September 21, 2005
Dear friends of CalUWild:
There are quite a few news items this month, but not much in terms of Action Items. So without any further ado, we’ll jump right in.
Thanks for all your letters and comments in support of wild places!
Best wishes,
Mike
IN UTAH
1. “No More Wilderness” Settlement Hits the Skids!
2. Salt Creek in Canyonlands National Park
And Other RS 2477 News
3. SUWA Requests ORV Help
(ACTION ITEM)
IN CALIFORNIA
4. Cache Creek Wild & Scenic Bill Passes Senate
Governor’s Signature Still Needed
(ACTION ITEM)
DEADLINE: October 5
5. Conservation Groups Appeal Los Padres Oil & Gas Plan
6. Sequoia National Monument Outing September 30
RSVP by September 25
IN NEW MEXICO
7. Legislation Introduced to Protect Valle Vidal
IN GENERAL
8. New National Park Service Standards
For Park Management in the News
9. Three Western States Sue
Over New Roadless Rule
10. Job Listing: Defenders of Wildlife
DEADLINE: September 30
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IN UTAH
1. “No More Wilderness” Settlement Hits the Skids!
The agreement between Utah’s then-Governor Mike Leavitt and Interior Secretary Gale Norton was partially undone last week when attorneys for both parties got rid of the language that made the deal permanent. The original settlement had nullified the inventories conducted by the Bureau of Land Management under Pres. Bill Clinton. Those inventories had found nearly 6 million acres of potential wilderness. The State of Utah sued and the Department of the Interior then negotiated a sweetheart deal that pretty much acquiesced to the state’s claims. Conservationists appealed that decision, and it went back to the trial court, where the judge stated that he never meant his signature to bind future administrations.
Given the new interpretation by the judge, conservationists think they have a good chance of a successful appeal, since the agreement might still violate the Federal Lands Policy & Management Act.
We’ll keep you posted.
2. Salt Creek in Canyonlands National Park
And Other RS 2477 News
Last week, a federal judge in Salt Lake City upheld the actions of the National Park Service in closing Salt Creek, the only perennial stream in Canyonlands NP, to off-highway vehicle (OHV) use.
In the latest round in a longstanding battle over use of the creek—between San Juan County, the State of Utah, OHV users, the Park Service, and conservationists—the judge ruled that the Park’s actions had not been “arbitrary and capricious,” as the Park Service had produced much evidence of damage to the streambed. OHVs had been shown to erode streambanks, smash vegetation, pollute the water with oil and other fluids, and frighten away wildlife, among other things.
Despite this victory, San Juan County still has a lawsuit pending that claims Salt Creek is a county RS 2477 right-of-way, and thus the county has jurisdiction over the route.
In other RS 2477 news, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned the 2001 ruling by Utah District Court Judge Tena Campbell that clearly laid out the requirements for a valid right-of way. That ruling was an extremely thorough and well-written opinion, based on the language of the statue. The appellate court ruled that state law was applicable in deciding what defined a road. Conservationists have not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.
3. SUWA Requests ORV Help
(ACTION ITEM)
This alert comes from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
HELP SUWA DOCUMENT DISPLACEMENT BY OFF-ROAD VEHICLES
Have you stopped visiting southern Utah as often because of the growing number of off-road vehicles (ORVs) in the area? When you visit southern Utah, do you avoid certain places due to the increased level of ORV use there?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, or know someone else who feels displaced by Utah’s ORV invasion, we could use your help. SUWA is seeking to establish contact with anyone who can help us document that this sort of user conflict is occurring in Utah’s backcountry. We know from first hand experience that displacement is happening, but it is a hard thing to document concretely. With your help we can address this growing problem and make some headway.
Once we have compiled your responses, we will send information to the BLM and use it in our ongoing work with national, regional and local media. We hope to convey the simple message that allowing unrestrained ORV use in Utah’s redrock country threatens our overall economy by turning away non-motorized visitors to our public lands. We know that this message resonates with a broad, diverse range of people in Utah, especially in the local communities closest to proposed wilderness areas.
Many local residents intuitively understand that the majority of out-of-town visitors (and the money they bring) are attracted primarily by the beauty and serenity of southern Utah’s unique landscapes. It follows that in order to protect the lion’s share of their economies, they need to protect some of these landscapes from the various negative effects of ORVs.
Send comments about your own experience to franklin@suwa.org or call SUWA’s Moab field office at (435) 259-4399.
Thank you!
IN CALIFORNIA
4. Cache Creek Wild & Scenic Bill Passes Senate
Governor’s Signature Still Needed
(ACTION ITEM)
DEADLINE: October 5
The California State Senate passed Assemblywoman Lois Wolk’s AB 1328, the Cache Creek Wild & Scenic River Act, and sent it Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The good news is that he didn’t veto the bill. Instead, he said he wanted more time to study it, and in an odd parliamentary move sent it back to the Assembly for another 30 days’ consideration. This means he needs to sign it around October 6 or 7. Even if you’ve written to him before, please write a letter asking for him to sign Wolk’s bill.
