Wilderness News

The House is expected to vote on seven public lands bills today, including a measure to expand a wilderness area in Washington state.

H.R. 1769 from Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) would add 22,100 acres to western Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It also would designate 27.4 miles of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and the entire Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers.

PIERRE, S.D. - There's growing support in South Dakota for more wilderness designations in the West River region, the large part of the state lying to the west of the Missouri River. The support is shown in a study by Moore Information, which found solid favor across party lines, and among all age groups. When asked specifically about a proposal to designate parts of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in southwestern South Dakota as wilderness, nearly six in ten voters supported the idea.

The Wasatch canyons are a treasure that all residents of this valley rely upon whether they know it or not. More than 60 percent of our water supply comes from these seven canyons, and they also provide us with endless opportunities to connect with nature at whatever level we desire.

There's growing support in South Dakota for more wilderness designations in the West River region, the large part of the state lying to the west of the Missouri River. The support is shown in a study by Moore Information, which found solid favor across party lines, and among all age groups. When asked specifically about a proposal to designate parts of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland in southwestern South Dakota as wilderness, nearly six in ten voters supported the idea.

Chris Hesla, executive director of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, says that area deserves protection.

Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) this week will push legislation that would allow an Alaska Native corporation to acquire land in the Tongass National Forest, but his project faces opposition from the Obama administration.

The 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act allowed native corporations to select lands for development to provide economic benefits for their shareholders. The native corporation Sealaska is still entitled to claim additional acreage, but the corporation says the remaining lands offered are of inadequate quality for economic development.

It is time for everyone interested in outdoor recreation and productive natural resource management to get behind Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation bill. We have been in a 35-year management stalemate since the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation, RARE I and II studies of the 1970s. The RARE studies set out all of the areas the U.S. Forest Service recommended for wilderness classification. Since then, those areas plus many others including large buffer zones have been managed to protect wilderness qualities.

A Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee will meet Wednesday to review several bills that would pave the way for new additions or enhancements to the National Park System.

Among the bills is S. 2951, which would authorize the Interior Department to spend $80 million in the next five fiscal years to buy land surrounding the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Joe Mirasole and Jeff Holmes said they were in their element.

The Spokane County sportsmen had shoved off in a drift boat into a roadless stretch of the Grande Ronde River for a winter day of steelheading with jig-and-bobber rigs.

But they said they'd reel themselves indoors and help staff a booth at the Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show Thursday-Sunday to promote an organization that stands for a wild outdoor experience.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., recently announced support of some of the work of a good group of individuals who have been working towards establishing wilderness status on a small amount of Forest Service lands down around Indian Creek and Red Shirt in the Badlands.

I know these lands; they are fragile and beautiful.

Comments at Tuesday's city council meeting indicate a lot of people care about the 360,000 acres of desert, canyons and washes southwest of Mesquite.

And why not? It's a magnificent landscape, with incredible vistas and fascinating rock formations. It is becoming an increasingly popular place for outdoor recreation, and people come from all over the world to explore its unique attractions.