Wilderness News

Nothing gets the hackles up quite as quickly these days as broaching the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal. Just bringing up the concept is enough to turn a cocktail party into a tea party on wheels.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity exists with H.R. 5009, the Wasatch Wilderness and Watershed Protection Act of 2010. Passage of this federal legislation would add more than 26,000 acres of wilderness and special management areas to the existing 56,000 acres of wilderness on national forest lands above the Salt Lake Valley.

I am happy to see The Seattle Times put the spotlight on the unprecedented collaboration between environmentalists and the timber industry to develop a plan for managing and protecting lands in the beautiful and unique Columbia Highlands area of northeastern Washington.

Our family applauds The Times for Wednesday's article highlighting the good news in the Colville National Forest with the collaborative Columbia Highlands Initiative. Working for wildlife - and for the beautiful lands in the northeastern part of our state - this effort brings together different constituencies (conservationists, loggers and ranchers) in a laudable win-win approach.

The boundaries of the Colville fall right between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, which offer prime habitat for extremely rare species in Washington such as lynx, grizzly bear and caribou.

When you think of forest issues, you often think of diametrically opposed viewpoints between environmentalists and the timber industry that results in gridlock. 

One organization is trying to change that. 

The North East Washington forestry coalition has worked for the past eight years to find common ground between groups that have for years battled over management of the regions forests. In that time the group managed to agree to increase timber harvest in the region, while at the same time increase environmentally sound management practices. 

Photo: Rich Landers

Plan keeps timber industry, environmental concerns in mind

A proposal to designate 215,000 acres of new wilderness areas in the Colville National Forest is drawing support from a broad coalition of forest users.

The rolling highlands of Northeast Washington are home to grape ferns, lady slipper orchids, burnt-orange flameflowers - and scratch-dry ponderosa pine that timber companies really want to log.

The wild country from the Kettle Range to the Selkirk Mountains offers a corridor linking Washington's elusive lynx with other carnivores in Montana. But it also offers uber-popular spots for riding dirt bikes, jeeps and all-terrain vehicles.

The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act. There are many worthwhile reasons why this legislation should be approved, not least among which is the undeniable fact that wilderness and National Conservation Area (NCA) designations are good for Doña Ana County businesses and the local economy.

Coloradans have long chosen a way of life full of hard work and independent thinking.

As global events and economies increasingly affect our way of life in western Colorado, it becomes ever more important to stay active in planning for our lands and resources.

I am one of the many local citizens who have long awaited the momentous step U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson recently took: introducing legislation todesignate 48,000 acres of wilderness within the Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

When I was a kid, my dad often took me camping out at Indian Creek. It wasn't your typical cozy Black Hills forest campground with tent sites and lavatories.

The stark, wide-open, raw beauty of the wild prairie and badlands awed me in a completely different way. Its ruggedness and powerful silence left a lifelong impression on me.