On August 3, 2006, a diverse group of local stakeholders sent the New Hampshire delegation a letter of appreciation and support for introducing legislation to designate wilderness in the White Mountain National Forest. Twenty-four representatives from groups including Appalachian Mountain Club, Society for the Protection New Hampshire Forests, Friends of the Sandwich Range, Friends of the Wild River, The Wilderness Society, the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, the Malden Mills Industry, Inc., and the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce jointly supported creating a new Wild River Wilderness Area and expanding the existing Sandwich Range Wilderness.
The letter states, "Wilderness is an important component of a balanced and sustainable landscape. However, in the northeastern United States, the most heavily settled part of our country; it is a rare and precious feature. The twelve northeastern states contain 6% of the nation's land area and over 21% of its population, but less than 0.3% of currently designated Wilderness. These areas provide a wide range of important natural and cultural values, including opportunities for remote backcountry recreation, solitude and spiritual renewal, and the restoration of critical old-growth forest habitat. These values are especially important in our region because of their scarcity."
"As the population of New Hampshire grows, permanently protecting wild areas in the White Mountain National Forest now is a critical safeguard for our quality-of-life and the unique opportunities and natural values of Wilderness areas."
Background
The White Mountain National Forest makes up 14% of New Hampshire's land mass and is one of the largest tracts of public land in the Northeast. With six to seven million visitors a year, the Forest provides recreational opportunities as well as remote wilderness experiences to people from throughout New England and beyond. There are four existing wilderness areas on the Forest - the Sandwich Range, Presidential Range-Dry River, Pemigewasset, and Great Gulf. These areas total 114,000 acres or two percent of the state.
At the end of 2005, the Forest Service released the final version of its newly revised forest plan, which recommended wilderness designation for approximately 34,500 acres of wilderness on the Forest. Local citizens and groups including the Friends of the Sandwich Range and Friends of Wild River worked tirelessly throughout the Forest Service's plan revision process to get the best possible new wilderness recommendations from the Forest. When the agency released its final plan, members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation pledged to introduce legislation to permanently protect the wilderness areas recommended by the agency.
On March 28, New Hampshire Senators John Sununu (R) and Judd Gregg (R) introduced S. 2463, the New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006, which would permanently protect approximately 34,500 acres of White Mountain National Forest. On March 30, Representative Jeb Bradley (R-NH) introduced H. R. 5062 to expand by 10,800 acres the existing Sandwich Range Wilderness, which lies in his congressional district, and Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) introduced H.R. 5059 to designate the 23,700-acre Wild River Wilderness, which is found in Bass' congressional district. Together, these bills include the same designations as the Senate bill.
For More Information
- Fred Lavigne, Friends of the Sandwich Range, 603-284-6919
- Dan Yetter, Friends of the Wild River, 603-893-5429
- Leanne Klyza Linck, The Wilderness Society, 802-482-2171
- Bart Koehler, TWS Wilderness Support Center, 970-247-8788
