TWS Newsletter

America’s Wilderness

MEMBER NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2012 VOL. XIV, NO. 3

www.wilderness.org

Your Wild Days of Summer “Love is a powerful tool, and maybe, just maybe, before the last little town is corrupted and the last of the unroaded and undeveloped wildness is given over to dreams of profit, maybe it will be love, finally, love for the land for its own sake and for what it holds of beauty and joy and spiritual redemption that will make [wilderness] not a battlefield but a revelation.”

— T.H. Watkins, Redrock Chronicles: “Saving Wild Utah,” 2000 Summer offers the perfect chance to reconnect with wilderness and share your love of wild places with others.

And that love is critical to preserving wild places.

While wilderness provides tangible benefits like clean air and water, the reason we care about preserving it is more elemental. We protect wilderness because we love the solitude of a hushed forest, the challenge of a mountain hike or the exquisite beauty of a desert sunset. Moreover, we want these things to be there for the people we love who have yet to experience them.

With your help, The Wilderness Society has had a lot of success in our 76 years, including Continued on page 2

3 Hot Issues

© Michael DeYoung

Dear Wilderness Society supporter, Summer has arrived, and there’s no better time of year to celebrate the wild and beautiful places we love. The wild days of summer are perfect for going on a hike, kayaking down a river, or for doing nothing at all – just sitting and enjoying the beauty of the great outdoors.

It’s a time for adventure, from exploring a new local park to vacationing in a new wild place you’ve never seen before. Summer is all about what’s new and exciting, and we’ve got some new and exciting changes here at The Wilderness Society too.

Earlier this month, we launched a new, state-of-the-art website with lots of great content about wild places and hot issues affecting our wilderness today.

This innovative site will be the premier place for Wilderness Society members and supporters to connect with us, find information about the places and issues you care about, and be inspired by moving stories about America’s wild places and people who care about them as much as we do.

We are also updating this newsletter to bring you more compelling content that’s relevant to you, and more of the incredible images that our wilderness has to offer.

Please take a moment to check out these changes here in the newsletter, and online at wilderness.org. Whether you experience our wild places online or on a hike, I wish you a wild and wonderful summer!

Sincerely, Jamie Williams President, The Wilderness Society

and You: 4 Wilderness A Life-changing Discovery

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Places: The 6 Wild Magnificent Seven

permanently protecting 109 million acres of wilderness. But despite these gains, the wild places we love face critical threats that endanger their existence, from drilling to irresponsible development. Our Wilderness Under Siege report (see wilderness.org/wilderness-undersiege) details some of the many ominous threats wilderness faces this year, including: • A bill that would potentially allow motorized access in wilderness areas • Legislation to open roadless forests to logging • Legislation permitting drilling in the Arctic Refuge As you enjoy the remarkable bounty of your public lands — and we hope you will this summer — remember to reflect on how we can protect them. One of the best steps you can take is to share your passion with children, friends, your community — anyone who will listen — because people who experience the special joy that belongs uniquely to wilderness will grow to love and protect it.

Enter our wilderness dream trip getaway contest!

Daydreaming about a faroff wilderness you want to visit? Enter our contest at wilderness.org/wild to win $1,000 in Frontier Airlines Fly Bucks! While you’re there, check out our new mywilderness montage video and be sure to share it with the people you hope will love wilderness as much as you do!

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Here are a few places you might consider visiting to re-ignite your wilderness flame this summer. Be sure to bring along a friend!

Live the wild life in Otero Mesa If you love birds, you will want to see this grassland in southern New Mexico, which houses burrowing owls, golden eagles and the unusual long-billed curlew. We are working to designate Otero Mesa as a national monument to protect our wildest remaining grassland and its inhabitants from drilling and development.

Escape to White Mountain National Forest Wilderness doesn’t have to be far away.

White Mountain National Forest attracts locals and visitors in search of the New England’s fall foliage, recreation and relief from the cities of the Northeast. While this popular forest faces threats from excessive logging, we are working with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure good stewardship.

