August 10, 2007 South Shale Ridge In a significant public lands ruling, a federal judge told the BLM that the agency cannot lease whatever land it pleases for drilling without considering ways to protect its wilderness characteristics or without considering the effects of leasing and drilling on endangered species.   April 4, 2007 Timber Settlement Sets the Stage for a 21st Century Tongass Plan On April 3, 2007, conservation groups reached a settlement agreement with the Forest Service and the timber industry regarding the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, hammering out a way to safeguard important community use areas while keeping the mills supplied with timber until the agency issues a new forest plan. The Forest Service withdrew multiple timber sales approved under the illegal 1997 Tongass forest plan that targeted important community use areas, such as the Emerald Bay sale on the Cleveland Peninsula, pending completion of the current forest plan revision.   December 20, 2006 Protecting the Rocky Mountain Front from Oil and Gas Drilling In the waning hours of the 109th Congress, lawmakers took the crucial steps needed to pass legislation that will ban future oil and gas leasing on 400,000 acres of National Forest and BLM lands along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front.   December 10, 2006 White Pine County Lands Bill Passes Congress passed the White Pine County public lands bill as part of year-end omnibus legislation. Key conservation measures in the legislation include the designation of 557,000 acres of wilderness on lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Nevada.   November 15, 2006 Statement of the Vermont Wilderness Association on the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote to pass the New England Wilderness Act of 2006 In a rare display of bipartisanship and comity, both the Senate and House have unanimously passed the New England Wilderness Act of 2006. The legislation needs only the President’s signature to become law.   October 17, 2006 Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act On October 17, 2006, The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act was signed into law. This bill designated some 273,000 acres of public land as wilderness and 21 miles of Wild and Scenic River.   September 25, 2006 Federal Court Decision Protects Alaskan Lake, Wetlands From Oil Drilling The US District Court for Alaska today issued a strongly worded decision that could save the internationally significant wildlife habitat around Teshekpuk Lake in the Northeast Planning Area of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska (NPRA). The court found the government's environmental analysis violated federal environmental laws.   September 20, 2006 Statement from The Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows on the Historic Court Decision Reinstating the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule A ruling on September 20, 2006, reinstates the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, turning back the Bush Administration's push to turn over public lands to special interests.   September 18, 2006 In Tenth Year, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a Valuable Resource for Southern Utah Ten years after former President Clinton designated Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, the area has become one of the nation's iconic destination landscapes, attracting world class scientists from numerous fields, serving as an unmatched educational backdrop, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists, and winning committed friends.   September 13, 2006 Black Canyon To Be Protected For Future Generations In an historic decision, U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer today issued a decision to protect the magnificent natural resources of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.   August 3, 2006 Momentum Builds to Protect Montana's Rocky Mountain Front Company that originally proposed Blackleaf area drilling agrees to retire its Front leases. Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front working with additional companies to donate or sell Front leases as Montanas continue to express support for protecting Front.   July 27, 2006 Court Decision Supports Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Closing the book on nine years of legal wrangling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the 1996 establishment of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The decision was a follow up to the 2004 district court decision that confirmed the President’s use of the Antiquities Act to establish the Monument.   July 26, 2006 Three Wilderness Bills Pass US House of Representatives The US House of Representatives has passed three proposals to extend permanent protection to a total of more than 670,000 acres of wilderness in California, Idaho and Oregon. If enacted, these bills would provide permanent protection to some of the most important unspoiled landscapes in each state.   July 11, 2006 Governor Takes a Stand to Protect California's Roadless Areas Governor Schwarzenegger announced today he is petitioning the U.S. Forest Service to develop specific rules for protecting roadless areas in California’s national forests. The announcement makes California the fifth state (and second with a Republican governor) to join the national, bipartisan effort to secure roadless protections for some of the wildest and most valuable areas in our national forests.   June 19, 2006 New Draft of National Park Management Policies Appears to Restore Agency's Fundamental Mission A new draft of the National Park Service’s Management Policies issued today reinforces the agency’s commitment to protect park resources such as air quality, and preserve wilderness and the experiences of visitors, according to conservation groups and retired National Park Service professionals. They called on Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella to finalize the draft policies. Preliminary analysis indicates that the National Park Service, after pressure from Congress, park experts, and the American public, produced a new draft that largely reflects the park-protective policies in the existing 2001 Management Policies.   January 26, 2006 New Wilderness Designated The 109th Congress has approved legislation adding significant wilderness areas in several states to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Society and our state partners fought hard for the designation of these areas. These victories prove that we can continue to obtain positive, preservation-minded victories even in the current political climate. These victories certainly are worth celebrating!   