|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Friday, 28 December 2012 15:52 |
 You've probably been wondering, as we have, why a bill designating a wilderness area in the Pine Forest Range of Humboldt County doesn't seem likely to pass this year.
This is a wilderness bill that has been supported by the entire Nevada Congressional delegation and was crafted from the ground up by all interested parties -- from sportsmen and ranchers to conservationists and recreationalists -- and has been held up by the highest policymakers as an example of wilderness done right.
By all rights, the Pine Forest Range Recreational Enhancement Act of 2012 should have passed in July. But it wasn't, and as the August recess morphed into the fall campaign season, followed by a Lame Duck session dominated by our race to the fiscal cliff, Pine Forest has failed to launch.
Our buddy Jim Jeffress from Trout Unlimited tells us that although the Nevada delegation "remains solidly in our corner" on Pine Forest, the bill has lost momentum as lawmakers figure out how to package it with several other land use bills.
There is more at stake here than 26,000 acres of pristine lakes, streams and wildlife habitat in the Pine Forest Range in Humboldt County. If this bill, which was introduced in November 2011, fails to pass, Jeffress notes, "it will be very difficult to get diverse user groups or individuals to engage in future collaborative assessment and planning processes. The delegation knows and understands the importance and ancillary impacts of this legislation."
As Humboldt County Commission Chairman Mike Bell noted recently in a letter to the editor,"The Pine Forest Range Recreational Enhancement Act was not something handed down to us from Washington. It came from the people who value it most – people who sat down at a table and were able to put politics aside and constructively come to a solution that would benefit all. The act creates some wilderness in places that deserve it most, and releases some in other areas that don’t quite measure up to that designation. In short, this is common-sense legislation worthy of passage."
We agree.
|
|
|
Written by Jim Sloan
|
|
Wednesday, 08 August 2012 13:50 |
Good news for those of you interested in wilderness protection, wherever it occurs:
The Wilderness Land Trust has ensured protection for one of Colorado’s most spectacular federal wilderness areas with the acquisition of a 20-acre private property within the Mount Massive Wilderness Area.
Blue Lake, set amidst granite boulders and tundra, was the last privately owned property within the 30,500-acre Mount Massive Wilderness. Located along the crest of the Continental Divide in Lake County, the Mount Massive Wilderness enfolds a broad swath of the high country between Aspen and Leadville. A rugged and remote alpine landscape with steep valleys, deep lakes, and abundant streams, the wilderness area surrounds Colorado’s second tallest peak, 14,421-foot Mount Massive.
The Wilderness Land Trust, a nonprofit based in Carbondale, has been working throughout the West to complete the National Wilderness System by buying wilderness “inholdings”–privately owned lands that, if developed, would diminish the wilderness character of the surrounding public lands.
Since it was founded 20 years ago, the Trust has acquired inholdings in 20 of Colorado’s federal wilderness areas—adding some 4,400 acres to the system. The Blue Lake property will be transferred to the Mount Massive Wilderness, to be managed by United States Forest Service.
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Monday, 11 June 2012 11:51 |
Jeneane Harter, NWP's executive director, made the case for making Gold Butte in southern Nevada at National Conservation Area with Wilderness in Sunday's Reno Gazette-Journal.
Since the newspaper recently erected a subscription paywall, you may not be able to read the whole piece online. Luckily, Jeneane gave us a copy and we reproduce it here in full.
Actually, this is the "director's cut" that includes sections that had to be trimmed in order to make it fit on the Gazette-Journal's Op-Ed page. We've also added few links if you want to write your Congressman or read more about why Gold Butte makes sense as a National Conservation Area with Wilderness.
It’s time for Congress to make Gold Butte a National Conservation Area with Wilderness
By Jeneane Harter
 A new survey of registered voters in Clark County released late last month showed very powerful support for the creation of a new National Conservation Area in Nevada. The proposed Gold Butte NCA, which would include some wilderness areas, would permanently protect 300,000 acres of spectacular desert lands commonly known as Nevada’s piece of the Grand Canyon puzzle.