Use some or all of the following talking points (from Cache Creek Wild) and add anything personal, to make a stronger letter.
1) Cache Creek provides lush vegetation, pristine waters and fresh air for diverse species of wildlife. Bald eagles, ospreys, tule elk, black bears, mountain lions, and river otter flourish river otter flourish in this amazing habitat.
2) Cache Creek offers outdoor enthusiasts an amazing number of activities including hiking, horseback riding, birding, hunting, fishing, river rafting, and camping.
3) Protecting Cache Creek can give an economic boost to local business because a Wild and Scenic designation will bring visitors from all over eager to see our wild river. This bill has received bipartisan support in the legislature.
4) This designation will prevent the state from participating in the planning or development of any new dams or diversions in these reaches of the river, and it protects farmer’s water now and in the future.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
http://www.govmail.ca.gov
5. Conservation Groups Appeal Los Padres Oil & Gas Plan
As we reported in our August Update, Los Padres National Forest released an environmental impact statement in July on new oil & gas development in the forest. Although it seems to include protection for roadless areas of the forest, three groups—Los Padres ForestWatch, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Center for Biological Diversity—announced their intention to file an administrative appeal.
As the basis for their appeal, the groups argue that the Forest Service relied heavily on a reasonably foreseeable development scenario from 1993 that had never been updated. The report heavily underestimates the price of oil today and the ecological impact of drilling. The Forest Service has 45 days to respond to the appeal.
6. Sequoia National Monument Outing September 30
RSVP by September 25
Outing in the Sequoia Monument
Hug a Sequoia! SEPT 30 – OCT 2
YOU are invited by the Sierra Club’s Sequoia Task Force on Sept 30 – Oct 2 on a Fall Outing in the magnificent Giant Sequoia National Monument, about 90 minutes east of Porterville, California. You can arrive anytime after 2:00 pm Friday, September 30. Saturday morning we will have several hikes and see a wide variety of spectacular scenery. If we are lucky, the aspens will be changing colors and the dogwood will be turning red! We will hike through the Wheel Meadow Grove down the South Fork of the North Fork of the Tule River. Later we will take a short but steep jaunt to a secret waterfall. We will enjoy the vista from Dome Rock with an overview of the Kern Valley and views into the high peaks of Sequoia National Park; We will visit sites where the Sierra Club is challenging logging that is going on right now to measure stumps and count annual rings to determine the ages of these recently felled trees. Saturday night we will join together in a potluck, a favorite, creative treat.
As always, seeing old friends and meeting new people from all over the country are the best part of these outings. Talk with the activists who worked to protect these forests and groves for a quarter of a century and who continue to fight the Forest Service’s latest plans to log in the groves under the pretext of restoration.
Before heading home Sunday morning, we will hike to a hidden glade in one of the most spectacular stands of Sequoias that exists with no crowds and no ORVs. Hug a Sequoia that may well have been a seedling when Cleopatra was crossing the Nile. If enough of us make the trip, we just might be able to stretch all our arms around one single tree. Others may chose to continue to hike to the Bush Tree at the bottom of the Freeman Creek Grove, others may hike out to the Needles Lookout before heading home
Participants will need their own food and camping gear. Tents are recommended but not required. We will provide the group campsite, spare gear, liquid refreshment, maps, advice, and lots of information. Complete details about this popular annual outing are available by emailing Carla at cac@ocsnet.net or by calling 559 781-8445. Be sure to leave your name and contact information. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED BY SEPTEMBER 25th. This year we are asking for $10.00 from each participant to defray the costs of the campground. There are no other costs and participants are not required to be members of the Sierra Club.
WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US FOR A BEAUTIFUL FALL OUTING IN THE SEQUOIAS!
IN NEW MEXICO
7. Legislation Introduced to Protect Valle Vidal
Tom Udall, US Representative from New Mexico (D), introduced legislation in the House that would permanently bar mineral exploration and extraction in the Valle Vidal in New Mexico.
In the press release announcing the bill, Udall’s office stated: “Straddling the Colfax-Taos county line, the Valle Vidal harbors one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in the state. It is home to 60 species of mammals, 33 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 15 species of fish.
“Thirty years ago, the Pennzoil Co. purchased nearly 500,000 acres of the land, which was being used as a hunting park. Pennzoil maintained the area as such until 1982, when it donated a 100,000-acre parcel of it to the federal government – at the time, the largest donation in Forest Service history. During its ownership, Pennzoil never opened the area for oil and gas drilling.
