New Poll Shows Support Growing for SD Wilderness
March 16th, 2010
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.
Opinion: Indian Creek wilderness right thing to do
March 15th, 2010Sen. 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.
Edgar Wayburn, 103, dies; No. 1 protector of U.S. wilderness
March 9th, 2010
By Emma Brown
Washington Post
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Edgar Wayburn, 103, a physician and five-time Sierra Club president who is credited with protecting more wilderness and parkland than any other American citizen, died March 5 at his home in San Francisco. No cause of death was reported.
Ag secretary Vilsack sees "tremendous opportunity" in forest bill
March 8th, 2010DEER LODGE - The Obama administration could support the mandate in Sen. Jon Tester's forest bill to log a set number of acres every year as a pilot project, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said here Saturday.
Vilsack, in a change of position for the administration, said some changes to the measure, which mandates a set number of acres be logged every year, could be tried to see how well it works.
Secretary Vilsack to Hear About Forest Jobs and Recreation Act
March 5th, 2010
DEER LODGE, Mont. - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is visiting Montana Saturday to guage how people in the region feel about a proposed new law to manage the state's forest land. His visit includes a community meeting in Deer Lodge to hear local views on Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Considered by its sponsor as collaborative effort between environmentalists, the timber industry and other stakeholders, the Act would attempt to balance the needs of all who have an interest in the state's forest areas for things such as recreation, logging, fire management and hunting. Sec. Vilsack's visit is being viewed as "due diligence."
Wilderness plan for Buffalo Gap a hot topic
March 3rd, 2010Under a canopy of snow, blades of prairie grass lay brown and dormant, awaiting the renewal of spring.
But in three areas of South Dakota, this year's thaw signals another possible revival - the chance to preserve some 50,000 acres of public land within the Buffalo Gap National Grassland as a wilderness area.
Pew Cheers Action to Boost Alpine Lakes Wilderness
February 24th, 2010
The House Natural Resources Committee today approved the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 176), sending it to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for action. The measure, introduced by Representative David Reichert (R-WA), would expand the existing 394,000-acre Alpine Lakes Wilderness by more than 22,000 acres, and designate parts of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie and Pratt Rivers as wild and scenic. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) has introduced companion legislation, which is now before the full Senate.
Opinion: Collect facts before cutting into Tester’s forest bill
February 22nd, 2010A recent op-ed by Howie Wolke (Feb. 16), in which he claims that Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation bill was written behind closed doors, needs addressing.
Hundreds attend Senate hearing on wilderness bill
February 16th, 2010
U.S. Rep. Harry Teague among those who show up; Bingaman says there's not yet a timeline for moving the legislation forward
Hundreds of people showed up in Las Cruces today for an official U.S. Senate hearing on a proposal from Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, D-N.M., to protect more than 300,000 acres of land in Doña Ana County.
New Mexico Youth Conservation Educator Named “Wilderness Hero”
February 8th, 2010
The Pew Environment Group's Campaign for America's Wilderness announced today that Roberta Salazar of Taos, New Mexico, is being honored as this month's "Wilderness Hero" for working to connect young people with nature. Ten years ago, Salazar made a personal commitment to ensure that Northern New Mexico kids grow up recognizing the importance of protecting the land and the healthy ecosystems on which they depend.
