Big Wild Bi-Weekly 10.8.09

Dear Friends,

This week in the Big Wild:

A Rogue Idaho Fish & Game landing helicopters illegally in the Frank-Church Wilderness

Unearthing the Palouse Giant Earthworm, an upcoming presentation, Tuesday October 20, 6:30 p.m., 1912 Building in Moscow

Motorized madness on the St. Joe

Idaho wolf hunt update

According to various sources Idaho Fish & Game has been illegally landing helicopters in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. These actions violate the Wilderness Act of 1964. IDFG now proposes to perform twenty more landings for the purpose of collaring wolves. A similar proposal was defeated in 2006 thanks to Friends of the Clearwater and others. Read more about this important issue and take action below. FOC works closely with Wilderness Watch on Wilderness stewardship issues.

http://wildernesswatch.org/issues/index.html#Wolves

Friends of the Clearwater and the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club will be hosting Dr. Jodi Johnson-Maynard of the University of Idaho, Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 p.m. at the 1912 Building in Moscow. Dr. Johnson-Maynard will be sharing her recent research on the Palouse Giant Earthworm. She is part of CRISSP, the Center for Invasive Species and Small Populations in the College of Natural Resources. Friends of the Clearwater has been part of a coalition of groups seeking protection for this incredibly rare species for the past several years.

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/crissp/

Thank you for your comments to the Clearwater National Forest during their "Travel Planning" effort. A similar effort has been occuring on the St. Joe and we now need your comments on behalf of roadless country there. The proposals for the Joe are similar to the Clearwater in that there is no alternative that closes any roadless areas to motorized use. These include the famous and popular Grandmother Mountain and the Mallard-Larkins. Please read the alert below and comment soon!

http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/articles/st-joe-travel-plan-alert-0

Lastly, we leave you with a saddening update on the current state of affairs facing Idaho wolves. Rest assured we are not sitting on our hands as we read these articles. To date 29 wolves have been killed legally this fall in the state.

http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/articles/Idaho%20wolf%20update

for the Wild Clearwater,

Will Boyd, Education & Outreach Director