Pictographs, Canyonlands National Park, Utah (Mike Painter)
March 31, 2012
Dear CalUWild friends and supporters—
There are quite a few items this month, so we’ll get right to them.
But first, thank you, as always, for your interest and willingness to stand up for our wilderness and public lands!
Best wishes,
Mike
IN UTAH
1. Interior Approves Huge Drilling Project in Desolation Canyon
DEADLINE: April 16
(ACTION ITEM)
2. Rep. Matheson Re-Introduces Wasatch Mountains Wilderness Bill
3. Governor Signs Bill Requiring Turnover of Federal Lands
IN JAIL
4. BLM Bid Disrupter Tim DeChristopher Put in Isolation
IN CALIFORNIA
5. Wilderness Bill Introduced for Los Padres National Forest
6. Beauty Mountain Wilderness Bill Needs Support
(ACTION ITEM)
IN NEVADA
7. Nevada Goes Ahead with Groundwater Pumping Plans
IN WASHINGTON STATE
8. Judge Rules Against Fire Tower Reconstruction in Wilderness
IN GENERAL
9. Shell Sues Conservation Groups over Alaska Plans
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
10. Links of Interest
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
IN UTAH
1. Interior Approves Huge Drilling Project in Desolation Canyon
DEADLINE: April 16
(ACTION ITEM)
This month, the Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department approved a natural gas drilling project in the Desolation Canyon proposed wilderness along the Green River, one of the largest roadless areas in the lower 48 states.
The BLM released its Final EIS after the initial Draft EIS received extremely low marks from the US EPA, so it has now proposed a new Alternative F as the one it will proceed with, after a 30-day waiting period.
The conservation community and EPA had supported Alternative E, which would have allowed no wells in the proposed wilderness area and only six acres would have been disturbed. The new Alternative F will allow 215 wells, disturbing close to 2,500 acres of proposed wilderness—only seven wells fewer, but almost 50% more acreage disturbed than under the company’s own original proposal, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The EIS may be found online here.
Please write to BLM and ask it to adopt Alternative E, originally supported by the EPA and conservationists, as its final choice. As always, personalize y our comments, mentioning your experiences, if any, in the area, and why the issue is important to you.
Comments may be submitted online at: BLM_UT_Vernal_Comments [at] blm [dot]gov.
Subject: Gasco Energy Inc. Uinta Basin Natural Gas Development Project EIS
By U.S. Mail:
Ms. Stephanie Howard
Environmental Coordinator
170 South 500 East
Vernal, UT 84078
Please also send a letter to Interior Secretary Salazar pointing out that this approval by the Utah BLM flies in the face of his efforts promoting America’s Great Outdoor Initiative to get people outside and expand recreational opportunities, since Desolation Canyon is one of the country’s premier rafting and roadless areas
In addition, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has begun an online petition that you can sign. But please, do submit your own comments as above; they are more effective than online petitions.
2. Rep. Matheson Re-Introduces Wasatch Mountains Wilderness Bill
On Tuesday of this week, Rep. Jim Matheson introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to designate new wilderness on national forest lands along the Wasatch Front, east of Salt Lake City. The bill would set aside nearly 26,000 acres of land, plus designate another 10,000 acres as a special management area that would still allow helicopter skiing, which is not allowed in wilderness areas. The bill is designed to protect important watershed areas from development. Rep. Matheson introduced similar legislation in the last Congress. No companion bill was introduced in the Senate.
We’ll keep you posted as the bill moves along.
3. Governor Signs Bill Requiring Turnover of Federal Lands
Last Friday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a controversial bill requiring the federal government to hand over millions of acres of land to the state of Utah. Most legal experts say the bill is unconstitutional and don’t expect anything to come of it. But that hasn’t stopped the governor and his allies in the state from moving ahead in their attempts to wrest control of much the state away from the BLM, and Forest Service. National parks and military installations were exempted from the legislation. However, the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, managed by the BLM, and long considered a thorn in their side by Utah legislators, is included.
Utah claims that it needs to the lands under state jurisdiction in order to have a tax base to support public schools. Utah has the lowest per pupil funding in the country. The state has been unwilling to look at other possible funding sources for its schools. It currently has no severance tax on coal and a low tax on oil taken from the ground. It has been unable to properly maintain the state park system. The law gives the federal government until the end of 2014 to relinquish control, after which time the state has threatened to sue for control.