Sierra Nevada: Hiking in the heavens Visit California’s breathtaking Sierra Nevada mountains to hike its thousands of miles of well-maintained trails. Majestic peaks like Mt. Whitney (the tallest in the lower 48 states) rise thousands of

feet, but you can also find easier hikes to lakes, waterfalls and vistas. We are working with the U.S. Forest Service to develop a plan to manage the Sierra Nevada to withstand climate change and preserve ancient forests.

Utah’s Canyon Country: A dream vacation for your family Looking to snap the cords between kids and their screens and create lasting memories? Southeastern Utah’s wild canyons make the ideal place to take that summer road trip. Kids and adults alike can’t help but be awed by iconic parks like Arches, Canyonlands, and Monument Valley. This trip could be a great first step in creating our next generation of conservationists.

Interested in learning more about one of these destinations or sharing it with friends? Our all-new website, wilderness. org, provides tremendous resources to help you spread some wilderness love.

Wilderness.org provides a host of tools for wilderness-lovers and newbies alike, including insider tips on recreation ranging from wildlife watching to backcountry adventures, must-see places to visit and stories about people’s connections to the land. While you’re there, learn more about actions you can take to protect the wild places you love.

Little Jacks Creek Wilderness, Idaho

© John McCarthy

Continued from Cover page

© Annette Kondo

Hot issues Asian-Americans Connect with the Forest on Earth Day There were some wet feet – but plenty of smiles – as 65 Asian-Americans enjoyed an Earth Day picnic and hike co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON) and The Wilderness Society (TWS).

Many were excited about their first visit to the Angeles National Forest, next to a rushing creek in a wooded glen in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), a champion of a proposal for a San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area, inspired the crowd with her vision of improving forest visitor services, including bilingual outreach.

Kids from the Asian Youth Center splashed in the creek and nearly everyone went hiking – many making their first stream crossings. After a banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) picnic, Chu presented certificates to A3PCON and TWS.

Columbine-Hondo: on the trail to protection Nestled deep within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, just outside of Taos, N.M., lays the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area. Thanks to Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, this wildlife and recreation haven is on its way to permanent protection with the ColumbineHondo Wilderness Act (S. 2468).

© GaKStonn Imagery

Columbine-Hondo boasts roughly 45,000 acres of mountains that contain the headwaters of precious clean water for downstream communities, like Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces. It also attracts outdoor enthusiasts, and in turn tourism and recreation jobs.

Due to its lush and roadless forests, Columbine-Hondo is home to a number of animals, including black bear, elk and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

Protection of this area will add a missing link of wildlife habitat, as it rests between the Wheeler Peak and the Latir Peak Wilderness areas.

We hope Congress passes the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act for future generations to enjoy.

Motorizing our Wilderness Areas The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that’s a sneak attack on our nation’s wilderness. H.R. 4089 is a cleverly written bill that would destroy our beautiful backcountry, instead of protecting wilderness areas for hunters and anglers as the bill claims to do. The legislation would allow trucks, ATVs and other vehicles into wilderness areas. Paving the way for vehicles in wilderness could lead to more development activities that would destroy the protections the backcountry has long enjoyed. The Wilderness Society is fighting this bill in Congress to stop this sneak attack on our wild places.

(Left) Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area, New Mexico. (Above) Rep. Judy Chu picnicked in the San Gabriel Mountains with the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Wilderness Society staff.

Solar Roadmap Nearing Victory Our work to protect wildlands by supporting environmentally responsible renewable energy development is closing in on a big victory in the form of a final plan for smart solar development in six southwestern states. Currently nearly 80 million acres of public lands — including more than 10 million acres of wilderness quality lands — are open to solar development. Solar energy is critical to help wean the country off of fossil fuels, but carelessly sited projects can damage wilderness and wildlife habitat unless they are guided to appropriate locations.

