehicle encounters, wild lands experiences, and restoration excursions. Want to share your story or read those of others? Click here.
	News: Analysis of Rey-Cantwell exchange Re: WWRI In June, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent a letter to the Forest Service asking some pointed questions about management of their road system. The agency's October response is telling: an increasing number of roads are receiving a decreasing amount of maintenance and the agency seems to be playing shell game to avoid meeting water quality and wildlife standards. more ...
	News: Wildlands CPR Forced to Sue over Off-Road Vehicle Damage in Big Cypress National Preserve A coalition of conservation groups filed a lawsuit to protect Big Cypress National Preserve from damaging off-road vehicle use. The suit responds to a decision by the Park Service to open previously closed areas of the Preserve to swamp buggies and other off-road vehicles. more ...
	Featured Resource: Thrillcraft The Foundation for Deep Ecology has released a new book, Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation. This shocking book is packed with more than 100 powerful, color photographs and two dozen insightful essays. Wildlands CPR Executive Director Bethanie Walder and Board member David Havlick both contributed essays to the book. more ...
	Essay: "Smoke and Gears: Seeing through the Off-Roader’s Demographic Mirage" This essay by Dave Havlick is one of the excellent essays in Thrillcraft. We have obtained permission to reprint "Smoke and Gears: Seeing through the Off-Roader's Demographic Mirage" in its entirety. Check it out.
	Image: Tracks in the California Coast Range This image of renegade routes in the California Coast Range was taken by George Wuerthner, and appears in Thrillcraft. These renegate routes are notorious for spreading invasive weeds throughout the range. more ...

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December 21, 2007

wildlandscpr — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:40:02 -0700

We want to share some really good news

This past Wednesday Congress approved $39 million for road removal and repair on Forest Service lands. The money will be divided among areas where decaying U.S. Forest Service roads contribute to water quality problems, especially in areas that support threatened or endangered species, like bull trout, and provide clean drinking water for communities. Please read our press release below for more details.

Sue Gunn, Washington Representative for Wildlands CPR, has been a key player in the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative, the coalition of environmental groups and state agencies that provided the push on this bill. Among several key functions, Sue has worked with Bethanie to organize the coalition to articulate a medium-term strategy, expand our messaging on this to include the environment AND jobs, generate letters of support to members of Congress from their conservation constituents in other key states, and led negotiations with Forest Service leadership in the Pacific Northwest region.

Back here in Montana, Marnie Criley stepped up to interpret what this may mean for harmful roads on forests in Montana. Listen to her 2-minute interview on the local NPR affiliate’s banner news program, Montana Evening Edition. Visit the Montana Public Radio website and fast forward to the beginning of the segment at 6:57. Marnie’s leadership with the Montana Forest Restoration Committee positions her and that group to lobby for a chunk of this money to put to word here in western Montana. Marnie’s credibility and expertise on this issue is recognized in the email message below sent by a leader of Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency, which he copied a few of our partners—the MT Governor’s chief policy advisor, a former Congressman and his co-worker from Western Progress (the think tank that recruited Marnie to speak at their recent restoration conference).

Donate now and help us continue this important work.

Congress Approves $39 million for Vital Watershed Restoration on National Forest Lands

Funds could target crumbling forest roads that harm clean water and bull trout habitat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 20, 2007

CONTACTS: Marnie Criley, Restoration Coordinator, 406-543-9551
Sue Gunn, Washington Representative, 360-754-1520

Missoula, MT -- On December 19 Congress passed an appropriations bill which included $39.4 million for urgently needed watershed restoration on national forest lands. Once President Bush signs this bill, the money will go to areas where decaying U.S. Forest Service roads contribute to water quality problems, especially in areas that support threatened or endangered species, like bull trout, and provide clean drinking water for communities.

