Action Alerts
Big Wild Bi-Weekly July 9, 2010
Submitted by foc on Fri, 07/09/2010 - 4:57pm
Dear Wildland Friends,
Well, it's officially summer here in the office because the floor fan has been on all week. About time I suppose. It's July. Heck, certainly better than the 100-degree sweltering heat on the east coast right now. Here's hoping that you and yours are keeping cool some place in the big wild!
Since we spoke last, much has occurred. In this issue we will update you on the ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil Tar Sands transportation project, the closing of Idaho Fish & Game's supplemental wolf hunt, a reflection on our successful 49 Meadows workshop, the exciting work we are getting ready to do with the group Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and the on-going field monitoring work we are doing with Wildlands CPR.
In the last week of June, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil hosted three separate open house forums to discuss the proposed transporting of over 200 mega-modules of oil processing equipment up U.S. Route 12. The meetings were very well attended and the majority of the crowds were overwhelmingly against ITD issuing permits for this project. In summary, people were told that despite public outcry and objection, ITD must issue permits as long as the corporation's travel plan meets permit regulations. In a press release, ITD was quoted as saying, "Permits will be issued only if we are convinced the equipment can be moved safely, without risk to the roads and bridges and within minimal disruption to traffic". Friends of the Clearwater, other regional conservation groups, and numerous citizen activists strongly question the feasibility of all three points raised in that quote. ITD said they expect to make their decision by early August. If granted permits, the project would begin sometime in the fall 2010.
If you oppose this project, there are a few things you can do. The Idaho Transportation Department is accepting public comments until Wednesday July 14th. Email Jim Carpenter of ITD at jim.carpenter@itd.idaho.gov and tell him why these permits should not be issued. You can also make an important phone call to State Representative JoAn Wood (R-Rigby), chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee. Her number is (208) 745-8420. You can reach State Senator John McGee (R-Caldwell), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, at (208) 455-3950. And don't be afraid to call Idaho Governor Butch Otter's office at (208) 334-2100. These people work for you, the tax-paying public, and demand that public opinion be equated in this crooked decision-making process. Keep fighting!
June 30th brought the closing of the spring black bear hunting season here in Idaho. However, this year’s hunt was unique. Stuffed inside of it was a supplemental Rocky Mountain grey wolf quota, allowing four select outfitters to kill up to five wolves each. Because the Lolo Wildlife Management Zone did not meet it's earlier quota of wolf kills during the winter 2009-2010 wolf hunt, the Idaho Fish & Game commission thought additional slaughter of the species was necessary. News reports indicate outfitters killed a total of four wolves. On a related note, we will keep you up to date with U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy's decision on whether or not to place the Rocky Mountain grey wolf population back on the endangered species list. A decision is expected later this summer.
A week ago Friends of the Clearwater co-sponsored a peatland ecology seminar on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Located near Avery, Idaho 49 Meadows is a fantastically wonderful, and yet fragile sub-alpine peatland ecosystem. Composed of sphagnum mosses, meadow sedges, sub-aquatic grasses, and blooming summer wildflowers, 49 Meadows provided participants an opportunity to explore it's ecological values and understand why this area should be preserved for future scientific study and educational utility. All terrestrial and aquatic data collected during the workshop is currently being analyzed and formatted in a way so that the area can be proposed as a Research Natural Area to the US Forest Service. Thanks to UI professor emeritus Dr. Fred Rabe, the Idaho Native Plant Society, and the Great Old Broads for Wilderness for making this field workshop an enjoyable and worthy learning experience.
In late July, we will be heading back out into the field with members from the Great Old Broads for Wilderness to conduct an off-road vehicle monitoring and post-prescribed fire monitoring workshop. With an increase in off road vehicle use and a ramped up prescribed burning program by our federal agencies, it is critical that we have citizens on the ground to monitor the resource damage that is occurring. Friends of the Clearwater will be heading out to the Weitas Creek roadless area on the Clearwater National Forest for the workshop. Please contact our office (208) 882-9755 if you are interested in doing field-monitoring work in the future.
