Daily Wilderness News Clips

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Chaco Canyon National Monument, yet new environmental threats cloud the future of the archaeological treasure.

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has studied the viability of the park in light of these new environmental challenges and has made recommendations to ensure its future.

In addition to severe under funding and neglect by the federal government, development schemes threaten the health of the park, according to the alliance.

A plan to add significant new chunks of wilderness in Summit County is taking shape behind the scenes, as a coalition of advocacy groups tries to get buy-in from key stakeholders.

Under the hidden gems proposal, Summit could get nearly 30,000 acres of new wilderness, including a huge 13,000-acre parcel spanning some of the most rugged high country in the Tenmile Range from Quandary Peak south to Copper Mountain.

Brian Maguire, a computer engineer from Portland, has won a Heroes of Conservation Award.

The awards are presented by "Field & Stream" magazine.

Profiles of all the winners are in the October issue.

Here's what Maquire's citation includes:

"Disturbed by the disappearance of his hunting grounds, Maguire co-founded the group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to lobby for their protection.

The Wild Sky wilderness proposal has run into a somewhat bizarre roadblock. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has put a hold on a number of bills, including the popular plan to establish the state's first new wilderness reserve in more than two decades.

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 Las Cruces Home Builders Asso­ciation has officially signed onto the move­ment to get a number of areas around the county designated as wilderness after forg­ing an agreement to give developers a little more breathing space on the East Mesa.

Jeff Steinborn, who heads the south­ern New Mexico office of the Wilderness Alliance, announced the pact Wednesday, Sept. 12, at the Doña Ana County Govern­ment Center with representatives from the homebuilders group.

Re: the Aug. 30 guest opinion "Let's not make areas too restricted."

I am a hunter and an angler, and I think Larry Audsley is demonstrably wrong.

Unfortunately, Audsley has either limited information or he willingly disregards the great body of literature that clearly shows the benefit wilderness and wild lands provide to wildlife, including many game species.

An association of home builders has reached a compromise with wilderness proponents on the boundary for eastward growth of Las Cruces, both groups announced during a news conference Wednesday.

As a result, the Las Cruces Home Builders Association said it will endorse a plan by conservationists that would grant a federal wilderness designation to thousands of acres in Doña Ana County.

The groups had been at odds throughout a negotiations process about wilderness hosted by the city early this year.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette this week is unveiling a wilderness proposal that would ban drilling on much of the Roan Plateau. The measure is the latest political maneuver aimed at staving off attempts to open up the area to natural gas leasing. However, the Roan proposal is not new for DeGette, who has included it in her Colorado wilderness bills going back to 1999, said Chris Arend, a DeGette spokesman.

It's hard to think of any lawmaker who did more to preserve and protect the "crown jewels" of Washington than the late U.S. Rep. Lloyd Meeds: Meeds will be honored Thursday at a place he helped save. A plaque honoring the seven term (1964-78) congressman will be unveiled at the Snow Lakes trailhead, which leads into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area just north of the Alpental ski area. The dedication is slated for 2:30 p.m. It will feature Meeds' widow Mary, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., and Meeds' longtime post-Congress law partner Tim Peckinpaugh.