Daily Wilderness News Clips

Montana Senator Jon Tester is still seeking support and input on his Forest Jobs and Recreation Bill which was introduced back in July.

The measure seems to be gaining momentum but still faces hurdles such as getting the forest service on board.

The legislation is based on proposals offered by hunters, backcountry men, motorized recreation groups and loggers.

Tester sees the bill as a way to solve the wildfire threat to Montana communities from pine beetle killed forests.     

A Christian-based summer camp in Antelope is working on a land-swap deal that could create two new wilderness areas and make about 15,000 acres of popular hunting grounds accessible to the public.

Young Life's Washington Family Ranch, about 40 miles northeast of Madras, often has hunters wandering onto its property. The ranch surrounds land owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

A checkerboard of federally owned parcels within the boundaries of the Young Life Washington Family Ranch east of Antelope is fueling talk of a trade.

"We're working on a very large land exchange between Young Life, a few other private landowners and the BLM," Forrest Reinhardt, a Young Life youth pastor who represents the Washington Family Ranch, told the Jefferson County Commission Oct. 14.

In Colorado's Vail Valley Monday, famous mountain climber Aron Ralston says he explored most of the land that would become protected wilderness under the Hidden Gems proposal.

He spoke in favor of Hidden Gems during a press conference Monday at Fly Fishing Outfitters in Avon.

Ralston was the first person to climb all of Colorado's 14ers solo in winter. He fell into the national spotlight in 2003 when he was forced to cut off the lower part of his arm because it was trapped under a boulder during a mountaineering trip in Utah.

Rep. Salazar introduces wilderness bill

The bill would add more than 60,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains.

A bill that would protect more than 60,000 acres of wilderness in Western Colorado was introduced Friday by U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.

The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Bill would protect large areas of U.S. Forest and Bureau of Land Management land in San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties, at the request of local governments. Among the lands are Mount Sneffels and Wilson Peak; two of the state's fourteeners - mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation.

Salazar presents 62,000-acre San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act

Congressman John Salazar , D-Colo., introduced the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday in Washington, paving the way for more protection of more than 60,000 acres in the Telluride region.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar on Thursday introduced a bill that would add wilderness designations to more than 60,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains.

The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act would protect 61,682 acres in San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties. He said the bill emerged through cooperation with local governments.

"These are the lands which define the character and spirit of our great state and nation, and as such, it is my honor today to introduce the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Bill," Salazar said in a news release.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., on Thursday introduced a bill that would provide wilderness and other protections to 61,682 acres in the San Juan Mountains region.

The measure would include additions to the Mount Sneffels and Lizard Head wilderness areas and create an 8,614-acre wilderness area at McKenna Peak in the lower Dolores River Basin.

Unnoticed by many, two members of Congress from Washington have decided it's about time to do something to resolve the seemingly endless debate over the future of our last roadless lands.

Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Jay Inslee, both Democrats, have re-introduced the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (S.1738, H.R. 3563) to codify the Clinton-era Roadless Rule that has been on a legal roller coaster for the past nine years.

The City Council gave moral support Tuesday to a proposal that would protect thousands of acres of wilderness and other scenic areas in Southern New Mexico.

Council members voted 6-0 for a resolution backing a bill introduced last month by New Mexico's Democratic U.S. senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall.

The legislation would designate 259,000 acres in Doña Ana County as wilderness and another 100,000 acres as national conservation areas. Uses such as hiking, hunting and cattle grazing would still be allowed.