Lastly, Friends of the Clearwater has been working hand-in-hand with the group Wildlands CPR to get more roads decommissioned on the Clearwater National Forest. Out of Missoula, Montana, Wildlands CPR strives to protect critical wildlife habitat and restore watershed integrity through road decommissioning. By setting up wildlife monitoring cameras on certain roads of the Clearwater National Forest, we hope to produce data this summer that will result in less roads and more un-fragmented habitat across our wildlands in the future.
Keep Cool Everyone,
Brett
Big Wild Bi-Weekly June 23, 2010
Submitted by foc on Wed, 06/23/2010 - 3:14pm
Dear Wildland Lovers,
This short letter is to inform you of what is happening in the wildlands community over the next couple days. This Saturday June 26th and Sunday June 27th, the Idaho Native Plant Society and Friends of the Clearwater are co-sponsoring a summer workshop to the 49 Meadows area of the Big Wild. Please join us as University of Idaho professor emeritus Dr. Fred Rabe leads us into the field to explore peatland ecosystems and their unique plant and aquatic insect communities. We will be carpooling from the Rosaeur's parking lot at 7:30am Saturday and returning late Sunday afternoon. All participants are responsible for personal food and camping gear. The event is free to the public.
On Monday June 28th and Tuesday June 29th there will be an opportunity for you to attend a public meeting(s) in Moscow, Lewiston, and/or Kooskia concerning the ExxonMobil Tar Sands oil processing modules being trucked up U.S. Route 12. Because there has not been any opportunity for public involvement on this issue, it is critical that the public try to attend at least one of these meetings. Please use this link to learn more about the urgency of these meetings and the fast approaching deadline for written comments to the Idaho Transportation Department:
http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/node/946
Please call (208) 882-9755 for questions concerning either event.
For the Wild,
Brett
Big Wild Bi-Weekly June 10, 2010
Submitted by foc on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 4:55pm
Hello Wildland lovers,
Here's to hoping that the rain begins to slow and our warm and beloved Palouse sun begins to shine. The dog and I are gearing up for an off-road vehicle monitoring trip into the Weitas Creek roadless area and the weekend forecast is calling for beautiful blue skies and seventy degrees. I have my fingers crossed that this forecast remains true!
So let's talk some shop. Instead of things slowing down here in the office, and across our beloved wildlands, things have only been increasing in scope and ferocity. Have no fear though, the intent of the Big Wild Bi-Weekly is to neatly package all of this information for you to comprehend and wrap your brains around. In this issue, you will find an update on the proposed Exxon-Mobil U.S. Highway 12 transportation project, the recent public meeting concerning the Bovill mine/processing plant, and the even more recent town hall style meeting about the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. You will also find information on the Northern Rockies gray wolf, the recently announced extension of the federal roadless moratorium, and the ever-so-fast approaching Friends of the Clearwater sponsored 49 Meadows aquatic ecology workshop.
Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) has been working hand-in-hand with a coalition dedicated to stopping the shipping of tar sands oil processing equipment on U.S. Highway 12 by ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil. Besides posting articles on the front page of our web site, and submitting official comments to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), we just finalized a citizen-protest petition. This highly important petition will be available for you to view and sign at the FOC outreach table on Saturday's at the local Farmer's Market. We have also been on the phone with ITD and it is our understanding that public meetings will be taking place in late June and/or early July in Lewiston and Kamiah. Please look in the newspaper for the announcement of the exact dates, times, and locations. In the meantime, http://www.fightinggoliath.org is a great source of information and below is a link to an article that just appeared in the Missoulian, http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_24375452-71f1-11df-beb6-001cc4c....
On Wednesday May 26th, Friends of the Clearwater attended and submitted written comments at a public meeting for the proposed feldspar, quartz, and kaolin clay processing plant near Bovill, Idaho. The highly vocal meeting was attended by a handful of Latah County residents, including a number of members of our organization. FOC would like to thank those folks for attending and speaking against this project. We will keep up to date about this mining project as things unfold. If you subscribe to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, please use this link to access an article summarizing the meeting, http://www.dnews.com/archived-story/Local/98284/.