The Gold Butte complex is rich in archeological, cultural and biological resources, including thousands of Native American petroglyphs, mining era artifacts, the Las Vegas poppy, desert bighorn sheep and the federally endangered desert tortoise. Its dramatic geologic formations include slot canyons, stunning red rock cliffs, countless canyons and washes draining into the Colorado River.
Northern Nevadans may not have heard much about Gold Butte, but creating a national conservation area with wilderness there could have a big impact on the state’s overall economy. As the survey released last month in Las Vegas showed, Las Vegas often serves as a gateway to the American West for international tourists, and the top stops on their itinerary include the natural wonders of the West – the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Yellowstone National Park and so on. When you add Gold Butte to that list – and a National Conservation Area with Wilderness designation puts Gold Butte on a very selective list – we give Nevada visitors yet another reason to linger in the Silver State. Many will fly north to see that other natural wonder, Lake Tahoe, or hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail or explore some of the other natural attraction of the Silver State and many will stay in Reno.
This is why a long list of businesses from both northern and southern Nevada have signed on to support Gold Butte as an NCA, including the Nevada Resort Association and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
When we create a Gold Butte National Conservation Area with Wilderness, we show that we mean business about protecting our natural assets as a state. Gold Butte today suffers from misuse, but creating an NCA with wilderness makes the area eligible for federal funding as part of the National Landscape Conservation System. Traditional uses will continue – the 500 miles of roads used by off-highway enthusiasts would remain open, for instance – but Gold Butte will occupy a special place on the map and studies have shown Nevada will benefit through more jobs, improved property values and a heartier tourist industry.
The survey of Clark County voters showed they favored protecting additional public lands in Nevada as wilderness by a better than 2-to-1 margin, and 66 percent favored making Gold Butte a National Conservation Area. The NCA proposal for Gold Butte is popular among men and women of all ages throughout the county. Democrats and Republicans. Hunters, hikers, campers, mountain bikers and off-road enthusiasts. Everybody likes the idea. Voters who occasionally or frequently use Nevada public lands for off-road vehicle recreation activities – typically a group that doesn’t favor wilderness proposals – were especially in favor of the Gold Butte National Conservation Area with Wilderness idea, with 73 percent saying they supported it.
You have to wonder at this point what Nevada’s Congressional delegation is waiting for.
Legislation for making Gold Butte a National Conservation Area with Wilderness is in the hands of Rep. Joe Heck, whose district includes Gold Butte. Heck has discussed the proposal with local interests but hasn’t come forward yet with a bill. He needs to do that immediately.
Although the Gold Butte NCA with Wilderness idea still has opposition from a handful of people in Mesquite and Moapa Valley, Rep. Heck must have made note of one finding from the survey: When asked if they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the Gold Butte proposal, two-thirds of the voters surveyed said they would support that candidate.
Are you listening, Congressman?
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 16:24 |
Richard Vellotta of vegasinc.com makes a case today about the economic benefits of national parks and monuments, pointing out that special landscapes and conservation areas can have a positive economic impacts on their surrounding communities.
We’ve been preaching that for a long time about a proposed National Conservation Area with Wilderness for Gold Butte, so it’s always nice when an expert from the business community makes the same point.
In his column, Mr. Vellotta – a senior business report for the Las Vegas Sun – notes that 13 percent of Las Vegas visitors take time out of their busy gambling, shopping and eating schedule to “explore the outdoors.” That’s 5.2 million people a year.
“The big takeaway is that our visitors are paying more attention to the outdoor attractions around Las Vegas,” Vellotta noted, “and they’re spending more than they did prior to the recession for sightseeing, food and beverages.”
Mr. Vellotta was using his conclusions to build an argument for establishing the Fossil Beds National Monument in North Las Vegas. That site along the Upper Las Vegas Wash contains the single-largest known collection of Ice Age fossils in the Southwest. Some call that area Tule Springs.