“What an ironic travesty it would be for the government to now turn its back on this precious gift and allow the area to be blighted. Recent economic studies demonstration that the protection of special public lands like the Valle Vidal is good for local economies and that, in fact, exploitation of these places for a few hours of energy can hurt long-term economic growth and sustainability. I hope to work with other members of the congressional delegation, … [NM governor] Richardson[’s] administration, and all who want to preserve the Valle Vidal,” Udall concluded.
The Forest Service comment period on the energy proposal for Valle Vidal just finished up. For more details, see CalUWild’s July Update.
IN GENERAL
8. New National Park Service Standards
for Park Management in the News
The New York Times reported in late August that Paul Hoffman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior, had proposed making significant changes in the management of the nation’s national parks. The proposals would have allowed more recreational activities and weakened protections for water, air, wildlife, and scenery. In addition, OHV and snowmobile use in the parks could have been increased.
The Times reported that Mr. Hoffman, an aide to then-Congressman Dick Cheney and a former head of a local Chamber of Commerce in Cody, Wyoming, made changes to wording that might have appeared insignificant on paper, but which could have huge impacts. For example: “Illegal uses, Mr. Hoffman proposed, must ‘irreversibly’ harm park resources, instead of just harming them. Instead of obligating managers to eliminate impairments to park resources, he proposed that they should ‘adequately mitigate or eliminate’ the problems.”
Park Service officials rejected the proposed changes, which were developed without their knowledge. A Times editorial stated bluntly: “In short, this is not a policy for protecting the parks. It is a policy for destroying them. … Mr. Hoffman has given us is a road map of what could happen to the parks if Mr. Bush’s political appointees are allowed to have their way.”
We agree.
9. Three Western States Sue
Over New Roadless Rule
In late August, California, Oregon, and New Mexico sued the Forest Service over the revised Roadless Rule promulgated by the Bush administration. The new rule gives governors the option of requesting that the Clinton-era rule apply to national forest lands in their states. But the federal government would still make the final decision.
The state attorneys general alleged that the administration did not do a thorough analysis of the new rule’s environmental impact. According to the Associated Press, Agriculture Department Undersecretary Mark Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist, said the suit was “unfortunate and unnecessary. The quickest way to provide permanent protection is through the development of state-specific rules, not by resuscitating the 2001 rule.”
Washington’s Governor Christine Gregoire reportedly learned of the suit too late to join in, but said she supports full protection of roadless areas under the Clinton rule.
10. Job Listing: Defenders of Wildlife
DEADLINE: September 30
Job Description
July 2005
Title: Desert Associate
Supervisor: California Representative
Job Description
This professional-level position is responsible for developing and implementing work plans for the California Desert Program. The Desert Associate will serve as a liaison to other organizations, federal/state/local agencies, elected officials and their staff, the media and the general public. Must possess a solid background in political organizing. Must possess excellent communications and writing/editing skills in order to assist with drafting and revising documents and publications. Must be extremely well-organized and capable of juggling many different projects and tasks. Assignments are results- or goal-oriented, requiring substantial discretion on the part of the position in determining how to meet the assigned goal (e.g., producing a newsletter or generating grass-roots support). This is an eighteen-month, temporary position with the potential to become permanent. This position will be located in a community in or near the West Mojave Desert of California.
Duties
1) Develop and implement strategies, campaigns, publications, and education materials and reports associated with the California Desert Program.
2) Represent Defenders in coalitions, public meetings, hearings, press events, conferences, and general communications with public officials, the media, and members regarding the California Desert Program.
3) Establish and maintain effective working relationships with members of the Legislature, legislative staff, state and federal agency personnel, biologists, scientists and staff of leading NGOs.
4) Communicate value of desert conservation to local governments, businesses, civic organizations, and the media in the West Mojave Desert.
5) Represent Defenders on the Desert Tortoise Information and Education Working Group through the Desert Managers Group. Oversee messaging and products.
6) Develop a locally-based outreach program aimed at reducing human attractants for ravens in the desert.
7) Participate in local and regional conservation planning and implementation efforts in the West Mojave Desert.
8) Other duties as assigned by supervisors.
Qualifications
1) Advanced degree or undergraduate degree with combined applicable experience in Natural Resources, Public Policy, Biology, or related field.
2) At least 2 years of advocacy experience involving natural resource issues.
3) Some knowledge of federal and state agencies, laws, treaties, policies dealing with use and conservation of natural resources, and land use planning.
4) Experience developing, implementing, and managing conservation campaigns.
5) Strong writing, media and communications skills.
6) Ability to deal effectively with a broad range of audiences.
7) Personal interest and commitment to conservation.
To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and writing sample to:
hr@defenders.org
or to
“California Desert Associate Search”
926 J Street, Suite 522
Sacramento, CA 95814
and indicate interest in the California Desert Associate position by September 30, 2005.