Wilderness News

In 1960, Wallace Stegner argued that wilderness is more than just a parcel of ground; wilderness helped to shape the American character, Stegner wrote, and we need it today - as both a physical reality and a cultural ideal - to remember who we are.

"We need wilderness preserved - as much of it as is still left, and as many kinds - because it was the challenge against which our character as a people was formed," he wrote.

Dear Editor:

We, as human beings, have managed to decimate or move out whole populations of animals: the buffalo, for instance, the grizzly bear, the lynx.

It is our responsibility to be stewards of the land and to fend for wildlife. We must take care of the wildlife population as we do our children; the animals cannot fend for themselves against our constant encroachment upon the beautiful and wild landscape in which they live; this wild landscape which is also so important to us to restore our souls and to connect with the earth in its wild state.

Thanks for your Oct., 27 article, "Hidden Gems Supporters Speak Out." The Hidden Gems wilderness proposal is our best hope for preserving our most special lands in Colorado. With oil and gas development threatening even our most special and remove places, we need to take action. Wilderness protection, once granted, can only be removed by an act of Congress. That means there can be no oil drilling, commercial timber harvesting, road building or other damaging activity on our wilderness lands. These places will be protected for the quiet enjoyment of Coloradans for years to come.

I'm a Sheridan grandmother who wants to save wilderness for my grandchildren, their children, and all children in Wyoming who come after.

Sara Domek's perspective (Casper Star-Tribune, Forum/Oct. 30), "Wyoming's Wilderness: A reason to celebrate," was a beautiful commentary about the legacy of wilderness designation and reminded us to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Wyoming Wilderness Act. It's odd that no Wyoming wilderness lands have been added since that act was signed Oct. 30, 1984.

I would like to comment on the Hidden Gems wilderness proposal from a historical perspective.

First, and most obviously, a finite resource cannot be all things to all people. Our unspoiled federal lands may seem vast but a careful look at their historical use suggests otherwise.

Even the Indians occasionally set fires on what are now federal lands to flush out game and open up brushy areas. In the long run, these actions were beneficial, allowing for healthy new plant growth.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Boulder) is clearly trying to head off health care town hall-style lynch mobs at the pass by getting out in front of the broiling rhetoric over the proposed "Hidden Gems" wilderness plan.

The proposal is still being drafted - and seeking a congressional sponsor - but basically proponents hope to lock up more than 400,000 acres of the White River and Gunnison National Forests, as well as some nearby BLM land, with a wilderness designation that would prohibit wheeled traffic, road building and development of any kind.

The LCF City Council voted unanimously Monday in favor of a resolution supporting wilderness and wild river designations for the San Gabrial Mountains.

The resolution was authored and placed before the council by the San Gabriel Mountains Forever conservation group.

The U.S. Forest Service has already recommended to Congress that 21,414 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains be designated as wilderness area, according to a report submitted to the council. The San Gabriel Mountains Forever group is asking Congress to designate an additional 9,100 cares as wilderness.

The effort to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and designate the Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers as federally-protected Wild and Scenic continues in Washington, D.C.

The Senate's Public Lands and Forests subcommittee held a hearing Oct. 29 on the subject, which was raised by legislation submitted by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash.

Murray submitted testimony to the subcommittee supporting the expanded the bill.

The Obama administration lent its support to a measure to expand protections for an Oregon river and to several other pieces of public lands legislation yesterday.

The administration supports S. 1369, which would designate segments totaling about 21 miles of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, said Katherine Stevenson, the National Park Service's assistant director of business services.

I wanted to escape the increasingly cold weather, so this week's excursion took me into the largest state park in California: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The park has over 600,000 acres that contain 500 miles of dirt roads, abundant wildlife and miles of hiking trails.