A similar bill was defeated this week in Arizona, while another in Colorado is moving ahead.
IN JAIL
4. BLM Bid Disrupter Tim DeChristopher Put in Isolation
On March 9, Tim DeChristopher, who was convicted of placing illegal bids in the December 2008 BLM auction in Salt Lake City, was put in an isolation cell at the California prison where he is currently serving a 2-year term. DeChristopher was returned to his regular cell Wednesday evening, March 27 after his situation was made public and Congress and the prison received thousands of telephone calls protesting the action.
As DeChristopher was being taken to the isolation unit, he was reportedly told that a congressman (unnamed) contacted the prison, accusing him of sending a threatening email. The email in question was published by Rolling Stone magazine and can be read here. In it, DeChristopher discusses returning a contribution to his legal defense fund, made by a company that was closing its U.S. manufacturing facilities and moving to overseas production. Consequently, DeChristopher didn’t think that he should be keeping the contribution. In the email he says that when writing to the company’s owner, he would “include a threat to wage a campaign against” the company if it didn’t change its plans.
At this point, it’s not clear if that “threat” was the cause of DeChristopher’s punishment or whether he was felt to be doing political organizing from prison. Regardless, isolation is usually reserved for prisoners who are violent while in prison.
The case has been controversial from the beginning. The Utah oil & gas auction was undertaken in the last days of the Bush Administration and was seen by many as a parting gift to the industry. A judge issued a restraining order against the leases and incoming Interior Secretary Salazar suspended them. The U.S. Attorney for Utah decided to prosecute DeChristopher anyway. During the trial before District Judge Dee Benson, DeChristopher was not permitted to introduce evidence was to why he undertook his action, depriving him of the opportunity to present a “necessity” defense. At sentencing, Judge Benson told DeChristopher that one of the reasons he imposed the harsh sentence was because DeChristopher had continued speaking out against oil & gas development and on climate change issues. "The offense itself … wasn’t that bad," the Salt Lake Tribune quoted the judge as saying. After sentencing, DeChristopher’s attorney, former BLM Director Pat Shea, claimed that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch had discussed potential sentences with Judge Benson. Sen. Hatch denied doing so. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Benson was Sen. Hatch’s chief of staff.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has agreed to hear DeChristopher’s appeal in May.
IN CALIFORNIA
5. Wilderness Bill Introduced for Los Padres National Forest
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-24) has introduced a wilderness bill, H.R. 4109, for the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties that would enlarge the Matilija, Sespe, and Dick Smith wilderness areas. All together, the bill designates about 63,000 acres. In addition, it also creates the Condor Ridge Scenic Area on the Gaviota coast. Finally, the bill would provide wild & scenic river protection for portions of Indian Creek, Mono Creek, and upper Piru and Sespe creeks, totaling about 89 miles.
There are other portions of the bill that ought to be corrected, however, including the opening up of routes that have been closed for several decades, and the creation and enlargement of two OHV areas in Ventura County, and a potentially unequal land exchange around Lake Piru.
Rep. Gallegly, who has been in Congress since 1987, has announced that will be retiring at the end of this term.
We’ll continue to follow the bill as it moves along.
6. Beauty Mountain Wilderness Bill Needs Support
(ACTION ITEM)
The following information comes from an alert that our friends at the California Wilderness Coalition recently sent out regarding the Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act (H.R. 41).
Protect Beauty Mountain!
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-49) introduced the Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act last year, but the bill is languishing in the US House of Representatives. Take action today by writing to Rep. Issa and let him know just how important this bill is to you!
Use the talking points below in your letter and send it to Representative Issa. Feel free to add in your own personal stories and anecdotes about why Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia are so important to protect!
• Thank Rep. Issa for introducing the Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act.
• The bill would bring much needed protections to these spectacular areas in San Diego County. The chaparral-draped slopes and valleys of Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia provide homes to wildlife as well as hiking and horseback riding opportunities for locals and visitors. We need this bill!
• Given the challenging climate in Congress and the future uncertainties that redistricting will bring, we hope that Rep. Issa is able to move the bill across the finish line in this Congress.
• Ask Rep. Issa to let you know if you can help in any way to assist with this important bill.
• Thanks again for his leadership and vision for San Diego County’s wild places.
Send your letter to Rep. Issa via his website contact form.