But much the same argument can be made for Gold Butte, and we couldn’t agree with Mr. Vellotta more when he concludes:
“Clearly, some compromise will be necessary. For Southern Nevada, that would create a win-win-win situation. We preserve our past. We diversify our economy for the present. We invest in educational opportunities for our future.
"The time is right.”
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 10:49 |
Position Title: Wilderness Inventory Crew Member
Location: Lands managed by the Battle Mountain & Carson City Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in central and western Nevada.Application
Deadline: June 4, 2012
Position Term: mid-June through September, 2012
Position Summary: The Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP), in partnership with Friends of Nevada Wilderness (FNW), is recruiting four full-time seasonal (40 hours/week) wilderness inventory crew members. Crew members will be conducting the inventories using the standards required in the BLM’s Location: The crew members will be conducting wilderness inventories primarily on Bureau of Land Management lands within the Battle Mountain District in central Nevada. Crew members will be working in various backcountry settings largely in Nye County. Due to the remote nature of the inventory units, camping will be required most nights during the week at undeveloped, backcountry areas. Occasional stays in a hotel for showers will be provided.
Requirements
• Ability to work responsibly with fellow crew member and receive and follow direction from the Field Coordinator.
• Ability to work safely in a remote location.
• Ability to drive four-wheel drive vehicles in difficult terrain.
• Ability to work long hours in remote locations.
• Ability to provide your own personal camping equipment along with appropriate field clothing.
Qualifications
• Map reading will be essential along with knowledge of, or willingness to learn, how to use various handheld devices such as I-pads, GPS, digital cameras, etc.
• Level of physical fitness enabling the crew member to hike up to ten miles per day.
• Valid driver’s license and back country driving experience with 4X4 vehicles. Truck will be provided.
• 18 years of age or older.
• Verifiable history of remote outdoors camping and travel along with demonstrated capacity to thrive in a rugged outdoor environment.
• Experience with previous wilderness inventories is helpful but not absolutely required. The crew will be using BLM’s Conducting Wilderness Character Inventory Manual on BLM Lands, 6310.
Compensation$16 hourly rate. There are no benefits or overtime associated with this position.
To Apply: Email a cover letter, resume and (3) references to: Denise Barclay, Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP);
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Or mail to NWP: 333 Flint Street, Reno, NV 89501.
For more detailed information call Shaaron Netherton, Friends of Nevada Wilderness at (775) 324-7667.
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 10:29 |
Position Title: Wilderness Inventory Field Coordinator
Location: Reno, Nevada with field work on lands managed by the Battle Mountain & Carson City BLM
Application Deadline: June 4, 2012 or sooner
Position Term: Early June-September (some flexibility)
Position Summary: The Nevada Wilderness Project and the Friends of Nevada Wilderness are recruiting a full-time seasonal Wilderness Inventory Field Coordinator. The field coordinator will supervise four crew members working in two teams of two people each; be responsible for the safety of crew members; responsible for the quality of the inventory data collected along with crew logistics and regular data transfer. This person will work closely with the Executive Director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness on the specifics of the wilderness inventory. This position will be based in Reno, Nevada with roughly 75% field work and 25% office coordination. The Field Coordinator may also be conducting wilderness inventory with staff from the Nevada Wilderness project or Friends of Nevada Wilderness.
Location: The wilderness inventory crews will be conducting wilderness inventories primarily on Bureau of Land Management lands within the Battle Mountain District in central Nevada. Crew members will be working in various backcountry settings largely in Nye County. Due to the remote nature of the inventory units, camping will be required most nights during the week at undeveloped, backcountry areas. Occasional stays in a hotel for showers will be provided.
Requirements
• Ability to safely and efficiently direct wilderness inventory crew members in remote locations following all safety guidelines.
• Ability to ensure the wilderness inventory is conducted consistent with the requirements in the BLM’s Conducting Wilderness Character Inventory Manual and ensure the data collected is consistent among crew members.
