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What's New at Wilderness.org
 
 
 
 

This is a list of stories, news items, maps and other documents posted at Wilderness.org in the past 90 days.

 
August 07, 2008
BLM’s Approval of 25 Natural Gas Wells in Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon Region Sparks Lawsuit
A coalition of historic preservation and conservation groups yesterday challenged a recent spate of decisions issued by the Bureau of Land Management to fast-track natural gas drilling in Utah’s remarkable Nine Mile Canyon region.
 
August 06, 2008
Bush Administration Continues to Cement Legacy of Sacrificing Utah’s Public Lands to Off-Road Vehicles and Energy Speculation
 
August 05, 2008
BLM Plans Open for Comment 8/5/08
A summary of the BLM management plans currently open for comment.
 
August 01, 2008
Comments on the Recreation Plan for Sonoran Desert National Monument
The Wilderness Society's comments on the Recreation Restoration and Enhancement Plan for the North Maricopa Mountains—Anza National Historic Trail.
 
July 31, 2008
Fire and Fuels Restoration Priority System
The Wilderness Society has developed a tool to help identify priority areas for forest and fire restoration efforts for use at the forest, district and watershed level. The tool uses geographic information system (GIS) supplied with Forest Service data layers to provide potential candidate stands for restoration across a given area or landscape and ranks them from low to high priority. The intent of this initial application of this system is to identify those forest stands that should be considered a priority for restoration of natural conditions in forests notably altered by previous stand management and decades of fire suppression.
 
July 30, 2008
Council on Environmental Quality 1979 ORV Report
The Council on Environmental Quality developed this report about ORV use on public lands in 1979. The report looks at the issues surrounding ORV use on public lands, analyzes the policies taken by the land agencies to address the issues, and offers solutions.
 
Allies of Big Oil in Senate Again Prevent Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Advanced Auto Technology
 
July 28, 2008
Bush does Texas Two-Step to trample Colorado’s roadless forests
 
July 24, 2008
Montana Legacy Project
 
Americans Don't Believe Bush, Industry Claims on Gas Prices, Poll Shows
 
Belden Russonello and Stewart National July 2008 Poll
This poll, conducted by Washington, D.C., research firm Belden Russonello & Stewart, was a nationally representative telephone survey of 821 adults between July 16 and 20, 2008 regarding oil and gas development and renewables.
 
July 23, 2008
Solar PEIS - Scoping Comments
The Wilderness Society and conservation partners' scoping comments on the BLM and DOE's development of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for solar development on public lands in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado.
 
July 21, 2008
White House Promises False Hope; Oil Shale Technology Remains Decades Away
 
July 16, 2008
Conservation Groups Meet, Encourage Canadian Ambassador to Help Protect Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park from Mining Proposals
 
Interior Department Opens Critical Teshekpuk Lake Area in NPR-A to Oil and Gas; Defers Leasing
 
July 11, 2008
Summer Vacation from Global Warming Begins at EPA
 
Wildland Fire News Update #22 - Senate should pass an improved FLAME Act
1) Our View: Senate Should Pass FLAME Act, Improve House Version; 2)  Success Story: Learn from the Burn; 3) Fire is Essential Tool; 4) Wildland Fire Statistics; 5) Online Fire Resources
 
July 10, 2008
FLAME Act Bill
 
July 09, 2008
U.S. House passes critical wildfire bill
 
FLAME Act (H.R. 5541) Fact Sheet
The Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act) would establish a special federal fund to be used only for suppression of catastrophic, emergency wildland fires.
 
July 07, 2008
BLM Plans Open for Comment 7/7/08
A summary of BLM Resource Management Plans and Environmental Impact Statements now open for comment.
 
July 03, 2008
Drill Here, Drill Now Fails - Energy Independence
Calls for rapid energy development in America's wild lands and coasts are becoming louder but do not address America's long term energy independence needs.
 
Success Story: Learn From the Burn
This story documents how a controlled burn restored the Los Padres National Forest in California.
 
July 02, 2008
Americans Support Continued Protection for Arctic Refuge - Don't Believe Big Oil's Misleading Claims on Gas Prices
Despite a multimillion-dollar campaign to convince lawmakers that they should allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the American public is not buying the oil industry's arguments, according to a new national poll conducted over the past week and released today.
 
