Big Wild Bi-Weekly 5/20/10

Dear Wildland Advocates,

While I was hiking up a Wild & Scenic river canyon this weekend, it suddenly occurred to me that I was sweating profusely and dehydrated. With the relentless sun beating down upon my brow, I was in need of some shade and a cool drink of water. When I made it to my camp, I dunked my head in the rushing river and thought to myself, wow I guess summer hiking weather is here on our doorstep. Sweet! The dog and I are ready to roll.

To say there is a plethora of wildland news to report on right now is an under-statement. So let’s dive into it. In this issue we’ll talk about the Tar Pit Sands Transportation Project, the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange, further wolf hunts in the Lolo Zone, and the possible building of a quartz and feldspar processing plant in Boville.

Recently there have been a few articles appearing in the Lewiston Tribune concerning the Tar Pit Sands Transportation Project heading up Route 12. Exxon Mobile Corporation is developing the huge open pit mine in Alberta, Canada and having the drilling equipment shipped up the Columbia River Basin, where it is being unloaded at the Port of Lewiston. The equipment is then being loaded onto trailers and driven up the Wild & Scenic Lochsa River corridor, up and over Lolo Pass into Montana, and eventually into Canada. This project is alarming on numerous levels for Idahoans:

• Rt. 12 is a federally designated Scenic Byway (Northwest Passage Scenic Byway) and All-American Road
• Rt. 12 runs through the heart of the Nez Perce Reservation and historic Lewis & Clark country
• Rt. 12 contains 2 federally designated Wild & Scenic Rivers, the Middle Fork of the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers
• Rt. 12 is already a dangerous, narrow, curve-hugging road to travel on
• Travel/Tourism, Public Safety, Property Values, Recreation and Way of Life will all be greatly impacted by this industrial transportation project.

This issue is a huge priority right now for our office and we are feverishly working with other concerned citizens and environmental groups to try and stop this project. Please check out these links to learn more:

Overview of Tar Sands Drilling Project http://northernrockiesrisingtide.wordpress.com/campaigns/
Overview of Tar Sands Transportation Project Up HWY 12 http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/node/938
Electronic Petition to Sign in Protest of Project http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notrucksnotarsands

Two highly concerned and dedicated Idaho citizens working on this issue right now are Linwood Laughy and Borg Hendrickson. Gary and I interviewed Lin for an hour on our Wild Clearwater Radio show this past Wednesday and he told us that he is about 1 week away from getting a website up and running for concerned Idahoans. The website will be http://www.FightingGoliath.org

Lastly, the Lewiston Tribune recently published an excellent article titled, “Nobody’s Asking You, They’re Telling You” http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/node/937. The article rightfully explains that there is not a public involvement process in the state of Idaho for projects like this. Instead we are invited to public meetings where we are told such and such is going to be happening, and there is very little you can do about it. Well I’m here to tell you there is something you can do about it. Pick up your pen and please write a letter to the editor of the Lewiston Tribune at letters@lmtribune.com. I will inform you when the dates and locations of these public meetings are announced. In the meantime please write!

Over the weekend the Idaho Fish & Game Department announced that four outfitters would be allowed to kill five wolves each in the Lolo Zone this summer. The outfitters are the only ones allowed to kill wolves; clients of the outfitters are not permitted. This additional wolf hunt will expire in conjunction with the expiration of the black bear hunting season on June 30th.

Thirteen out of a possible twenty-seven wolves were killed in the Lolo Zone during the 2009-2010 wolf hunting season. Because this quota was not met, and despite the fact that elk herds in the Lolo zone were in decline well before wolf re-introduction in the 90’s, Idaho Fish & Game is pressing ahead to try and “restore the balance”. In related news, the agency also announced that new “methods of take” are being considered by the Idaho Fish & Game Commission for the possible upcoming 2010-2011 wolf hunting season. Trapping, baiting, and the use of electronic calls to kill wolves could be used by hunters in the future. A decision is expected this summer. Of course, the most important decision is expected to come from Missoula District Judge Donald Molloy this summer when he begins conducting oral arguments on June 15th regarding the endangered species status of Northern Rocky grey wolves.

The Upper Lochsa Land exchange made it on to the front page of the Lewiston Tribune last week. With public opposition against the proposed land exchange growing among Idaho residents, a letter urging the federal government to purchase, rather than trade acreage was sent to Clearwater/Nez Perce National Forest supervisor Rick Brazell. A draft environmental impact statement is due out in July for public comment.

It was just announced that i-Minerals of Canada is seeking a twenty-nine year lease on state property near the town of Boville for the development of a quartz and feldspar processing plant. This proposal has been slowly working its way through the administrative review process. The plant would be located on two hundred twenty-five acres near Moose Creek Reservoir and adjacent to an open-pit mining site in which the company already has a lease for. A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday May 26th at 1pm at Deary City Hall. There should be other opportunities to provide input on this damaging project in the future as well.

Sorry for the length of this newsletter folks. There are so many important things going on in our wildland community that it would be a crime against nature to not report on all of them. Thanks for caring so much.

For the Wild,
Brett