Because of our groundbreaking work with solar developers, conservation partners and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), we expect future development will be focused in areas with the fewest impacts and the best likelihood of success. The solar roadmap we are helping the BLM create will focus development in roughly 300,000 acres lands generally suitable for solar projects, such as those with low wildlife habitat value that are near existing or proposed transmission.

With wilderness protected and develop­ ment prioritized in prescreened areas, we are close to a major win for wildlands protection. When the final plan is released we will fight back against attacks from those who think we cannot protect wild places and develop solar power.

1-800-THE-WILD www.wilderness.org

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“Never mind that it Lake Quinault Lodge Hogsback Willaby is currently working on legislation that and my cotton clothes stayedI Ndrenched D I A N R E S E R Vreach A T I O of N many protected public lands in would add 22,000 acres of protected wilthe North Cascades, the rugged spine all weekend,” she says. “Nothing could derness to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of mountains that rises between Puget wipe the grin off my face.”

To AberdeenArea and designate nearly 30 miles of Sound and the Columbia River. Through the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and all their wildland outings, Ingunn and her What Ingunn experienced is something 10 miles of the Pratt River as Wild and husband have both fallen in love with that John Muir comprehended, as have Scenic Rivers.

Washington state and hope never to countless others who have followed tinRiver l ina u Cook C Wilderness is leave. “The Alpine Lakes his footsteps: the power of wildQunature r ee k Cape For Ingunn and so many others, wildermy favorite,” she says, speaking of a destoElizabeth transform and transport—beyond Taholah ness has been a lifeline. Wherever you go ignated wilderness area that is now one the self, beyond the cares of the world, this summer, experience the power, the of the nation’s most visited, “along with beyond time even.

109 Mount Rainier and the North Cascades 101 balm, the tonic of wilderness for yourself. national parks.”

“I call hiking my therapy,” says Ingunn.

“The endorphins, sunshine and beautiThrough the work of The Wilderness ful views work together as an immediSociety and our partners, there is a ate mood-booster. Being out in the

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LAKE “What is it that unites people who are the Sierra Nevada When his son Gavin was just eight years C U foothills of northeastSH M members of The Wilderness Society? It’s ern California, Bill remains active with old, Bill Newsom rowed him down a passion for wildness,” says Bill. “These Wilderness Society efforts and with localLilliwaup the Colorado River through the Grand So ut into a are the people who really care about the campaigns to protect the Tuolumne Canyon hin a raft. The trip turned h F or k S ko k o oc 2361 o m environment.”

River, as well as the Kitlope area of “baptism” for a boy who would grow up Road open is h yn W 2270 summer only.

Ri British Columbia. to become the mayor of San Francisco Le Bar Horse O LY M P I C Camp Brown Creek Bill’s own passion for wildness was stoked and a dedicated conservationist.

Road open 119 summer only. by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins “He didn’t have a choice,” explains Bill.

23 Hoodsport To Olympia, Tacoma, N A T I O N A L F O R E S T and Seattle and others—so much so that, after gradu“It was total immersion from the time he ating law school, he went back to school to was six months old.” earn a master’s degree in English literature.

Ayres This summer, Bill plans to returnTWANOH to Alaska, Bill’s life has been steeped in wilderPoint 23 STATE PARK POTLATCH to help preserve the Taku River.

Later in ness and in efforts to protect it. As a STATE PARK the year, he’ll be immersing his sixand California state appellate court judge Union S K O K O M I S H 101 ive the wild eight-year-old granddaughtersDrin for 17 years, he handled redwood forest INDIAN Mason Alaskan coastal rainforest for the first time. cases. Family vacations have been spent R E S E RisVh A T I O N Lake R iv s kom a o e M k camping in the Sierras, Alaska and the r S And so the baptisms continue.

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America’s Wilderness is published three times a year by The Wilderness Society.