January 13, 2006 Cedar Mountain Wilderness Bill Signed Into Law On January 6, 2006, President Bush signed into law a bill that included designation of the 100,000-acre Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area in Utah (P.L. 109-163). The wilderness designation is part of the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) Protection Act, which was attached to the final version of the large Defense Authorization Act approved by Congress in December 2005. This legislation not only preserves this special wild area with exceptional recreational and natural features, but also allows the Air Force continued use of the Utah Test and Training Range, which includes air space above the wilderness area.   December 8, 2005 Victory in the Lost River Valley This summer, the Lost River and Pahsimeroi Valleys were spared from becoming home to the nation’s largest off-road vehicle trail and the first such trail to propose Idaho state management of federal lands.   December 2, 2005 Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Bill Signed Into Law On Thursday, December 1, 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 539, the "Caribbean National Forest Act," which designates 10,000 acres of National Forest System land in Puerto Rico as the "El Toro Wilderness."   November 29, 2005 Maine WoodNet Honored On November 26, 2005, the Western Mountains Alliance awarded the "King Cummings Leadership Award" to Maine WoodNet.   November 17, 2005 Caribbean National Forest Wilderness Bill Passes Senate, Heads to White House For Final Approval Congressman Fortuno and Senator Clinton praised for ongoing commitment to create the nation’s first tropical national forest wilderness.   November 10, 2005 House Drops Arctic Refuge Drilling From Its Budget Reconciliation Bill Statement of William H. Meadows, President, The Wilderness Society.   November 4, 2005 President Bush Signs Ojito Wilderness Act On Wednesday, October 26, 2005, President Bush signed the Ojito Wilderness Act into law (Public Law No. 109-94). The measure represents the first new wilderness law enacted during the 109th Congress. The Ojito Wilderness is also the first new wilderness area in New Mexico in 18 years and one of only a handful of wilderness areas designated on land managed by the BLM in the state.   October 21, 2005 California Gets New Wild and Scenic River Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation adding 31 miles of Cache Creek to the California Wild & Scenic Rivers System.   September 29, 2005 Court Rules Administration Cannot Exclude Public Participation in Forest Service Projects A District Court has ruled that the Administration must provide opportunities for the public to have input on land management projects on all lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service. In particular, the court ruling affects certain projects that were classified as "categorical exclusions," a process which the Administration has increasingly used to eliminate environmental analysis and reduce public participation.   July 26, 2005 Senate Unanimously Passes Four Wilderness Bills Legislation protects almost a half-million acres in California, New Mexico, Washington, and Puerto Rico.   February 23, 2005 Victory For National Parks And The Florida Panther United States District Judge John Steele ruled in favor of a National Park Service plan that protects Big Cypress National Preserve, one of the wildest areas in America teeming with cypress strands, hardwood swamps, and mangroves where rare Florida panthers still reside.   October 11, 2004 Court Rules Bush Administration Is Illegally Hiding Secret Wilderness Settlement Documents Federal judge finds Interior Department gave no lawful reason for withholding details of 'no more wilderness' settlement.   October 5, 2004 Montanans Praise Decision to Stop Proposed Drilling Along Rocky Mountain Front Citing overwhelming public support & long tradition of protecting Front, Montanans call on Congress to swap or buy-out leases.   October 2, 2004 Interior Department Says It Will Halt Natural Gas Development on the Rocky Mountain Front On a nationally televised PBS special on 'Now with Bill Moyers' broadcast Friday, Oct. 1, co-host David Brancaccio reported that the Department of Interior said it would not approve drilling for natural gas along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.   September 16, 2004 Utah Withdraws Much Touted R.S. 2477 Highway Claim Groundbreaking application turns out to be fatally flawed.   September 14, 2004 Forest Service Halts Energy Leases on Bridger-Teton National Forest The Forest Service has announced plans to temporarily defer oil and gas leasing of 175,000 acres in the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s Wyoming Range. The decision was in response to public outcry over the leasing, including opposition from Wyoming's governor, Wyoming Sen. Thomas, local ranchers, hunters, anglers and business owners, and conservation activists nationwide.   June 18, 2004 Victory on Arctic Refuge! House turns back Arctic drilling on June 16, 2004. Many thanks for your calls and letters.   April 20, 2004 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Upheld In a decision with West-wide implications, a federal district court judge late yesterday upheld President Clinton’s establishment of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.   April 8, 2004 Federal Court Protects Heart of Wilderness from Highway Claim Ruling closes legal loophole, preserves public land in Robledo Mountains Wilderness Study Area north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.   January 13, 2004 Higher Court Leaves Snowmobile Phaseout in Place in Yellowstone A panel of federal judges today ruled that a phaseout of snowmobile use under way in Yellowstone National Park must continue.   November 25, 2003 Senate Passes Wild Sky Wilderness Bill Late on November 24, 2003, the 106,000-acre Wild Sky Wilderness legislation was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. It now awaits passage by the U.S. House of Representatives.   November 18, 2003 Victory for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Federal Judge rules, stops bulldozer use in America's largest and wildest National Park.   September 18, 2003 DuPont Land Donation Will Protect Okefenokee DuPont has agreed to donate to the Conservation Fund approximately 16,000 acres adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area in Georgia, also relinquishing mining rights to the property.   August 8, 2003 Magistrate Approves Off-Road Vehicle Restrictions in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve Magistrate Judge Douglas N. Frazier has upheld restrictions in a National Park Service management plan for the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) in Big Cypress National Preserve.   July 25, 2003 Senate Committee Approves Wild Sky Wilderness Bill On Wednesday, July 23, 2003, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the Wild Sky Wilderness Act of 2003 thereby clearing the measure for approval by the full Senate. The committee, which approved a nearly identical measure in the 107th Congress, passed the bill without debate or amendments.