America's Wilderness Newsletter

America’s Wilderness

MEMBER NEWSLETTER SPRING 2012 VOL. XIV, NO. 2

WWW.WILDERNESS.ORG

Raise a Glass to Wilderness DEAR WILDERNESS SOCIETY SUPPORTER,

The Wilderness Society is excited to announce our new charitable partner, The Dreaming Tree wines. The organic connection between the two groups stems from a shared commitment to support and protect our wild places, and to promote a conservationoriented lifestyle. The Dreaming Tree wines portfolio, a collection of sustainably produced wines, is a collaboration between noted winemaker Steve Reeder and musician Dave Matthews, a member of our Governing Council.

I have long admired the remarkable legacy of wild land conservation The Wilderness Society has given this country. In fact, it stands out as the wellspring of the entire conservation movement.

I do believe that what we do together over the next 20 years will set a pattern of protection for centuries to come. The stakes are high, and no organization is more important than The Wilderness Society for completing a system of protected areas in the U.S., for guiding energy development away from wild places, and for strengthening the constituency for protecting the wild, public lands that are the hallmark of our nation.

But here is what really motivates me—The Wilderness Society community. I have had the great pleasure of partnering with our staff and many of you, and I have continually been so impressed by this organization’s ability to achieve amazing victories, despite the odds, because of our collaborative style, practical approach and relentless focus on results. Of course, none of this would be possible without the generosity of our members and supporters.

I come to The Wilderness Society knowing I stand on very tall shoulders. Bill Meadows’ outstanding 16-year tenure as president has strengthened the entire conservation movement through his collaborative style and leadership. I’m inspired by his example and the remarkable opportunities we have ahead.

Finally, let me just say, I will make this transition with an ear close to the ground and rely on guidance from our great staff, partners and supporters.

I look forward to working with you to protect America’s wildest places and inspiring others to join this important work.

“We are very excited about partnering with The Dreaming Tree wines,” said Doug Walker, chair of The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council. “With their generous support, we will work to protect our treasured wildlands.”

The Dreaming Tree wines is committed to helping extend our message of wilderness protection through a year-long retail campaign and online virtual forest. The Dreaming Tree virtual forest will give wine consumers and beyond an opportunity to make a difference by joining our team, spreading the word, and taking action through a series of personalized experiential campaigns.

Sincerely, Jamie Williams President The Wilderness Society

Visit the virtual forest at dreamingtreewines. com and don’t forget to drop by our Eco-Village booth at Dave Matthews Band concerts this summer!

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ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

© Chris Burkard

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MEET JAMIE WILLIAMS

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FROM THE FIELD

Annual Report Highlights

TOGETHER WITH YOU, WE ARE BRILLIANT AT WILDERNESS

PROTECTING THE PRESIDENT’S POWER TO PROTECT

“My happiest memories as a kid were packing into the beautiful high Sierras in California,” says actress Betty White, recalling the many summer trips she took with her parents into what later became the Sequoia−Kings Canyon Wilderness Area.

Like Betty, the 500,000 other supporters of The Wilderness Society carry deep emotional connections to what Betty calls our “soul places.” By protecting these places, we remain brilliant at wilderness together.

When President Obama signed a proclamation in November 2011 declaring Virginia’s Fort Monroe a national monument, he joined the ranks of 15 other presidents who have used the Antiquities Act to designate dozens of national monuments over the past century. Many Americans want to see more wildlands protected this way, and The Wilderness Society continues to unite these supporters with its National Monuments Campaign.

WITH PLANNING, THE FUTURE OF SOLAR ENERGY IS LOOKING BRIGHT

A RE-BALANCING ACT IN THE COLORADO WILDS

Blessed with big-sky open spaces and sun-drenched vistas, many of our public lands, especially those in the West, have tremendous solar-energy potential. But if we are to protect critical wildlife habitat, water resources and pristine wilderness, we must limit development on sensitive lands. So The Wilderness Society’s renewable energy team identifies suitable development zones and makes sure we don’t unnecessarily sacrifice wild places on the road to a clean energy future.

A few years ago, it looked like Colorado’s Vermillion Basin would be littered with oil and gas rigs. A vast, rugged country of badlands and remote canyons near Dinosaur National Monument, Vermillion is home to rare greater sage-grouse and large herds of elk and mule deer.

Ten years of effort to protect it paid off recently, when the Bureau of Land Management released its final management plan for the region.

