John Muir Wilderness, California Mike Painter
July 31, 2010
Dear friends of CalUWild—
There are a few items of interest this month. They contain mostly good news, which is nice for a change!
The House of Representatives yesterday passed an offshore oil reform bill. The bill originally contained many provisions relating to onshore (land) leasing and reform, but unfortunately most of those were stripped out between the hearing in the Natural Resources Committee last week and the vote in the House. However, not all was lost, since the final version retained a requirement for full, permanent funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund, a longtime goal of conservationists. The LWCF is used to purchase land and easements at the federal, state, and local levels, mainly for recreation and preservation purposes. The Fund was originally established in 1964, with funding coming from offshore energy leasing fees. The Fund has a cap of $900 million annually, but it has only been fully funded twice since its inception. This bill changes that. We’ll see how it proceeds in the Senate. Congress is beginning its August recess soon, so it’s unlikely that anything will happen before September.
It’s also unlikely that there will be any movement before September on the county-by-county wilderness processes underway in Utah. We’ll keep you posted there.
Summer is moving along quickly, and we hope you’ve been able to get away and spend some time in the outdoors—or least plan to do so still.
Best wishes,
Mike
IN UTAH
1. Desolation Canyon-West Tavaputs Agreement
IN COLORADO
2. Vermillion Basin Spared Oil & Gas Development
Send Thank You Letters
(ACTION ITEM)
IN WYOMING
3. Yellowstone Snowmobiling
Planning Update
(ACTION ITEM)
Public Conference Call & “Webinars” Next Week
4. Yellowstone’s Wild Bison Face Vaccinations
Comments Needed
(ACTION ITEM)
DEADLINE: September 24
IN GENERAL
5. America’s Great Outdoors Initiative Continues
ON THE WEB
6. Western Wilderness Conference Sessions Online
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IN UTAH
1. Desolation Canyon-West Tavaputs Plateau
Oil & Gas Exploration Impacts Reduced Through Agreement
Between Conservation Organizations and Bill Barrett Corp.
Friends of Utah’s wild places received some very welcome news this week. The Bureau of Land Management announced that it would be releasing a “Record of Decision” (ROD) for the controversial West Tavaputs Full Field Natural Gas Development Project, reflecting an agreement among the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, and the Bill Barrett Corp. of Denver. The agreement significantly reduces the footprint of the company’s proposed activities.
Desolation Canyon is one of the most remote areas in the Lower 48, with very few roads. It provides remarkable habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and contains many archaeological sites as well. The Green River flows through it, making it a favorite stretch for river runners.
Reflecting its wild nature, much of the area has been included in America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act for many years. Thus conservationists greeted Bill Barrett Corp.’s original proposals for oil & gas development with alarm. BLM began the planning process in 2008, and barring appeals, the ROD brings it to a close. The highlights from the agreement are:
• No wells will be drilled on existing leases in the Jack Canyon or Desolation Canyon Wilderness Study Areas.
• The number of surface-disturbing sites in other proposed wilderness areas will be fewer than six, down from the original 225.
• Overall, the Barrett Corp. will reduce the number of well pads from 538 to 120, with a corresponding reduction in the number of wells from 807 to 626 (presumably through the use of directional drilling). Thus the number of disturbed cares will drop from 3,656 to 1,603.
The agreement follows another from January 2010 providing increased protection for Nine Mile Canyon and its rock art and other archaeological sites. The Final EIS also reflects that agreement
The Final EIS and ROD may be found on the web here.
IN COLORADO
2. Vermillion Basin Spared Oil & Gas Development
Send Thank You Letters
(ACTION ITEM)
There was further good news late last month when the Colorado BLM reversed itself on previous proposals for energy development in the Vermillion Basin in Moffatt County. A planning process for the northwest corner of the state has been going on for many years, and the most recent draft allowed for much leasing for energy development. Instead, the BLM announced that the 77,000-acre Vermillion Basin would not be opened for leasing.
Vermillion Basin is a wild, scenic area, home to much wildlife, and it contains a wealth of archaeological resources, too. Vermillion Basin was also mentioned as a possibility for designation as a national monument back in January in an Interior Department memo leaked to Utah congressman Rob Bishop. According to The Wilderness Society, the basin might only contain 10 days’ U.S. supply of natural gas and virtually no oil. TWS also says that some 5 million acres of Colorado lands are leased, but only about 30% have been developed. And in the Little Snake Field Office, where Vermillion Basin is located, less than 15% of the million-plus acres already leased have been developed.
Letters of thanks, supporting the decision, should be sent to:
Ms. Helen Hankins
State Director
BLM Colorado State Office
2850 Youngfield Street
Lakewood, CO 80215-7093
Email: Helen_Hankins@blm.gov
IN WYOMING
3. Yellowstone Snowmobiling
Planning Update
(ACTION ITEM)
Public Conference Call & “Webinars” Next Week
CalUWild has been following and commenting on Yellowstone National Park’s lengthy planning process for Winter use of the park. Early this year, the Park opened a new scoping period, collecting suggestions and ideas for alternatives and approaches. The Park has just announced the alternatives (see below) that it will analyze in the coming months, culminating in a Draft EIS to be released in early 2011. This announcement is merely informational, and no written action is required at present.