Or send it by U.S. Mail or fax:
1800 Thibodo Road, #310
Vista, CA 92081
Fax: 760-599-1178
DC Fax: 202-225-3303
Click here for a Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act Map.
Background
The Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act would add over 7,796 acres to the existing Agua Tibia Wilderness and would expand the Beauty Mountain Wilderness by an additional 13,635 acres. Representative Issa’s bill would build on successful legislation passed in 2009 by Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California) and Representative Mary Bono Mack (Republican, Palm Springs) whose "California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act" established the Beauty Mountain Wilderness and enlarged the Agua Tibia Wilderness that was established in 1975.
Characterized by deep canyons and rugged coastal sage scrub, Agua Tibia is enjoyed by thousands of hikers and equestrians each year who travel through the region via the rugged Cutca Trail. As its name implies, Beauty Mountain is a scenic jewel draped in chaparral, fascinating rock formations and oak woodlands. Both of these areas provide endless recreational opportunities as well as priceless habitat for endangered wildlife. Both areas serve as critical plant and wildlife corridors between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the coastal mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties.
Representative Issa toured the areas and agreed to help protect them both for their scenic and habitat values and also because they provide excellent recreation opportunities for his constituents and others.
IN NEVADA
7. Nevada Goes Ahead with Groundwater Pumping Plans
Last week the Nevada State Engineer gave the Southern Nevada Water Authority the right to pump groundwater from four valleys north of Las Vegas: Spring, Cave, Dry Lake and Delamar valleys, stretching up to Great Basin National Park. No decision was made concerning Snake Valley, east of the Park and straddling the border with Utah. That proposal has been the subject of negotiations between the two states.
BLM is expected to approve a right of way for a pipeline to Las Vegas across federal land later this year.
Conservationists fear that pumping will take more water than annual snowpack can supply, and that the sinking water table will cause desertification of the valleys and springs to dry up. The Water Authority claims it will monitor the pumping and that no negative effects will occur. Opponents respond that the time any such effects are noticed, it will be too late to allow for recharge of the groundwater.
Lawsuits by conservationists and agricultural interests challenging the grant of water rights are likely.
Las Vegas estimates that the water would be enough to supply 300,000 homes.
IN WASHINGTON STATE
8. Judge Rules Against Fire Tower Reconstruction in Wilderness
In our February Update we mentioned an article in High Country News about the debate over the reconstruction of the Green Mountain fire lookout, located in a designated wilderness area in Washington State. This week, a federal judge in Seattle ruled that the U.S. Forest Service had violated the Wilderness Act and NEPA by failing to undertake any study of the necessity of rebuilding the lookout and how to minimally intrude on the wilderness area in order to accomplish its goal.
In addition, the judge ruled that the obligation to preserve wilderness character took precedence over any other possible obligation to maintain the historic structure, especially since Congress made no mention of the lookout in the legislation creating the wilderness area. In fact, the Forest Service just about rebuilt the entire structure, using numerous (more than 67) helicopter trips to the top of Green Mountain in the process of removing the old building and replacing it.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that “removal of the present lookout structure is the appropriate remedy.”
Wilderness Watch, represented by Pete Frost of the Western Environmental Law Center, brought the case.
If you would like to read the judge’s opinion in the case, click here. If the link doesn’t work for some reason, send me an email, and I’ll send you a PDF attachment.
IN GENERAL
9. Shell Sues Conservation Groups Over Alaska Plans
Shell Oil recently filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against a number of conservation groups, hoping to head off any possible challenge to its recently-submitted oil spill prevention and response plan. The groups sued are: Center for Biological Diversity, Alaska Wilderness League, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northern Alaska Environment Center, Oceana, Pacific Environment, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society. Earthjustice is representing the defendants.
Shell hopes to begin exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer and fears that any delay caused by litigation will force it to have to wait until next year. The “drilling season” lasts only three months because of sea ice.
Lawsuits of this kind are rarely successful, because until a challenge is actually filed, there is nothing to contest.
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
10. Links of Interest
If you’re unable to access an article or a link doesn’t work for some reason, send me an email.
USA Today: More national parks curb sales of disposable water bottles
Park Service Report: Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation and Payroll, 2010
From the Los Angeles Times:
California State Parks reprieves
Dropping Fees in National Forests
From the New York Times:
Utah’s New Natural History Museum
Two articles by Timothy Egan, on public lands and nature deficit disorder