"Not only will this allocation save the Forest Service money in the long run by addressing road issues before they become road nightmares for fisheries and streams, but it will also provide restoration jobs to people living in Montana's rural communities," said Marnie Criley, Restoration Coordinator for Wildlands CPR.

The Forest Service is responsible for managing over 32,000 miles of roads throughout Montana. Thousands of miles of these roads are unneeded and harmful--they degrade water quality and are prone to washing out and harming bull trout habitat. Road decommissioning and reclamation is the least expensive option for fixing the problem while also reaping benefits for local workers, water sources, fish and wildlife.

This infusion of $40 million for road reclamation and remediation can provide more than 580 family-wage jobs. The investment in restoration can also protect more than 60 million people in 3,400 communities whose water originates on Forest Service lands. This appropriation is a great first step toward addressing these long-standing needs.

Road decommissioning and reclamation is the best and least expensive option. The Forest Service estimates that road decommissioning could save taxpayers up to $1,200 annually per mile of decommissioned road. Being proactive is another key strategy. It is cheaper to remove a road before it fails than to remove the sediment from the stream after a road fails. Some engineers have estimated that road reclamation can cost at least 50% less than fixing the problem after the roads fail.

While state-by-state allocations of the Forest Service funding have not been made, the money will be shared among forests where decaying roads, impassable culverts, and storm damage impair fish habitat for threatened and endangered species. Streams with threatened bull trout in Montana could be improved by road reclamation projects funded by this appropriation.

This appropriation can also be one more infusion into the growing restoration economy in Montana. In 2007 the Montana legislature created a new statewide office of restoration housed at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. In addition, the state allocated $34 million for restoration projects. In a separate effort 29 people, representing a very broad set of interests including conservation, hunting and fishing, outfitting, logging, mill operations, state government and the Forest Service drafted and adopted a landmark set of 13 principles for restoring Montana’s forests, watersheds and wildlife. Montana is at the forefront of a growing national interest in restoration, as reflected by this significant Congressional appropriation today.

“This funding is an important first step toward addressing our longer-term needs and our coalition will continue to work to secure sustained watershed restoration funding,” said Sue Gunn, Wildlands CPR’s Washinton State representative. Sue and several conservation groups and state leaders worked cooperatively with Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Maria Cantwell to champion this effort in Congress.

This initial investment in watershed restoration is an important first step to an enormous problem that will require significant long-term investments. Wildlands CPR will encourage the Forest Service to use these funds to reclaim unneeded roads in order to restore fish and wildlife habitat, secure sources of clean drinking water, and improve wildlife habitat throughout the state.

Listen to a 2-minute radio interview with Wildlands CPR Restoration Coordinator Marnie Criley on Montana Evening Edition and fast forward to the beginning of the segment at 6:57.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.wildlandscpr.org/Montana
http://www.wildlandscpr.org/Washington

November 20, 2007

wildlandscpr — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:53:01 -0700

	Give Thanks this holiday season by contributing to Wildlands CPR Our success is your success. So please Give Thanks for special places that Wildlands CPR is helping to protect. Give Thanks for the sustaining benefits that our efforts conserve--clean water, healthy wildlife, human enjoyment, and diverse plant life.. more ...
	On-the-ground Research on the Benefits of Watershed Restoration A recent front-page article in the Missoulian highlights work by Wildlands CPR to assess the ecological benefits and impacts of restoring watersheds by removing unneeded, damaging old roads. The article gives a nod to the economic benefits of road removal as well, noting multi-million dollar investments by the Nez Perce Tribe. more ...
	News: Call for help: Congress members right to request limits on OHVs Federal lands in Utah belong to all Americans, not just Utahns. Thus it was appropriate for 93 members of Congress to call for the restriction of OHVs on certain Federal lands in Utah, despite Rep. Chris Cannon's objections. more ...
	News: FWP urging off-highway vehicle users to act responsibly A Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks survey revealed that 15 to 30 percent of hunters regularly ignore vehicle use regulations. The FWP is urging hunters to follow regulations this hunting season in order to ensure quality hunting opportunities. more ...
	From the Blog: Shifting political winds re: restoration funding The state/federal Everglades restoration project was adopted in 2000, and is described as the largest restoration project in the world. While the state of Florida has invested billions, the Feds have not been particularly forthcoming with their share. more ...
	Featured Resource: How Many is Too Many: A Review of Road Density Thresholds for Wildlife The negative impacts of wildland roads on wildlife have been well documented. The threshold of road mileage that significantly threatens wildlife populations is reviewed in this resource with special attention to thresholds for elk, wolves, bears, lynx, and wolverine. more ...
	Image: ORV Damage in Utah ORV ruts in a wet meadow in the Wasatch Mountains Utah, courtesy of Scott T. Smith and featured in the upcoming publication, Thrillcraft: The Environmental Consequences of Motorized Recreation. more ...