• Ability to provide your own personal camping equipment along with appropriate field clothing.
Qualifications
• Experience with previous wilderness inventories is required. The wilderness inventory will be conducted using BLM’s Conducting Wilderness Character Inventory Manual on BLM Lands, 6310.
• Supervisory experience is required with a strong emphasis on field safety and group dynamics.• Map reading will be essential along with knowledge of how to use various handheld devices such as I-pads, GPS, digital cameras, etc.
• Level of physical fitness for inventory work will entail hiking up to ten miles per day.
• Valid driver’s license with a good driving record and back country driving experience with 4X4 vehicles.
• 18 years of age or older.
Compensation
$20 hourly rate. There are no benefits or overtime associated with this position. A truck will be provided for official use.
To Apply: Email a cover letter, resume and (3) references to: Denise Barclay, Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP);
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Or mail to NWP: 333 Flint Street, Reno, NV 89501. For more detailed information call Shaaron Netherton, Friends of Nevada Wilderness at (775) 324-7667.
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:24 |
 A variety of businesses and conservation groups held a press conference in Las Vegas this morning to release the results of a new survey showing overwhelming support for designating Gold Butte in southern Nevada a National Conservation Area with Wilderness.
The survey of Clark County voters showed they favored protecting additional public lands in Nevada as wilderness by a better than 2-to-1 margin, and 66 percent favored making Gold Butte a National Conservation Area.
Wow.
It gets better. According to pollster Kelly Middendorff of the polling firm Moore Information, the NCA proposal for Gold Butte is popular among men and women of all ages throughout the county. Democrats and Republicans. Hunters, hikers, campers, mountain bikers and off-road enthusiasts. Everybody likes the idea. Voters who occasionally or frequently use Nevada public lands for off-road vehicle recreation activities – typically a group that doesn’t favor wilderness proposals – were especially in favor of the Gold Butte National Conservation Area with Wilderness idea, with 73 percent saying they supported it.
What’s more, dozens of businesses have lined up to support the proposal, and many turned out for the press conference to voice that support. Among them was Virginia Valentine of the Nevada Resort Association, Michael Goldsmith, Vice President of International Sales, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and Anne Miranda of the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce. As Goldsmith noted, Las Vegas has become a gateway to the West for international travelers, and one of the attractions for these visitors is the scenic wonder of our area, including Gold Butte.
In general, permanently protected landscapes are good for the economy, including jobs and property values.
The Mesquite City Council recently reaffirmed its support of the idea after many Clark County residents turned out to voice support for the NCA with wilderness.
You have to wonder at this point what Nevada’s Congressional delegation is waiting for. Legislation for making Gold Butte a National Conservation Area with Wilderness is in the hands of Rep. Joe Heck, who has discussed the proposal with local interests but hasn’t come forward yet with a bill. He needs to do that immediately. Maybe you can drop him a line?
Although the Gold Butte NCA with Wilderness idea still has opposition from a handful of people in Mesquite and Moapa Valley, Rep. Heck must have made note of one finding from today’s survey: When asked if they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the Gold Butte proposal, two-thirds of the voters surveyed said they would support that candidate.
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Friday, 16 March 2012 15:10 |
|
Thanks to all of you who took the time to fill out our recent membership survey!
We got a ton of useful information from you, including advice on how we can work together to most effectively protect Nevada’s wild landscapes. Of course we received other useful tidbits, such as how many of you like to go skinny dipping. Turns out Denise, our Administrative Director, isn’t the only one!
Here are some other items that jumped out at us from our survey:
- After Lake Tahoe, our favorite places to get outside include: the Ruby Mountains; Pyramid Lake, Gold Butte, the Black Rock Desert and Mount Rose.
- We all like to hike. A lot. Almost every one of us connect with wild places through hiking, although a goodly number also like to take pictures, camp, backpack and snoop on wildlife.
