Wilderness Commentary

For more than 40 years, Hellgate Local 885 has represented, and continues to represent, the workers of the Smurfit-Stone Missoula mill. The union's relations with the company have varied through the years from cooperation to the threat of strikes. Yet, for all the arguments over the years with Smurfit-Stone, some things the union and the company must work together on. A prime example of this is the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership.

For more than 40 years, Hellgate Local 885 has represented, and continues to represent, the workers of the Smurfit-Stone Missoula mill. The union's relations with the company have varied through the years from cooperation to the threat of strikes. Yet, for all the arguments over the years with Smurfit-Stone, some things the union and the company must work together on. A prime example of this is the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership.

Those of us who treasure the Boulder-White Clouds look forward to hiking, fishing, camping and exploring the area this summer. There is still a window of opportunity to see this amazing place added to the national wilderness system this year.

Even in its death throes, the Bush/Cheney o(i)ligarchy is still dangerous to the public interest. To the Roan Plateau, Baca National Wildlife Refuge and other priceless Colorado natural treasures the Bushies are trying to get into the hands of the energy industry before they leave office, add roughly 87,000 acres of priceless roadless areas in Colorado that are threatened by a Bush rule change.

Your July 21 editorial "Two Million Acres of Wilderness" noted that this "Congress has passed one wilderness bill" and that many others are in "various stages in the legislative process." While technically accurate, that does not quite capture the full picture.

Regardless of why we venture into the wild, we all are in search of the same thing: what I call the power of place.

There are thousands of miles in wilderness, but they all lead to one truth: It makes you feel clean inside. It transcends everything, and stays with you for years.

Sen. Ken Salazar deserves kudos for introducing the Browns Canyon Wilderness Act.

Creating Browns Canyon Wilderness is long overdue. Part of the area was recommended for wilderness designation back in the 1980s.

A group of local citizens has been working to create the area for hiking, horseback riding and hunting opportunities for seven years. This group of locals has built an impressive list of supporters including:

I read with interest Steve Tetreault's article "Porter studies federal land plan," but I was disappointed that Rep. Jon Porter "is considering the proposal but probably will not decide soon whether to embrace the plan that calls for upgrading wilderness designations in the 344,400-acre Gold Butte region."

Congress has an opportunity to add significantly to the nation's store of protected wilderness - a million new acres at a minimum, and perhaps twice that if everything falls into place. But it must move quickly. This is an election year, with many other distractions, including an economic crisis and soaring fuel prices, and there is not a lot of time left to pass legislation.

The Salt Lake Tribune editorial, "Cost of drilling: Wells threaten tourism, hunting and natural beauty," paints a picture of what could become of Utah's hunting, fishing and recreation traditions that depend on healthy lands. Unfortunately, The Tribune didn't mention that we've already begun to see these impacts.