President: Jamie Williams photo Editor: Lisa Dare Design: Studio Grafik

Join Our Wilderness Sustainers Program: As a member of our Wilderness Sustainers, you can help The Wilderness Society protect America’s wild places and wildlife through good times and bad. By providing dependable monthly income, you make it easier for us to plan ahead and make stronger commitments. To join online today, go to wilderness.org/you-can-help and click on “Become a Monthly Donor.”

Questions or comments?

Please contact Jennifer Stephens at jennifer_ stephens@tws.org. © Bill Hodge

1-800-THE-WILD www.wilderness.org

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wild places

The Magnific The Magnificent Seven comprise some of the most majestic places The Wilderness Society is working to protect. They offer eye-popping vistas, amazing recreation, and incredible wildlife that need these wild places to survive. However, all of these places face dangerous threats that could destroy the wildness that make them so special.

The Wilderness Society is engaged in cooperative efforts to ensure the survival of the landscapes described in the Magnificent Seven. From creating fire protection strategies, to working with local fishermen and farmers, we are working collaboratively to ensure that these wild places remain magnificent for generations to come. Learn more at: wilderness.org/magnificent-seven.

1. Rocky Mountain Front, Crown of the Continent The rolling prairies and wetlands of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front are a paradise for wildlife lovers, hunters and anglers. The Front’s vast expanses of unbroken land teem with bighorn sheep, elk and mule deer. It is also the only spot on Earth where grizzly bears still wander from the mountains onto the plains.

The wilderness has changed very little since Lewis and Clark explored in 1805, and The Wilderness Society is capping a decade-long campaign to fight back oil and gas and off-road vehicle threats with a bill introduced in the Senate to designate much of the public lands along the Front as wilderness or a conservation area. A new bill that seeks to hand over control of all lands within 100 miles U.S. borders to the Department of Homeland Security threatens this area’s future.

2. Desolation Canyon, Colorado Plateau Desolation Canyon is one of the most remote and rugged stretches of river in the West. The iconic red rock cliffs and juniper-dotted slopes along this stretch of the Green River make for one of the most scenic rafting trips in the U.S. Although ancient Fremont Indian rock art helped earn Desolation Canyon a National Historic Landmark designation, oil and gas drilling threaten the pristine area.

3. Dinkey area of Sierra National Forest, Sierra Nevada The popular Dinkey area in the Sierra Nevada National Forest hosts more than 1.5 million annual visitors for boating, camping, hiking and other activities. The area also offers diverse unique wildlands – from chaparral hillsides, to alpine forests and lakes – and plays home to the rare Pacific fisher. While large-scale fires could devastate the forest and threaten Dinkey, we are working with local leaders and federal agencies on a proactive plan to reduce fire risk.

4. The Mahoosucs, Northern Forest With deep forests, splashing waterfalls, and easy access to the Appalachian Trail, the Mahoosucs is an outdoor wonderland

near the Maine/New Hampshire border.

The Mahoosucs is popular for paddlers, hikers and people who love the outdoors.

We are working to ensure that unchecked wind power development doesn’t harm this gorgeous forest.

5. Pisgah National Forest, Greater Smoky Mountains Enchanting waterfalls delight visitors in the dense, dark woods of North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, one of the oldest national forests in the U.S. However, a bill in the House of Representatives seeks to open Pisgah’s pristine roadless areas to corporate polluters and irresponsible developers.

6. The Yakima Basin, North Cascades The wet, alpine forests of the North Cascades and the arid, sagebrush-studded Yakima Valley make the Yakima Basin is one of the most diverse watersheds in Washington State. The Yakima River is well-known for its outstanding fly fishing and blue ribbon trout fishery. We are working with local tribes, communities and conservationists to help designate more land for protection and improve passage for salmon in the Yakima River.

Desolation Canyon, Utah © courtesy of Fred Hanselmann, hanselmannphotography.com

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cent Seven 7. Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska and the Arctic

Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake is the gem of the 23-million-acre Western Arctic Reserve, an area that contains some of the most stunning wildlands on Earth and is home to wolves, caribou, polar bears and millions of migratory birds.