June 27, 2008
Use Lessons from California Fires in 2008 to Reduce Risk in 2009
As a staggering number of fires burn through California, many people are already asking the question of what can be done to lessen the impact of these annual outbreaks. While for many it's too late to take preventative measures this summer, the truth is that there are short and long-range solutions that communities can start focusing on now.
 
Drilling Wilderness Won't Bring Cheap Gas
 
June 26, 2008
Statement: Oil Shale As Fool’s Gold
 
June 25, 2008
Statement on Supreme Court's Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Order
 
June 24, 2008
Current and Proposed Oil & Gas Leases on Alaska's North Slope
This map shows the breakdown of sold, active, and proposed leases in Alaska's North Slope.
 
June 19, 2008
The Wilderness Society Commends Responsible Energy Bills
 
June 18, 2008
Finding the Truth: A Response to President Bush’s June 18, 2008 Speech Calling for More Domestic Drilling of Oil and Natural Gas
 
June 17, 2008
BLM’s Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing & Drilling Process
This fact sheet summarizes the process by which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issues leases for oil and gas development and then permits drilling of those leases. The major steps in this process are set out and, for each step, an overview is provided of how the terms of a lease are affected and the opportunities for public participation and influence of oil and gas operations.
 
June 16, 2008
House Appropriations Committee Should Protect Public Lands and Environment - Reject short-sighted Energy Amendments to the Interior Bill on Wednesday
The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on funding to protect public lands and the environment. Unfortunately, a number of short-sighted amendments are likely to be offered to the appropriations bill. he Wilderness Society believes that the basic appropriations package deserves a "yes" vote but opposes any attempt to add bad domestic energy amendments to the appropriations package.
 
June 13, 2008
Birds: From the Arctic to Your Backyard
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provides vital habitat for some of America’s most spectacular wildlife. Birds, in particular, rely heavily on the Arctic Refuge. When the weather turns warm, the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge becomes a haven for millions of migrating birds, affording them a safe place to feed, mate and nest.
 
BLM Plans Open for Comment 6/13/08
A summary of the Bureau of Land Management's resource management plans currently open for comment.
 
June 10, 2008
The False Promise of Oil Shale’s Ability to Drop Energy Costs
 
Wildland Fire News Update #21
1) Our View: Congress Should Pass FLAME Act, Help Forest Service Shoulder Fire Burden; 2) On-the-Ground Tour Shows Forest Restoration; 3) Fire is Essential Tool; 4) Wildland Fire Statistics; 5) Online Fire Resources
 
Colorado Travel Management Planning Fact Sheet
This fact sheet outlines many of the issues that are occurring in Colorado around travel and recreation management planning.
 
June 09, 2008
Montana Conservationist Clif Merritt To Receive Wilderness Society’s Highest Honor
 
Utah Travel Management Planning Fact Sheet
This fact sheet outlines many of the issues that are occurring in Utah around travel and recreation management planning.
 
June 06, 2008
“EPCA III” Fact Sheet
The Bureau of Land Management's “EPCA III” report paints a highly misleading portrait of the extent to which the development of federal onshore oil and gas resources are “inaccessible” to development. Despite the report’s implications to the contrary, most federal onshore oil and gas resources are available for leasing and drilling, and have been for a long time.
 
Statement on Landmark Senate Vote on the Climate Security Act of 2008
This morning, a bipartisan group of 48 Senators voted to move forward with strong action on climate security. An additional six absent Senators expressed their support in letters, bringing the total to 54. While this vote fell short of the 60 votes needed for the bill to proceed, it did confirm that the Senate is growing greener as the climate worsens.
 
June 05, 2008
Oil Shale Fact Sheet - Billions of Barrels of Oil Shale Resources in Private Hands Are Undeveloped
Though proponents of oil shale development claim the need for an expedited federal oil shale leasing program, the Department of Energy's Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves has estimated that more than three million acres of oil shale lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are already in private hands and have been for decades.
 