The Park is scheduling an informational conference call and two online “webinars” for members of the public who would like more information.
The conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 7 p.m. MDT. The toll-free number for the call is 877-918-1346 (this number is for calls from U.S. telephones only). When prompted, please enter the passcode 8654495 followed by the pound (#) sign.
The webinars are scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 3, at 7 p.m. MDT, and Thursday, Aug. 5, at 10 a.m. MDT. Registration is required and is open until the time of the webinar. For instructions about how to participate in the webinars, go here.
Here are the Park Service’s six alternatives, verbatim:
ALTERNATIVE 1: No Action-No Snowmobile/ Snowcoach Use.
The current interim rule for winter use would expire after the 2010/2011 winter season. After that, no public use of over-snow vehicles (OSV) would be permitted in Yellowstone. Only non-motorized winter access into the park (on foot, ski, and snowshoe) would continue.
ALTERNATIVE 2: Continue Snowmobile/ Snowcoach Use at 2008 Plan Limits.
Winter access to the park via snowmobiles and snowcoaches would continue under present limits: up to 318 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per day. All current OSV requirements would continue, including entry only with OSV guides, restrictions on hours of operation, and only snowmobiles that meet “Best Available Technology” (BAT) requirements. BAT also would be developed and implemented for snowcoaches by the 2014/2015 season.
ALTERNATIVE 3: Return Snowmobile/Snowcoach Use to 2004 Plan Limits.
Snowmobile and snowcoach use levels would be allowed to increase to the levels set in the 2004 plan – up to 720 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per day. All current OSV requirements would continue, the same as under Alternative 2, above, including development and implementation of BAT for snowcoaches by the 2014/2015 season.
ALTERNATIVE 4: Mixed-Use: Snowcoaches, Snowmobiles, and Wheeled Vehicles (Road Plowing).
Visitors could enter Yellowstone in the winter by multiple motorized methods. The roads from West Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful would be plowed for park access in wheeled, commercial, multi-passenger vehicles (buses and vans). The south entrance road would be groomed for use by up to 30 snowcoaches and 100 snowmobiles per day, all required to be BAT. The east entrance road over Sylvan Pass would be closed to OSV use. Non-motorized winter access would continue.
ALTERNATIVE 5: Transition to BAT Snowcoaches Only.
Motorized access to the park would be in BAT snowcoaches only. Snowmobiles would gradually be phased out, beginning in the 2014/2015 season, when all snowcoaches would be required to meet BAT standards. Snowcoaches would replace snowmobiles within a five-year period (depending on snowcoach user demand). This Alternative initially provides for both snowmobile and snowcoach access under present levels – 318 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per day. After the 2014/2015 season, snowcoach numbers would be allowed to increase to 120 per day, with a corresponding decrease in the number of snowmobiles during the five-year phase-out period.
ALTERNATIVE 6: Implement Variable Management.
OSV and visitor use would be managed for a greater variety of winter experiences by setting times and places for higher and lower levels of use, including additional opportunities for undisturbed skiing and snowshoeing. OSV entries into Yellowstone would have a winter season limit of up to 32,000 snowmobiles and 4,600 snowcoaches, and a daily limit of up to 540 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches. Up to 25 percent of snowmobile entries would be available for unguided use.
If you’re interested in directly receiving further information on Yellowstone’s Winter Use planning process, contact the Park and ask to be added to their list:
Email: yell_winter_use@nps.gov
Phone: 307-344-2019
US Mail:
Winter Use
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park
WY 82190-0168
4. Yellowstone’s Wild Bison Face Vaccinations
Comments Needed
(ACTION ITEM)
DEADLINE: September 24
It might come as a surprise to many, but Yellowstone National Park, the nation’s oldest, contains no designated wilderness areas. Yet remarkably, despite very heavy visitation, the Park remains a substantially functioning ecosystem, especially since the successful restoration of wolves there. In fact, Yellowstone is often called America’s Serengeti.
We don’t often write about wildlife issues except where they impact wilderness values, and Yellowstone has had its share of those. One of the ongoing battles, which we’ve occasionally covered, concerns the Park’s wild bison herd and cattle in neighboring states, especially Montana.
The issue centers on the disease brucellosis, which affects cattle, causing pregnant females to abort. Wild bison are known to be carriers of the bacterium causing the disease, ironically having contracted it from cattle 100 or so years ago. However, there has never been a known case of transmission from bison back to cattle. (Elk are more of a threat.) Yet over the years, the Park Service and the State of Montana have engaged in an all-out war (there’s almost no other word for it) against the wild bison of Yellowstone, especially when they migrate out of the Park in search of forage at lower elevations in severe Winters. The bison are hazed back into the Park, often by helicopter, even when they have calves or they are rounded up and shipped to the slaughterhouse. Just about every year some bison are killed, and some years the numbers are large. (In 2007/8, for example, over 1,600 were killed, nearly 1/3 of Yellowstone’s herd.)