- The top three threats to wild landscapes were: Urban sprawl, lack of public awareness and unmanaged recreational use. The best way to protect the places we love, we said, was through outreach and public education.
- Most of us are willing to put our shoulders to the wheel to protect our wild places. We’re all ready to spread the word, clean them up and write a letter.
As promised, we pulled the names of a few of our members who took the survey and gave them one of our splendid T-shirts. Congrats to our fabulous winners! Be sure and say hi if you spot them on the trail!
 Charlee Poindexter
Charlee, pictured here in the caverns at Great Basin National Park, is from Reno but her favorite outdoor destination is the Red Rock area northeast of Las Vegas. She likes to connect with wild places by learning their history and she doesn’t feel there is enough federal legislation protecting wilderness.
 Kate Hahn
Kate, here in a photo taken out in the desert, is from Las Vegas, and enjoys visiting wild rivers and mountains, which she feels improves quality of life by providing balance with the built environment. She likes to connect with special landscapes through hiking and camping, and she thinks the greatest threat to wild places in Nevada is pressure from renewable energy development.
 Loretta Watson
Loretta, from Las Vegas, is pictured here during a visit to Quinn Canyon in Lincoln County, which next to Gold Butte is one of her favorite places to get outside. She also likes the Spring Mountain Range, Becky Peak and White Pine County, and she connects with these places by learning the history, hiking, camping, picnicking and viewing wildlife. She thinks the best way to protect these places is through public outreach and education; local, state, and federal policy; and grassroots advocacy.
 Shasta Ferranto
Shasta, pictured here with her dog in the Rubies – one of her favorite places to visit -- is a student in Berkeley, Calif. She enjoys hiking, photography and mountain biking as a way to connect with her favorite places. She also enjoys climbing, camping, running, skiing, kayaking and canoeing, and she enjoys visiting wild places for their beauty and intrinsic value.
 Rose Demoret
Rose is from Reno and has worked for the Friends of Nevada Wilderness. She loves the Mount Rose Wilderness as well as the High Schelles and the Ruby Mountains. She’s volunteered to build and maintain trails, but she also connects with her favorite wild places by learning the history and bringing friends and family for visits.
Again, our thanks to our T-shirt winners but also to the many, many other members who took time to take our survey. You will have another chance to win a T-shirt when we conduct a second survey starting in mid-April. So stay tuned and expect an email encouraging you to help us out one more time!
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Sunday, 29 January 2012 11:13 |
 The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will be holding a public hearing on the Douglas County Conservation Bill on Feb. 2. The Commission meeting starts at 1 p.m. in the Douglas County Administration Building at 1616 Eight St. in Minden, and the conservation bill will be discussed under the county manager’s report.
We need to fill the historic courthouse with voices that support two key elements of this bill:
1. The designation of Burbank Canyons as permanently protected Wilderness and;
2. The sale of excess federal land in Carson Valley in order to raise funds for conservation easements that will help generate additional conservation opportunities for sage-grouse and their habitats.
Here’s why we support this measure:
The Burbank Canyons are a stunning wilderness study area in the Pine Nuts northwest of Wellington. Not only is there great hiking, backpacking and fishing, but the three deep canyons and the excellent upper-elevation sagebrush in this area provide important wildlife habitat for deer, sage-grouse and other important species.
The bistate sage-grouse population in Douglas County and other Nevada counties has been decimated in recent years due to the loss of its sensitive sagebrush habitat. The easements proposed under this lands bill will go a long way toward providing funds to conserve irrigated meadows and other areas that are essential to the bird’s survival.
The County has been working on this bill for a long time, working with tribes, federal agencies and more than 90 stakeholder groups.It’s a good bill . It carefully balances the county’s development and planning needs with the protection of its cultural heritage, historical agricultural operations, floodplain lands, and natural resources.
We need to make sure it isn’t compromised as it inches toward final approval.
|
|
Written by Wild Nevada
|
|
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 11:59 |
 The East Fork High Rock Canyon Wilderness grew by 320 acres recently when the Wilderness Land Trust purchased some private property tucked into the northern region of the 52,000-acre wilderness along the Washoe-Humboldt county line.