You may never visit the remote wetland around Teshekpuk Lake, but wildlife lovers all over North America benefit from the critical role it plays nurturing the continent’s birds. Each summer, hundreds of thousands of migratory birds descend on Teshekpuk Lake for breeding, feeding and molting. The area supports a wide variety of species including tundra swans, endangered yellow loons, and the brilliantly colored king eider, one of the most remarkable waterfowl species.

Many scientists consider the lake the most important refuge on the continent for several varieties of geese, including Brant and snow, which seek refuge there during their flightless molting state.

Birds aren’t the only wildlife that depend on Teshekpuk Lake. The area supports

tens of thousands of caribou that come to calve, making it prime hunting ground for Alaska Natives.

Teshekpuk Lake sits in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (the Reserve), which was set aside in 1923 to provide an emergency oil supply to the U.S. Navy.

Today the Reserve is under constant pressure from oil and gas interests that seek to open the whole area – including Teshekpuk Lake – to development.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning the Reserve’s future, and we are working to ensure that sensitive habitat areas like Teshekpuk Lake are protected.

Due in part to the work of The Wilderness Society, the lake has not been included in recent sales of oil and gas leases.

The BLM planning process benefited from original work by Dr. Ryan Wilson, a wildlife ecologist with our Alaska office, who helped establish the importance of Teshekpuk Lake to caribou.

Native subsistence hunters have long known to look for caribou near Teshekpuk Lake, but it was unclear why the animals chose the area to forage, calve or to find

Rocky Mountain Front, Montana © TonyBynum.com

relief from swarms of insects. To find an answer, Dr. Wilson collected data and developed a detailed model that shows where the best calving and insect-relief habitat exists.

This work is cited in the BLM’s Alternative Plan B, a way forward that balances oil extraction and other uses with conservation, and is the only Alternative that meaningfully protects key habitat areas in the Reserve. “Scientific research at The Wilderness Society has broadened our understanding of the critical importance of the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, as well as other Special Areas of the NPR-A for caribou, migratory birds and climate change adaptation,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, The Wilderness Society’s regional director for Alaska.

In addition to informing decisions made by federal, state and tribal agencies, Dr. Wilson’s research helped us assess the potential effects of each alternative being considered in BLM’s draft Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Plan).

With the support of our members, The Wilderness Society is committed to ensuring that Teshekpuk Lake remains a thriving wild landscape in America’s Arctic.

© Flickr/SarahKim

king eider

Teshekpuk caribou © Gary Schultz/AlaskaStock.com

1-800-THE-WILD www.wilderness.org

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The Wilderness Society 1615 M St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 www.wilderness.org 202-833-2300 1-800-THE-WILD

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THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

The Wilderness Society’s magazine is moving online!

While you will not receive The Wilderness Society’s annual magazine in your mailbox this year, you can find the same in-depth content and stunning photography that you love year-round on our all-new website, wilderness.org.

Check back often as we will update the site with features about special wild places, up-to-the-minute information on trends affecting wilderness, and tips on how to best to experience our beautiful wild lands. We hope that you will enjoy exploring wilderness.org.

This newsletter was printed on 100%-recycled paper (50% post-consumer waste) certified by SmartWood to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard. The paper was processed chlorinefree using biogas energy. As a result, we used 85 fewer trees than we would have if printing on virgin paper. We also reduced water use by 50,980 gallons, greenhouse gas emissions by 11,861 pounds, and solid waste by 5,401 pounds.

The Wilderness Society meets all standards as set forth by the Better Business Bureau/ Wise Giving Alliance.

Contact us today to learn how you can include The Wilderness Society in your will, trust or other estate plan, and, in doing so, have the peace of mind that your legacy will help to permanently protect the wild places you love.

888-736-4897 or legacygifts@tws.org

Your bequest gives nature a reason to celebrate.

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Your Wilderness. Your Legacy.