© Todd Hollien

Are you interested in learning more about The Wilderness Society? Our 2011 annual report, complete with stunning photography of the wild places you love, will take you on a tour of our work and organization. You can find it online at wilderness.org/annual-report.

Betty White

ROADLESS VICTORY More than a decade of legal challenges to the federal Roadless Rule culminated with a final judgment granting permanent protection to 49 million acres of wild roadless forests. The Roadless Rule was originally approved in 2001 but faced political and legal tests. The Wilderness Society galvanized support for the rule, and took part in the lawsuit defending it.

GROWING TOMORROW’S CONSERVATION LEADERS America’s wilderness and public lands will always need defenders. The Wilderness Society is helping grow a diverse group of future conservation leaders who will take up the conservation mantle in the 21st century. Learn about how we are engaging new constituencies of urban and diverse young people through innovative programs like The San Gabriel Mountains Forever Leadership Academy and Great Outdoors America Week. © Alan Bauer

Teanaway Roadless Area, Washington

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

From the Field

© Ned Dishman

SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

Meet Jamie Williams Williams comes to The Wilderness Society after 19 years with The Nature Conservancy in Montana and Colorado. His family has moved to Washington D.C. from Boulder, Colo., where Williams served as The Nature Conservancy’s director of landscape conservation for North America.

“In our search for a new president, Jamie Williams was far and away the best candidate, with a track record of outstanding achievement and a well-earned reputation for succeeding in every endeavor,” said Doug Walker, The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council chair.

Williams received a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Yale University and a master’s degree in environmental studies from The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He was a western river guide and wilderness instructor for The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) before joining The Nature Conservancy in 1992.

Last year, more than 100 volunteers, traditional cross-cut saws in hand, headed into the back-country of five national forests in the southern Appalachians. They spent weeks removing downed trees, restoring trail-tread and collecting data on forest conditions. These volunteer expeditions were the highlight of the first season of Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), a new Wilderness Society program that trains, certifies and leads volunteers in performing labor-intensive trail maintenance and other wilderness stewardship projects. Thanks to the generosity of The Wilderness Society’s President’s Council, SAWS raised enough funds to earn two matching grants from the National Forest Foundation totaling $45,000 and is now recruiting rangers, crew leaders and volunteers for this summer.

Bill Hodge: (865) 617-4804 • bill_hodge@tws.org

NORTHERN ROCKIES Senator Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act recently had its day in Congress with a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee. The Heritage Act would expand Montana’s legendary Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex by 67,000 acres and protect 208,000 additional acres of public lands along the Rocky Mountain Front – which biologists call some of the top wildlife habitat in America.

Montana ranchers and field staff from The Wilderness Society’s Montana office made the journey to Washington to testify in support of the bill they helped build from scratch over the last five years.

Scott Brennan: (406) 586-1600 ext. 117 • scott_brennan@tws.org

ALASKA The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning the future of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), also known as the Western Arctic Reserve.

In March, the BLM released a draft environmental impact statement that considers several alternatives for managing the 23.5 million acre reserve, including an option to increase oil and gas development. Of critical concern is the land around Teshekpuk Lake, which provides sanctuary for nesting birds and calving grounds for 60,000 caribou. The Wilderness Society is leading research with federal, local and industry groups to evaluate the potential impacts of drilling and road-building in key wildlife areas. The BLM’s final blueprint for the reserve should use this research to sensibly manage development and protect Alaska’s wildlife.

Nicole Whittington-Evans: (907) 272-9453 • nicolewe@tws.org

© Gary Schultz / AlaskaStock.com

He is married to writer Florence Williams, and the couple has two children, Ben and Annabel.

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caribou in the western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

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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Did You Know?

Did you know that 2011 marked the 30th year of The Wilderness Society’s ecology & economics research programs? In 1981, we hired our first economist – former Congressman Joseph Fisher – to analyze and document the economics of wilderness protection. Since then, science-based advocacy has been the cornerstone of our conservation work. Original research helped protect national forests and BLM land from ecologically damaging and economically inefficient road-building, timber harvesting and oil and gas drilling. Recent victories like protecting Vermillion Basin in Colorado, Glastenbury Wilderness in Vermont and the Wyoming Range may not have been possible without the information our experts put in the hands of advocates and policymakers.

Questions or comments about the newsletter?

Contact Jennifer Stephens at jennifer_stephens@tws.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.

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