In response to the Aug. 30 guest opinion "Let's not make areas too restricted."
This guest opinion regarding the Tumacacori Highland Wilderness proposal included many inaccuracies that, as a U.S. Forest Service Wilderness manager for 25 years, I am compelled to address.
The article would lead one to believe that wilderness designation would prohibit management activities needed to protect that area. That simply is not true. Suppression of wildfires, including the use of chain saws and aircraft, is allowed in wilderness.
The natural role of fire is more easily restored in wilderness areas because they are free of man-made investments, which require protection. For nearly three decades, fires have been allowed to burn in the Blue Range in Eastern Arizona and the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, allowing the re-establishment of young aspen stands, an essential yet disappearing habitat for elk and deer.
Wildlife can be well-managed in wilderness. For instance bighorn sheep, Mexican wolves and native trout have been reintroduced into the Blue Range. More than 100 water developments are maintained in wilderness areas throughout Arizona. There is a standardized process for determining when and where activities and developments are necessary to support native species. Key wildlife species require wild, undisturbed land to survive. It is not a coincidence that the only recent sightings of jaguar in the United States occur in the Tumacacori Highlands.
The Forest Service is constantly barraged with proposals to develop wild places with power lines, highways, cell towers and off-road vehicle play areas, all which diminish wildlife habitat. Wilderness designation places a line on the map that deflects such proposals to more appropriate and common places, and it prevents our precious wild places from being whittled away until they lose their value.
Wilderness provides outstanding opportunities to hunt, fish and observe wildlife in natural settings. Sportsmen, sportswomen and all wildlife advocates should support the Tumacacori Highlands as our next Arizona wilderness.
Don Hoffman
Retired Forest Service wilderness manager, Alpine
