by Rick Bass

March, 2009

It's been a long time since there's been an update on the campaign to designate Yaak wilderness, but it's not because there's been a lack of activity; on the contrary. Ceaseless meetings between wilderness advocates, snowmobilers, local loggers, businesspeople, and educators, have finally resulted in the creation of a small map of common ground agreement in a community development proposal that will successfully designate some wilderness in the Yaak, for the first time ever. We've drafted a bill and are asking Congress to legislate it. Even the president of the local ATV club supports the venture, pleased as he is by the job-creating aspect of it, as well as by the potential the proposal has for reversing the chronic polarization that has plagued the county for decades.
It's a small bill, it doesn't address all of the Yaak's wilderness needs, nor all of the roadless areas, but it's an important piece off community development it will support the creation of some local stewardship forestry thinning projects in the wildland-urban interface, the "frontcountry" along open roads, near communities and will support existing legal snowmobile use, as long as the needs of wildlife are met. It's a good little bill, a start at educating folks that not only is wilderness not harmful to the communities still fortunate enough to have some, but is in fact a positive attribute.
As ever, however, the Yaak suffers from geopolitical isolation. Less wild valleys closer to urban centers, with larger human constituencies, have historically commanded Congress' resources and attentions. We are hoping that after nearly five decades of struggle, we can change this dynamic, and that Montana's Senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, as well as Representative Dennis Rehberg, will support and sponsor this change. Please write to them urging them to finally secure wilderness in the Yaak, and send a copy to the grassroots nonprofit group that is participating in the common ground mapping, the Yaak Valley Forest Council.(265 Riverview, Troy, MT 59935)
Senator Max Baucus
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Jon Tester
204 Russell Senate Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510

Rep. Dennis Rehberg
2448 Rayburn House Bldg.
Washington D.C. 20515

********************************************** An additional letter, on an additional subject, is also needed. The U.S. Forest Service is preparing a Forest Plan, which they do roughly every 15 years, which recommends various management directives for various regions in the Yaak. One particular area, the Northwest Peaks roadless area, was initially recommended entirely for wilderness, before Congressional intervention took away all of it's proposed wilderness management. If the Forest Service is to retain any semblance of integrity in the Forest Plan process it must restore some wilderness recommendation for the Northwest Peaks area in its management plan. (This does not mean that that area will be designated as wilderness, only that the Forest Service agrees to manage it as such for the next 15 years, giving community groups such as the one described above the motivation to try to come to agreements regarding wilderness designation). Send the Forest Service a letter insisting on at least some recommended wilderness in Northwest Peaks, an area which received by the Forest Service's own assessment the highest rating for wilderness capability on the entire Kootenai National Forest and again, please send a letter to the Yaak Valley Forest Council.
Thank you! Send a copy to:
Paul Bradford, Supervisor
­Kootenai National Forest­
1101 Hwy. 2 West
­Libby, MT 59923

And to: Yaak Valley Forest Council
265 Riverview
Troy, MT 59935

And last but not least: the long-time Executive Director, Robyn King, is currently recovering from brain surgery. (She's going to be okay! She went into surgery asking how a meeting with Senator Tester had gone, and came out of surgery asking if the most recent batch of maps had been picked up from the printer!) Though Robyn has comprehensive medical insurance by virtue of her job with the Yaak Valley Forest Council, her deductible is quite high, as is the case with non-profits these days, and a fund is being set up to help her with her non-deductible medical expenses. You can read about it at www.yaakvalley.org Thank you!

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