Early last week, the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District organized a public meeting concerning the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. As you may be aware, FOC has been working closely with this group to advocate for a purchase option instead of the exchange. Attendees included, state representatives Shirley Ringo and Tom Trail, Idaho Fish & Game biologist Ray Hennekey, Idaho County Commissioner James Rockwell, and aides for Senator Mike Crapo, Senator Jim Risch and Congressman Walt Minnick. While only some of the aforementioned spoke to the audience, it is worth noting that both Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo publicly stated that they are adamantly opposed to the current land exchange proposal. The Clearwater National Forest will be releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) sometime this summer. If you wish to view the meeting in it's entirety, please go to http://www.moscowcares.com.
There has been alot of news lately concerning the Rocky Mountain gray wolf. While much of it has been negative, an important date to circle on your calendar is Tuesday June 15th. On this day, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula, Montana is going to begin hearing oral arguments concerning whether or not the U.S. Department of Interior violated the Endangered Species Act when it de-listed the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf in the spring of 2009. How Judge Molloy rules will ultimately decide if the 2010-2011 gray wolf hunt goes through or not. Friends of the Clearwater, along with other conservation groups, are a plaintiff on the lawsuit. Earthjustice is providing legal representation.
On Saturday May 29th, newspapers across America announced that the Obama administration is extending the moratorium on most logging and mining projects in roadless areas on our national forests. There are approximately 58 million acres of roadless backcountry in our national forests. Unfortunately, the moratorium does not protect the 9.1 million acres of roadless Idaho backcountry because under the Bush administration the highly flawed Idaho Roadless Rule was passed. Besides Idaho, the state of Colorado has petitioned the federal government for a state plan. This plan has not been accepted yet.
In our spring newsletter, FOC announced that we will be working with UI professor emeritus Dr. Fred Rabe to put on an aquatic ecology workshop at 49 Meadows on June 26th-27th. This workshop will explore sensitive peatland ecosystems on the Clearwater National Forest through the identification of plant communities, macro-invertebrates, and physical characteristics of nearby streams and ponds. Due to the super wet spring and poor road conditions, this workshop may be postponed to early July. Fred and myself will hopefully be conducting a site visit fairly soon and I will keep you informed.
Lastly, and I mean it, I have a great way for you to help Friends of the Clearwater. Would you please consider posting a review of your experience with our organization at the following web site, http://greatnonprofits.org/. The Great Non-Profits web site is an excellent place for millions of Americans to find, review, and talk about non-profit organizations doing positive work in our communities. A review will help people discover the important work we do!
And happy, happy wedding wishes to FOC Board member Jill Johnson and Craig Watt.
For the Wild,
Brett
Here's to hoping that the rain begins to slow and our warm and beloved Palouse sun begins to shine. The dog and I are gearing up for an off-road vehicle monitoring trip into the Weitas Creek roadless area and the weekend forecast is calling for beautiful blue skies and seventy degrees. I have my fingers crossed that this forecast remains true!
So let's talk some shop. Instead of things slowing down here in the office, and across our beloved wildlands, things have only been increasing in scope and ferocity. Have no fear though, the intent of the Big Wild Bi-Weekly is to neatly package all of this information for you to comprehend and wrap your brains around. In this issue, you will find an update on the proposed Exxon-Mobil U.S. Highway 12 transportation project, the recent public meeting concerning the Bovill mine/processing plant, and the even more recent town hall style meeting about the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. You will also find information on the Northern Rockies gray wolf, the recently announced extension of the federal roadless moratorium, and the ever-so-fast approaching Friends of the Clearwater sponsored 49 Meadows aquatic ecology workshop.
Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) has been working hand-in-hand with a coalition dedicated to stopping the shipping of tar sands oil processing equipment on U.S. Highway 12 by ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil. Besides posting articles on the front page of our web site, and submitting official comments to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), we just finalized a citizen-protest petition. This highly important petition will be available for you to view and sign at the FOC outreach table on Saturday's at the local Farmer's Market. We have also been on the phone with ITD and it is our understanding that public meetings will be taking place in late June and/or early July in Lewiston and Kamiah. Please look in the newspaper for the announcement of the exact dates, times, and locations. In the meantime, http://www.fightinggoliath.org is a great source of information and below is a link to an article that just appeared in the Missoulian, http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_24375452-71f1-11df-beb6-001cc4c....
On Wednesday May 26th, Friends of the Clearwater attended and submitted written comments at a public meeting for the proposed feldspar, quartz, and kaolin clay processing plant near Bovill, Idaho. The highly vocal meeting was attended by a handful of Latah County residents, including a number of members of our organization. FOC would like to thank those folks for attending and speaking against this project. We will keep up to date about this mining project as things unfold. If you subscribe to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, please use this link to access an article summarizing the meeting, http://www.dnews.com/archived-story/Local/98284/.
Early last week, the Friends of the Palouse Ranger District organized a public meeting concerning the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. As you may be aware, FOC has been working closely with this group to advocate for a purchase option instead of the exchange. Attendees included, state representatives Shirley Ringo and Tom Trail, Idaho Fish & Game biologist Ray Hennekey, Idaho County Commissioner James Rockwell, and aides for Senator Mike Crapo, Senator Jim Risch and Congressman Walt Minnick. While only some of the aforementioned spoke to the audience, it is worth noting that both Tom Trail and Shirley Ringo publicly stated that they are adamantly opposed to the current land exchange proposal. The Clearwater National Forest will be releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) sometime this summer. If you wish to view the meeting in it's entirety, please go to http://www.moscowcares.com.
There has been alot of news lately concerning the Rocky Mountain gray wolf. While much of it has been negative, an important date to circle on your calendar is Tuesday June 15th. On this day, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula, Montana is going to begin hearing oral arguments concerning whether or not the U.S. Department of Interior violated the Endangered Species Act when it de-listed the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf in the spring of 2009. How Judge Molloy rules will ultimately decide if the 2010-2011 gray wolf hunt goes through or not. Friends of the Clearwater, along with other conservation groups, are a plaintiff on the lawsuit. Earthjustice is providing legal representation.
On Saturday May 29th, newspapers across America announced that the Obama administration is extending the moratorium on most logging and mining projects in roadless areas on our national forests. There are approximately 58 million acres of roadless backcountry in our national forests. Unfortunately, the moratorium does not protect the 9.1 million acres of roadless Idaho backcountry because under the Bush administration the highly flawed Idaho Roadless Rule was passed. Besides Idaho, the state of Colorado has petitioned the federal government for a state plan. This plan has not been accepted yet.
In our spring newsletter, FOC announced that we will be working with UI professor emeritus Dr. Fred Rabe to put on an aquatic ecology workshop at 49 Meadows on June 26th-27th. This workshop will explore sensitive peatland ecosystems on the Clearwater National Forest through the identification of plant communities, macro-invertebrates, and physical characteristics of nearby streams and ponds. Due to the super wet spring and poor road conditions, this workshop may be postponed to early July. Fred and myself will hopefully be conducting a site visit fairly soon and I will keep you informed.
Lastly, and I mean it, I have a great way for you to help Friends of the Clearwater. Would you please consider posting a review of your experience with our organization at the following web site, http://greatnonprofits.org/. The Great Non-Profits web site is an excellent place for millions of Americans to find, review, and talk about non-profit organizations doing positive work in our communities. A review will help people discover the important work we do!
And happy, happy wedding wishes to FOC Board member Jill Johnson and Craig Watt.
For the Wild,
Brett
Big Wild Bi-Weekly 5/20/10
Submitted by foc on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 5:29pm
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
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