by Rick Bass
URGENT
September, 2004
THE LAND THAT THE WILDERNESS ACT FORGOT
Back in 1997, the Yaak Valley Forest Council was formed with two objectives in mind--to achieve permanent protection for the last roadless areas in the Yaak Valley, and to work to support a sustainable local economy that continues to be based upon the natural resources. One of the foundations of our group's cause, however, has been attacked (yet again) by the current administration, with the Bush proposal to overturn the Roadless Rule, which, after 3 years in the making, would have permanently protected (and for a little while, did) the last roadless areas in the Yaak. Whereas the Clinton administration spent part of 3 years gathering public comments on roadless area protection (gathering some 2 million comments, of which over 90% favored maximum protection for those last roadless areas), the Bush administration proposes to listen to public in put over only a 60-day period, and to turn the matter over to each individual state governor--regardless of the fact that these are federal lands, and federal resources. We have barely two months left in which to send in our new comments, asking for protection of these wildest places in a wild valley. Our message--our ask to you, those who have chosen to defend the Yaak's last roadless areas, couldn't be simpler, or more timely: write a short note demanding permanent wilderness protection for what last few roadless areas remain intact within the wild Yaak. We need your help, now. Comments are being accepted until November 15th.
Once again, we are being called upon to write a letter in support of the Yaak's roadless lands--the Land that the Wilderness Act Forgot, back when the Wilderness Act was signed forty years ago, on Sept. 3, 1964. We in the Yaak have always been at the back of the line, with our beloved homelands an insignificant trading chip in other, larger, state and national wilderness bills, due to the lack of a constituency--but your efforts over the years have helped move the Yaak, finally, to very near the front of the line. More and more environmental leaders, and even some politicians, are beginning to understand that the Yaak needs and deserves equality. We have asked you to write letters in support of roadless and wilderness values in the Yaak's last roadless lands in the past, and probably will again; it seems to be a seesaw battle, particularly under the current administration, one which would be nice to walk away from, or even take a break from. But that is precisely what those in the current administration would love to claim--that they have worn down our will--and is why we need new letters, particularly as the discussion seems to be shifting toward the state level. Some of you will be able to dust off old letters you've written in the past and saved on your computers, while others may be writing for the first time. Again, we have less than 3 scant weeks left in which to record our comments for the official record.
In your letters, you don't need to address policy minutiae. The most important thing you can stress is your love for Yaak roadless areas, and your desire to see no net loss of roadless lands in the Yaak--and of the Yaak's longstanding (and completely underserved) wilderness needs. Specifics you might also want to mention could include your familiarity with any certain areas up here. If you have hiked in the Northwest Peaks or Mt. Henry country, mention it. If you have driven through the Yaak and fallen in love with the scenery and wildlife, mention that. If you have never even seen the Yaak, no matter: it is your land, and this is one of your responsibilities, to inform the land managers of your need to see a core wilderness component protected. There are only 14 inventoried roadless areas left in the Yaak--Roderick Mountain, Grizzly Peak, Pink Mountain, Northwest Peaks, Buckhorn Ridge, Saddle Mountain, Gold Hill West, Gold Hill, Big Creek, Robinson Mountain, West Fork, Parsnip, Flagstaff, and Alexander. They are all vital, and they are all that is left of the uncut and unroaded Yaak.
At heart, this is an issue of fairness. It's not fair that the Yaak's wildest areas have always been overlooked for wilderness protection, and it's not fair to turn this decision-making process over to the wild political swings and amplitudes of 4-year governorships, with regard to ancient landscapes that have been tens or even hundreds of thousands of years in the making. We need to know that these last wild places in the Yaak will always remain wild, free to operate under their own graceful systems of logic and order. The Yaak's roadless lands are the gold standard of the Yaak's special wild quality, and are one of the main underpinnings of the Yaak way of life. Please protect this, now, with your letter.
Send a copy of your letter, as soon as possible, to:
Yaak Valley Forest Council
155 Riverview Dr.
Troy, MT 50035
and to:
Content Analysis Team
Attn:Roadless State Petitions
USDA Forest Service
PO Box 221090
Salt Lake City,UT 84122
Fax 801-517-1014
email statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.us
For more questions, call 406/295-5764, or e-mail us at Meghan@yaakvalley.org
Thank you for protecting our last roadless lands--particularly in the Yaak--the Land That the Wilderness Act Forgot
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Contact us at: yaakvalley@oocities.com
Yaak Website address: www.oocities.org/RainForest/Vines/5054
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