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October 19, 2007

wildlandscpr — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:26:33 -0600

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	Wildlands CPR Leads Collaborative Group on Restoration principles Wildlands CPR is helping lead a collaborative effort that holds great promise for ecologically sound restoration in Montana. The group calls itself the Montana Forest Restoration Committee, and Wildlands CPR's Marnie Criley chairs the group's Vision and Principles Subcommittee. more ...
	News: Deterioration of forest roads threatens our drinking water Check out this great guest editorial in the San Jose Mercury News, from former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck supporting a proposed increase in Forest Service funding road repair and decommissioning. Wildlands CPR helps lead the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative to support this funding effort. more ...
	News: Conservation group wins battle for Forest Service records Read about Wildlands CPR's recent victory with the Western Environmental Law Center in which we compelled the Forest Service to release information on the world's largest road network. We'll analyze the info to help all of us who address problems caused by decaying roads and off-road vehicle abuse. more ...
	Essay: Kith and Kin of the Wild About two years ago I stumbled across a worldwide writing contest on the Internet. Sponsored by British Shell Oil, it offered a prize of twenty-thousand pounds, and the question under consideration was "do we still need nature?" Excerpted from Phil Condon's essay that can be found in A Road Runs Through It: Reviving Wild Places. more ...
	Featured Resource: Off-Road Vehicle Impacts on Hunting and Fishing The Izaak Walton League of America released a new national survey of state fish and wildlife managers that reveals negative impacts on hunting and fishing from off-road vehicles. These land managers indicated that more enforcement is needed to protect hunting and fishing from motorized recreation impacts. more ...
	Video: Bear on Clearwater restored road A Wildlands CPR research camera captured this video of a bear meandering along a removed road on the Palouse District of the Clearwater National Forest. The road had been part of a network of unstable logging roads being removed as part of a watershed restoration initiative led by the Nez Perce Tribe. more ...

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September 26, 2007

wildlandscpr — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:41:11 -0600

Welcome to Wildland CPR's new e-newsletter! Read ahead to find stories
and commentary about off-road vehicles, watershed restoration, and
roads. This periodic publication will have 1-2 editions each month.

Members will continue to receive our popular quarterly journal, the Road-RIPorter. Click here to join Wildlands CPR and support our work.