June 03, 2008
Modoc National Forest - Warner Mountain Ranger District - Forest Plan Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Warner Mountain Ranger District - Biological Resource Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Doublehead Ranger District - Forest Plan Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Doublehead Ranger District - Biological Resource Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Devils Garden Ranger District - Forest Plan Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Devils Garden Ranger District - Biological Resource Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Big Valley Ranger District - Forest Plan Overlay Map
 
Modoc National Forest - Big Valley Ranger District - Biological Resource Overlay Map
 
May 31, 2008
Analysis of BLM’s Oil and Gas Development 2001-2007: Explosion of Drilling and Leasing Hits Rocky Mountain States Hardest
The last seven years have seen an unprecedented rush to lease and approve permits to drill on federal public lands. Despite the massive numbers of acres already under lease and available for drilling and the huge surplus of acres leased and Applications for Permits to Drill approved, industry, the Bush Administration, and BLM continue to insist they need access to millions of additional acres and push for opening more sensitive lands to development, particularly in the Rockies.
 
Overview of Percent of Federal Minerals and Acreage Available for Oil and Gas Development
Selected Resource Management Plans for the Rocky Mountain West
 
May 29, 2008
H.R. 6156/S. 3069 Fact Sheet
This document presents background information on Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act (H.R. 6156/S. 3069), which is sponsored by Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon and Sen. Barbara Boxer.
 
More than 44 Million Acres under Lease for Oil and Gas in U.S.
 
BLM Oil and Gas Statistics Through 2007
A summary of BLM's onshore oil and gas program through 2007 provided by Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
 
May 28, 2008
Factsheet on Oil and Gas Leasing and Drilling on Federal Lands
A factsheet detailing the explosion of oil and gas drilling on federal lands in the last seven years.
 
Factsheet on the Inaccuracies and Misleading Information in BLM's EPCA III Report
A factsheet detailing the misleading and inaccurate information in BLM's EPCA III report on oil and gas potential on federal lands in the U.S.
 
Factsheet on BLM's use of Categorical Exclusions for Oil and Gas Drilling
A factsheet detailing the BLM's irresponsible use of Categorical Exclusions provided by Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act 2005 to limit review of environmental impacts of proposed drilling for oil and gas.
 
The Wilderness Society's Views on Oil and Gas Drilling and Gasoline Prices
 
Bush Administration Exploiting Legal Loopholes to Escalate Drilling Boom
What do the administration's final months hold for public lands energy development? Find out from experts at The Wilderness Society with new info on administration strategies to open vast swaths of remaining Western landscapes.
 
The Wilderness Society's Views on Oil and Gas Drilling and Gasoline Prices
 
Audit Report for The Wilderness Society, 2007
Report from our auditors, Johnson Lambert & CO, LLP, for fiscal year 2007.
 
Financial Summary of The Wilderness Society, 2007
Financial summary for The Wilderness Society, excerpted from the 2007 Annual Report.
 
Annual Report of The Wilderness Society, 2007
The 2007 Annual Report discusses the accomplishments of staff and volunteers at The Wilderness Society in 2007. Also take a look at financial documentation.
 
Statement from Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows on Rep. Markey’s Proposal, the Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act of 2008
 
Analysis of Habitat Fragmentation from Oil and Gas Development and Its Impact on Wildlife: A Framework for Public Land Management Planning
This scoping brief is submitted as part of the NEPA process for this land management proposal. It is intended to identify habitat and wildlife impacts that must be analyzed in the plan, demonstrate the potential impacts on wildlife of habitat fragmentation from oil and gas development at various well-pad densities, and offer methodologies to assist the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to fulfill its responsibility to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on wildlife of proposed oil and gas development in the management plan.
 
Overview of Percent of Federal Minerals and Acreage Available in Selected Resource Management Plans for the Rocky Mountain West
A spreadsheet detailing the percent and acreage of federal lands open for oil and gas development of selected Resource Management Plans in the Rocky Mountain West.
 
May 23, 2008
New Bill Would Protect Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers in the Eastern Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains
More than 470,000 acres of wilderness and 52 miles of wild and scenic rivers would gain permanent protection from legislation introduced yesterday by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita). The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act preserves the spectacular mountains, rivers and open spaces of California's Eastern Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains near Santa Clarita.
 
