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With my family, I just returned from Washington, DC, where we met with our member of Congress, Rep. John Salazar. He gravitated toward our son, Carson, who’s about to turn five, picking him up in his arms and carting him into his office. His staff took a picture of the two of them in front of the massive head of a mounted bull elk from near Durango. He had a staff person take us on a tour of the Capitol, where I’m proud to say Carson was deferential to the history of the place and even recognized George Washington from his statute. It’s important that a five-year-old become familiar with his government in Washington. Familiarity, in this instance, breeds participation, in a government of the people, by the people, for the people. We elect these leaders to serve the public’s interests. I’m happy to report our Congressman is mulling over the idea of protecting wilderness in his district, perhaps for Dominquez Canyon, perhaps for other places. His district has a lot of special places, and a lot of elk habitat. That’s good for this dad’s interests. Some day I’d like to hunt elk with Carson near our home in Durango. Sincerely,
Mike Matz
Executive Director  |
| The Natural and Cultural Treasure of Gold Butte 
Deep in the southern tooth of Nevada there is a mountain range that has sometimes been overlooked. However, the days of public unawares are coming to a close. With U.S. population growth passing a major milestone, Gold Butte is one of many wild places that now feel the pinching vice of progress. Enclosed by the Virgin Mountains to the North, Lake Mead to the South and West, and Arizona’s Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument to the East, Gold Butte has existed quietly in the shadow of its famous neighbors. But today, the 350,000-acre BLM-managed land is attracting hordes of new visitors who flock to its geologic, cultural and wilderness attractions. Read More>> |
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| New Bill Includes Half a Million Acres of
Proposed Idaho Wilderness March, as they say, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This year in Washington, DC, March also came and went with more wilderness legislation. On March 7, Senator Mike Crapo (R-UT) introduced S. 802, the Owyhee Initiative Implementation Act of 2007. Read More>> |
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| America’s Largest National Forest is in Jeopardy 
The Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Its unparalleled natural beauty and abundant wildlife including bald eagles, salmon, and grizzly and black bears make the forest a natural wonder that deserves careful stewardship. However, a new management plan from the Forest Service would allow intensive logging and development in the forest’s wildest areas while failing to recommend one single acre of this magnificent rainforest for wilderness protection. Please take action before April 30 and tell the Forest Service to fix its plan by protecting the wildest areas in the forest! Take Action Now! Read More>> |
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| Doris Milner, Grande Dame of Montana Wilderness 
As the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act approached in 2004, we hoped to interest National Public Radio in the story of ordinary people saving wilderness. The perfect example would be the once seriously imperiled area at the south end of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, straddling the divide between Idaho and Montana southwest of Missoula. This place—the “Magruder Corridor”—was the scene of a furious, long-running controversy in the 1960s and 70s, but was ultimately preserved as an addition to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in 1980 thanks to a classic grassroots wilderness campaign. Read More>> |
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