	Feature story: Bitterroot Quiet Use Coalition Takes Off Wildlands CPR is putting extra effort into stopping off-road vehicle abuse and restoring watersheds and landscapes in our home state of Montana. And the benefits are already beginning to surface. A diverse coalition of hikers, horseback riders, hunters, homeowners and other conservationists are taking a stand to conserve clean water, healthy wildlife, and opportunities for folks to enjoy nature. more ...
	News: Wildlands CPR ally: “Feds must live up to commitment to maintain failing logging roads” “It's high time for the federal government to live up to its commitment to restore and maintain its failing logging roads. Puget Sound restoration, salmon recovery and the health of our rivers will suffer if it does not.” Those are the parting words in this guest column by the director of the Washington Department of Ecology, an ally in coalition efforts to win a $65 million appropriation for forest restoration through road removal. Read the op-ed or read about this campaign at wildlandscpr.org.
	News: Attacker on Dirt Bike Gets Off Sierra Club organizer Bob Clark was leading a hike when he was assaulted by a dirt biker riding illegally in Recommended Wilderness near the Idaho-Montana border. Despite excellent police work by the Forest Service, the feds didn’t prosecute the case. Instead, an Idaho county issued a warrant for felony aggravated assault but let the repeat offender off the hook with a small fine. Read more in the September 8 edition of the Missoulian. more ...
	Essay: The Wildland/New Urbanist Interface Wildlands CPR focuses our work on wildlands, not the urban growth and road issues which our founding organization tackled. But now we’ve come full circle, with our restoration program partnering with those working on community revitalization — restoring the natural link between wildlands, watersheds and the built environment. more ...
	Featured Resource: User Conflict Incident Report Form The “User Conflict Incident Report Form” is a must-have item for every visitor to public lands. The simplest of Wildlands CPR’s monitoring forms, this form prepares and enables citizens to document damage and conflicts caused by off-road vehicles riding where they’re not supposed to be. Please carry a copy of this form every time you visit our public lands. more ...
	Image of the Week: Wolf on removed road in Idaho A motion-sensitive camera captured this night-time image in April 2007. The wolf was trotting along a removed road on the Powell Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest. The removed road had been part of a network of logging roads that was removed as part of a watershed restoration initiative led by the Nez Perce Tribe and being studied by Wildlands CPR. more ...

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August 27, 2007

wildlandscpr — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:17:33 -0600

Welcome to Wildland CPR's new e-newsletter! Read ahead to find stories and commentary about off-road vehicles, watershed restoration, and roads. This periodic publication (1-2 editions each month) will replace Skid Marks, which many of you have been receiving.

Members will continue to receive our popular quarterly journal, the Road-RIPorter. Click here to join Wildlands CPR and support our work.

	$65 Million for Watershed Restoration When it comes to salmon recovery, decommissioning and removing dams grabs the headlines. But decaying roads are equally damaging to endangered salmon populations and may just get the attention—and funding—they need.
	Featured Resource: Six Strategies for Success This new report recommends six strategies for off-road vehicle enforcement success. It is based on interviews with more than 50 public land managers, private landowners, citizen group leaders and volunteers, and law enforcement officers.
	Renegade ATV drivers invading roadless forests Georgia is facing a growing off-road vehicle problem: ATV riders are illegally creating routes in roadless areas. This August 20, 2007 USA Today story highlights the problem.
	ATV Hit-and-Run Injures Hiker Bill Burgund, a retired police officer, was hit by an ATV illegally riding in an area set aside for wildlife and hiking. The rider fled the scene. This June 18, 2007 Missoulian article tells Bil'sl story.
	A Day in the Life of Laurel Hagen Laurel, our Utah Off-Road Vehicle Coordinator, tells us about an exciting day meeting with an off-road vehicle activist.
	Image of the Week: Bull Moose in Idaho This bull moose was captured on a removed road by a remote camera on October 9th, 2006. The road was part of a network of logging roads in the Shotgun Creek region of the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho. The road was removed as part of a watershed restoration initiative led by the Nez Perce Tribe and being studied by Wildlands CPR.

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Newsletter

May 29, 2008

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April 30, 2008

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April 1, 2008

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February 14, 2008

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January 14, 2008

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December 21, 2007

We want to share some really good news

Donate now and help us continue this important work.

Congress Approves $39 million for Vital Watershed Restoration on National Forest Lands

November 20, 2007

October 19, 2007

Click here to join Wildlands CPR and support our work

September 26, 2007

August 27, 2007

Want to support our work?
Click here to donate to Wildlands CPR

Want to support our work?
Click here to donate to Wildlands CPR