Big Wild Bi-Weekly 1.25.2010

Dear Friends,

In this week's Big Wild Bi-Weekly:

Upcoming Snowshoe/Hike to Elk River Falls

Fish & Game helicopter goes down in the North Fork roadless country

Wolf hunt update

Tester's forest bill not a feasible, long-term solution

Wilderness Conference announced, sponsored by FOC

Legendary Walkin' Jim Stoltz schedules benefit concert for FOC and college organization

Please join us as we attempt to showshoe down to Elk River Falls, Saturday, February 6. We will be meeting at the Safeway parking lot at 8:00 a.m. to carpool. Please RSVP so that we may keep you informed as to ground conditions. If the dry weather continues we may change locations or just hike instead. As usual bring weather appropriate gear, water, and a lunch. We will return to Moscow around 4:00 p.m.

If you have been reading the news or listening to the Wild Clearwater Country Radio Show on KRFP you will have heard about the Idaho Fish & Game (IDFG) helicopter that crash landed in what appears to be the Kelly Creek Roadless Area. The helicopter was working in tandem with a fix-winged aircraft to located, tranquilize, and radio-collar wolves. Aerial flights provide much of the elk, deer, moose, and wolf data that the state collects. Read more here: http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_157fb862-ff3e-...

A total of 144 wolves have been shot and killed legally in Idaho this year. Fortunately hunters have had limited success in the target zones of the Clearwater. The Lolo and Selway zones have been targeted for wolf removal for several years now by IDFG. To date 30% (8/27) of the Lolo Zone quota has been met and 41% (7/17) of the Selway Zone has been met. Friends of the Clearwater continues to stay involved in the effort to re-extend protection of the Endangered Species Act to Northern Rockies wolves. Read more here: http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/articles/Idaho%20wolf%20update

Jack Ward Thomas, chief emeritus of the U.S. Forest Service, was recently invited to give a guest column in the Missoulian regarding Senator John Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. According to Thomas, "the approach is flawed, inappropriate, less than fully informed, and has implications for the management of the entire national forest system. It should be debated in that context." Read the entire column here: http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_f85f0050-09c2-11df...

A group of Western conservation organization including Friends of the Clearwater, the Sierra Club, and many others are sponsoring the Western Wilderness Conference in Berkley, CA April 8-11. If you can make it, this will be an exciting and informative opportunity and a crash course in Western Wilderness issues. For more information please visit http://www.westernwilderness.org/

And lastly, please mark your calendars for Monday, March 8, 7:00 p.m. at the 1912 Building. Walkin' Jim Stoltz, "long-distance hiker, adventurer, author, painter, photographer, poet, wilderness activist, musician, songwriter, and troubadour for the Earth," will be in Moscow performing for the benefit of Friends of the Clearwater and the Natural Resource Ecology Conservation Biology Club. Ticket information will be available soon. Do not miss this show!

For more on Jim including links to his music visit: http://www.walkinjim.com/

We hope this finds you well and enjoying your wild outdoors.

all the best,

Will Boyd, Education & Outreach Director