Facts about Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Rural Heritage Act
Each year, thousands of people flock to the Eastern Sierra to hike, fish, climb, horseback ride, and enjoy the remarkable beauty of the region’s wild lands. Recreation on these public lands is the foundation of the area’s economy. Residents of rapidly growing northern Los Angeles County go to nearby open space in the San Gabriel Mountains to spend time in a natural setting close to home.
 
May 22, 2008
Kane County Order Regarding R.S. 2477
 
Citizens Support New Dominguez Lands Bill
Today Colorado citizen groups herald introduction of legislation in both the House and Senate to protect Dominguez Canyon Wilderness and a surrounding national conservation area.
 
Vedder Named Vice President for Research by Wilderness Society
 
May 21, 2008
Legal Victory for Utah National Monument and Wildlands
 
Wilderness Society Congratulates Senators Boxer, Warner and Lieberman on Climate Legislation
 
Moulton to Head Global Warming Program for Wilderness Society
 
May 19, 2008
Request from Six Governors for Delay of NIETC
A request from the governors of Virginia, New York, Arizona, Oregon, Ohio, and Pennsylvania for a one year delay of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's implementation of the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors to address critical issues raised by States and others have raised about the process.
 
May 16, 2008
Interior Department Defers Controversial Leasing at Teshekpuk Lake
 
May 15, 2008
Inslee/Hinchey Bill Fills Holes Left by Interior’s Decision on Polar Bear
In response to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to gut the polar bear’s threatened status, Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., and Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y. introduced legislation yesterday that will give the species meaningful protections from global warming and oil and gas activity. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced a similar bill in the Senate earlier this year.
 
Protecting National Parks and Visitors from Damaging Jet Skis
Friends of the Earth and The Wilderness Society today filed a lawsuit to protect and preserve National Park System units by reinstating the agency’s previous decisions to discontinue jet ski use at Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL and MS) and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI).
 
Congress Approves New Community Forest Protection Program
Congress created a new conservation program today that’s aimed at helping local communities protect prized forests for recreational purposes. The Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program, which provides federal matching grants to local governments and qualified non-profit organizations across the country to acquire forests and open spaces for local ownership and management, now heads to the White House for consideration.
 
TLMP Continues Narrow Timber Focus When Experts Believe a Broader Approach is Best for Southeast Alaskan Communities
 
Statement on Listing of Polar Bear as Threatened
The Wilderness Society welcomed a long-awaited decision by the Department of Interior to list the polar bear as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act but expressed concern that a special condition applied to the listing will leave the bear vulnerable to continued impacts of climate change.
 
May 14, 2008
Oil Shale Fact Sheet - Oil Shale Production & Global Warming
The energy intensity and carbon footprint involved in deriving transportation fules from oil shale are higher than conventional fuels. This fact sheet discusses how oil shale production relates to global warming.
 
Riverside County Wilderness Bill Approved by House Committee
Local wilderness supporters and a broad coalition of conservation groups today applauded House Natural Resources Committee passage of the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act (H.R. 3682). Representative Mary Bono Mack’s (R-CA) broadly supported desert, forest and river conservation bill for Riverside County next goes before the House of Representatives for a vote.
 
Idaho Fire Story 2007
Idaho saw 1.9 million acres – more than any other state -- burn in 2007. The number probably topped the historic 1910 fires. John McCarthy, the Idaho forest campaign director for The Wilderness Society, traveled through the vast landscape after the fires on many field trips with U.S. Forest Service fire managers and biologists. McCarthy’s report in “Idaho Fire Story 2007” uses text, maps and photographs to tell the story of fire effects, ecology, recovery and re-growth.
 
Protest of the Proposed RMP/FEIS for the Yuma Field Office
The Wilderness Society and partners' protest of the Proposed RMP/Final EIS for the Yuma Field Office
 
May 13, 2008
Oil Shale and Tar Sands Fact Sheet - Status of Research & Development
Current federal policy supports a robust oil shale research and development program on federal lands managed by the BLM. The purpose for the R&D program is to overcome significant technological obstacles and provide adequate information to evaluate the impacts of potential development prior to a commercial-scale leasing program.
Woman and Companion in Chattooga River Flowing in the Rock Gorge Roadless Area, South Carolina. Butch Clay.
 
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