The Trust will now transfer the land to the Bureau of Land Management. In an announcement the land trust said the property is also part of the Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. Cottonwood Creek crosses the property, and mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, coyotes and sage-grouse inhabit the area.
Although this is the first Nevada purchase by the Wilderness Land Trust, David Kirk, the Senior Lands Specialist for the Trust, said he hopes it’s just the beginning. The Trust is in talks with additional willing sellers and hopes to add more properties to its wilderness collection by the end of the year.
The East Fork High Rock Canyon Wilderness is a spacious tract of volcanic uplands cut with deep gorges and pocketed with lush meadows and other riparian areas. It’s nice. Lots of great dayhiking and backpacking opportunities, and the nearby High Rock Canyon contains the historic Applegate Lassen Emigrant Trail. The High Rock Canyon Road is closed each year between the 1st of February until the 2nd weekend in May to minimize human disturbance on nesting raptors and lambing bighorn sheep.
|
|
Written by Jim Sloan
|
|
Thursday, 03 November 2011 07:01 |
 All five members of Nevada’s Congressional delegation have joined together to introduce the Pine Forest Recreation Enhancement Act, which designates 26,000 acres in the northwestern Nevada Pine Forest Range as federally protected wilderness.
The bill still has to clear Congress, but with Nevada Democrats and Republicans both supporting the legislation, its passage is assured.
This is a great victory for Nevada conservation but also for the Nevada Wilderness Project. Our staff wildlife biologist,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, has been working with various stakeholders in the Winnemucca area for several months to hammer out the agreement reflected in the Pine Forest Act.
“The process that led to this wilderness bill was unique,” Tanner said on Wednesday just minutes after the bill was introduced. “Folks from a variety of perspectives sat down together and came to complete agreement on permanently protecting one of Nevada’s most pristine areas.”
Indeed, the community-based efforts that led to this latest wilderness designation has been held up by Assistant Interior Secretary David Hayes as a prime example of how the process should work. Ranchers, hikers, anglers, miners and ATV enthusiasts worked together – poring over maps and taking field trips into the wilderness – to agree on the 26,000 acres that will now be protected.
This hard work wasn’t lost on recently elected Rep. Mark Amodei, the Nevada Republican whose district includes the Pine Forest Range north of Winnemucca.
“It's important to recognize that the Pine Forest Wilderness Act is a community-driven plan that represents the consensus of Humboldt County stakeholders on how to preserve this pristine wilderness while protecting and enhancing its historic uses,” Amodei said. “This model approach demonstrates that common sense solutions to our public land designations are possible when Nevadans have a seat at the table.”
Amodei was no doubt convinced of the importance of the Pine Forest Range by the dozens of letters he’s received in recent weeks from NWP members. The Nevada Wilderness Project led the writing campaign, and many, many supporters responded with letters and emails to Amodei.
The designated area embraces two adjoining wilderness study areas – the Blue Lakes region and the Alder Creek area. In addition, the Pine Forest Recreation Enhancement Act introduced Wednesday directs the Bureau of Land Management to exchange federal lands surrounding nearby ranches for private parcels within the designated wilderness area.
The Blue Lakes and Alder Creek areas were designated as Wilderness Study Areas by the BLM in 1980. Blue Lakes is a series of alpine depressions surrounded by limber and whitebark pine forests to create a habitat far different from surrounding ranges. Anglers hiking into the area enjoy fishing for rainbow, brook, cutthroat and tiger trout in one of Nevada’s best trout fisheries.The foothills of the Pine Forest Range back up to the Black Rock Desert, and its peaks climb to 9,000 feet. The highest mountain in the range is Duffer Peak South at 9,428 feet.
"Pine Forest is a special place," NWP Conservation Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
said. "I don't think anyone would argue that protecting it is not the right thing to do."
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 3 |
|
|
