SAWS Position Statement on the Wild Sky Wilderness Proposal

Well here we are again, the third time for the Wild Sky Wilderness. Multiple-use recreationists not only in Washington State but also across the country are hopeful that the third time is not the charm.

Snowmobilers love being in the outdoors enjoying nature as much as any other outdoor enthusiast, and we are awed by the magnificent landscape it provides, but we feel that land which does not legally qualify as wilderness cannot be included in new wilderness designations. This includes all of the 16,000 acres of Washington State land, which does not legally qualify as wilderness and does nothing more than dilute and disparage the original intent of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

Has a need been identified for designating new wilderness areas in the western United States? Areas where you currently can not camp in your RV, ride a peddle bike, or even have a restroom structure with showers and toilets? Even the disabled are not able to enjoy most wilderness areas. Their wheelchairs are allowed, however in most cases the terrain prevents their use. There are plenty of management classifications available to the forest service to protect our public land for the future without the need to take the extreme measure of a wilderness designation. Wilderness designation allows NO forest management practices at all. Catastrophic forest fires are left to burn uncontrolled.

9.1 million acres were originally designated as wilderness in 1964. Wilderness designated areas have now grown to include 677 areas totaling more than 106 million acres in 44 states. Washington State has over 10% of the land already closed as wilderness. Enough is enough.

The forest service has already deemed many of these acres unsuitable for federal wilderness designation. Would Senator Patty Murray have us believe that she is more informed than the professionals in the forest service that we pay our tax dollars to for management of our public lands? According to Gary Paull, Wilderness and Trails Coordinator for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, more than 16,000 acres in question contain roads, a cabin, a fire lookout, bridges, dams, and portions of this land have been previously harvested for timber. These features do not meet the legal definition of wilderness as established by the Wilderness Act of 1964.

As Chairman of the Snowmobile Alliance of Western States, I would like to reiterate that we do support keeping our public land open for all people to enjoy. We do not support the Wild Sky Wilderness. Our members from across the western United States and beyond would encourage our elected officials to pass legislation that truly protects our resources FOR public recreation, and not for isolation from multiple-use.

Sincerely,

Dave Hurwitz

Snowmobile Alliance of Western States

Copyright © 2005 Snowmobile Alliance of Western States. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to distribute this information in whole or in part, as long as Snowmobile Alliance of Western States (SAWS) is acknowledged as the source. If you are not yet a member of SAWS and you would like to receive these alerts, please sign up on our web site at: http://www.snowmobile-alliance.org

_______________________________________________________________________

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/01/26/100loc_wild001.cfm

Local News

Published: Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Wild Sky back for a third try
Sen. Patty Murray again introduces a bill to create a new 106,000-acre wilderness area in eastern Snohomish County.

By Jim Haley
Herald Writer

Lawmakers are ready for another wild ride for the Wild Sky Wilderness.

A new bill that would protect 106,000 acres of eastern Snohomish County forests and streams was introduced Tuesday in the U.S. Senate. If approved, it would be the first piece of wilderness legislation in Washington state in two decades.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who secured approval of similar Senate measures in 2002 and 2003, announced that she will resume her efforts to pass it this year.

The bill had to be reintroduced and must be voted on again because the measure didn't get House approval in 2002 or 2003. Murray said she will continue pushing the legislation despite the political obstacles.

"Wild Sky reflects the great tradition of preserving places that make Washington unique," Murray said in a statement. "It took eight years to preserve the Hanford Reach, and it was the right thing to do. I am committed to passing this legislation."

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., co-sponsored the bill.

The proposal is the same one that Murray pushed before. The proposed wilderness area is in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of Index and Skykomish.

It's different from existing Washington wilderness areas because the proposal would protect not only high-elevation mountain ridges and lakes, but also some 14,000 acres of rare low-elevation old-growth timber, and some 25 miles of salmon and steelhead spawning streams.

The measure twice has been stymied in the House.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., also will press for Wild Sky legislation, but it's uncertain when his bill will be introduced.

"We have had our own unique challenges facing us in the House, and we will look forward to making Wild Sky a reality on the House side," Larsen spokeswoman Abbey Blake said.

Before introduction of a House version, Blake said Larsen wants to consult with new political players, particularly new Republican members of Congress Rep. Dave Reichert from King County and Rep. Cathy McMorris from the Spokane area, Blake said.

He also wants to talk with new Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire.

"It's taken a wild ride, but our goal is to protect this area and make Wild Sky a reality," Blake said.

Reichert succeeds Jennifer Dunn, who didn't run for another term and previously was a co-sponsor of the House Wild Sky bill.

McMorris succeeds George Nethercutt, a former Spokane Republican who, after withdrawing support previously, embraced Wild Sky last year in a compromise bill when he was running against Murray.

But Wild Sky stumbled in the House last year anyway when the measure failed to get out of a committee headed by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif.

The wilderness measure was crafted in 2001 following a series of meetings with forest users. Numerous concessions were made, including moving proposed boundaries to accommodate snowmobilers and allowing floatplanes to land in Lake Isabel, a high lake within the proposed boundaries.

Conservationists applauded the new effort, noting that it has received bipartisan support, including commitments from the Republican administration that President Bush would sign the bill.

"The Wild Sky has been characterized by strong bipartisan and local support in the past, and we plan to work to build on that support this year," said Tom Uniack, conservation director for the Washington Wilderness Coalition.

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.