In an effort to resolve the problem, the Park Service has proposed vaccinating the wild bison in the Park. There seem to be many scientific uncertainties surrounding the effectiveness of the vaccine and its effect on bison themselves—it may cause them to abort, for example. Animals vaccinated from a distance would be tagged with paintballs or other markings, while animals vaccinated in pens would have chips implanted in them.
The Buffalo Field Campaign has an extensive web page with all sorts of information on many aspects of the issue, much more than I want to go into here. A far less expensive (and less complicated) option would be simply to buy out the grazing leases in the animals’ migration path. It would preserve the naturalness of the ecosystem at the same time.
From a wilderness advocacy standpoint, vaccinating wild bison is simply an absurd idea. Wild ecosystems should be left wild, and that includes their animal populations. This proposal would destroy the wildness of Yellowstone’s ecosystem.
If you would like to read the Park Service vaccination proposal, you may download a copy of it by clicking on the link near the bottom of this page.
The Park Service just extended the deadline for accepting comments on its proposal until September 24. It is not accepting email or fax comments; you’ll have to submit your comments online here. Or mail your comments to:
Bison Ecology & Management Office
Center for Resources
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park
WY 82190-0168
IN GENERAL
5. America’s Great Outdoors Initiative Continues
We’ve been reporting the last few months on President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative,” a program to help “reconnect Americans, especially children, to America’s rivers and waterways, landscapes of national significance, ranches, farms and forests, great parks, and coasts and beaches, by exploring a variety of efforts.”
As part of the process to involve ordinary Americans, earlier this month several “listening sessions” took place in various cities in California and around the country. More are being added to the schedule all the time. Check the AGO website for the evolving schedule. If there is one nearby, please try to attend.
I attended a session at UC Davis, hosted by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-1). Over 250 citizens and several Administration officials were present: Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Will Shafroth, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior; Ed Burton, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA; and Jovita Pajarillo, Assistant Director, Water Division, US EPA, Region 9.
The officials seemed genuinely interested in hearing what people had to say and encouraged people to submit comments via the AGO website or to them directly. There were three formal presentations from: the California Rice Foundation and Ducks Unlimited about private wetlands and their importance to the millions of birds along the Pacific flyway; Andy Beckstoffer on conservation easements; and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation on Tule Elk restoration programs, including the Cache Creek Natural Area. Several members of the public spoke in favor of the proposed Berryessa-Snow Mountain NCA (another area considered for national monument status by the administration).
The California Wilderness Coalition reports that almost 800 people attended another session the following day at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
If you are unable to attend a listening session, you may submit comments via the AGO website. The website itself is evolving, and while it has been open for comments and suggestions since the beginning, the format has changed and now it’s dividing suggestions into four categories:
• Challenges – What obstacles exist to achieving your goals for conservation, recreation, or reconnecting people to the outdoors?
• What Works – Please share your thoughts and ideas on effective strategies for conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors.
• Federal Government Role – How can the federal government be a more effective partner in helping to achieve conservation, recreation or reconnecting people to the outdoors?
• Tools – What additional tools and resources would help your efforts be even more successful?
Topics submitted prior to the site’s reorganization have been archived, but they cannot be voted or commented on.
It’s not clear how long the listening sessions and comment opportunities will continue, but the President is supposed to be given a report in November. So act sooner rather than later! As with all undertakings one thing is for certain: if we don’t take part, our ideas are guaranteed not to appear in the final report. And if you look through the suggestions and comments, you’ll see that many come from people who do not value wilderness and quiet recreation.
Some of the topics we would like to see addressed in the report include:
• Wilderness and WSA designation & management
• Adequate funding for land management agencies
• Focus on protecting Nature, including the restoration of degraded areas
• Establishment of a formal system of wildlife corridors
• Establishment of new parks and recreation areas at all levels
• Pitfalls of privatization of public resources
You need to register on the website in order to submit topic suggestions, comments, or to vote on others’ suggestions.
Comments may also be submitted directly CEQ chair Nancy Sutley at:
Council on Environmental Quality
722 Jackson Place, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email is best, though, because of potential irradiation of the mail, since it’s a White House Office:
CEQ’s fax: 202-456-6546
ON THE WEB
6. Western Wilderness Conference 2010
Sessions Now Online
If you were unable to attend the Western Wilderness Conference 2010, missed a session because you were attending another one at the same time, or just want to listen again, now is your chance to catch up. The California Wilderness Coalition has posted many of the sessions through the generosity of the Morrissey Family Foundation. Click here for the list of sessions currently available for viewing.