protecting wild places and wildlife, for their sake – and ours December 2011 Sloan Shoemaker A VOICE FOR WILD NATURE Celebrating successes on behalf of the land and its creatures

aybe it’s the tough economy; pressure. It’s challenging work, and acres is steadily getting its Congres- Mmaybe it’s the increasingly stri- only getting more so, but with your sional ducks in a row (page 8). dent political climate. At any rate, these support we’ve scored some significant ™ And the first project of our new days it seems like discussions about our victories in the past few months: restoration program (page 4) and a public lands too often turn into shout- ™ A recent court ruling upholding the conference on forest health (page ing matches, with a chorus of voices Roadless Rule gives us much stron- 11) both bode well for the future. asserting their “right” to use this or that ger grounds for challenging drilling piece of ground. in roadless areas (page 2). The threats will always be with us; But what about the land itself – does the price of a healthy environment is ™ it have a say in all this? The human restraint evidenced in eternal vigilance. But as we approach When decisions about public lands the final Travel Management Plan is a new year, let’s take a moment to cel- are made, do the elk and lynx have a a testament to the power of patient, ebrate our successes and remember our seat at the table? Do the trees have a strategic advocacy for wild ecosys- strength in numbers. Because the more voice? tems (page 6). voices we join together in the defense Of course the answer is yes, but only ™ The Hidden Gems Campaign to of wild places and wildlife, the more indirectly. The land and its non-voting, protect hundreds of thousands of successful we – and they – will be. non-political-campaign-contributing creatures rely on a relatively few mem- bers of the human race to speak for ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES them. Their fate is in the hands of those who care. WW board member Mary Dominick wielded a mighty Fortunately in Colorado we have a shovel against invasive thistles lot of humans who care, and together and houndstongue at our fi rst- we do a pretty fair job of advocating for ever volunteer work day, held in the rights of nature, sometimes even the Maroon Creek Valley in July. at the expense of our own short-term The pilot project of our new interests. We support a strong network habitat restoration program of conservation groups, including the was a big success, with more Wilderness Workshop here in the than 50 participants. White River National Forest region. More photos on page 4. WW speaks for some important Melanie Finan ecosystems that are under considerable Get ready for Naturalist Nights - see schedule, page 7 Roadless ruling good for Th ompsonompson DivideDivide

n October 21, the cated here in Colorado. Oheadwind that we’ve The Roadless Rule has been fighting for nearly been plagued by compli- five years in efforts to pro- cations all along. While tect the Thompson Divide opponents contested it in eased substantially, when various courts, the Bush the Tenth Circuit Court of administration in 2005 Appeals upheld the 2001 attempted to replace it Roadless Area Conserva- with an optional “petition” tion Rule. process that made states Conservation groups responsible for developing around the country are their own roadless plans. hailing the decision as a This rollback was met by a major victory, because it Sloan Shoemaker swift legal challenge of its lifts the cloud of uncer- Community for Thompson Divide: A rally in Carbondale in October own, and was eventually tainty that has hung over ended with an impromptu parade led by local ranchers. overturned by the Ninth 49 million acres of Forest Circuit Court in 2009. But Service roadless areas since a Wyoming derness,” says WW staff attorney Peter in the meantime, two states – Colorado federal district judge enjoined the Hart, who has been on the front lines and Idaho – had started their own road- Roadless Rule in 2008. Although there of this issue for four years. “Healthy less rule-making processes. may be a bit of judicial foot-dragging forests equal a healthy economy, and The Colorado Roadless Rule, now before the case is finally closed, what’s the ’01 Roadless Rule helps protect awaiting final approval by Forest Ser- certain is that these roadless areas will both.” vice honchos in Washington, is inferior retain the protections of the 2001 Rule. The Thompson Divide, the vast to the federal one on multiple levels. It For us at the Wilderness Workshop, headwaters area southwest of Carbon- provides “top tier” protection to only the ruling vindicates all the time and dale, contains the largest contiguous 12 percent of Colorado’s roadless acre- effort we put into defending roadless roadless-area complex in the state. The age, allowing road-building for scien- areas on the White River National For- Tenth Circuit’s ruling offers new hope tifically indefensible beetle and wildfire est while their status was in legal limbo. for that landscape, which is threatened treatments in the rest. It gives exemp- We’d also hedged our bets in case the by oil and gas drilling. Of the 80 gas tions for coal mining in the North Fork ruling went the other way (more about leases there, about 45 were issued in Valley, and for ski area expansions. that in a minute), but this was by far the roadless areas after the 2001 Rule was And dismayingly, it leaves the status better outcome. implemented. It’s now clear that the of the gap leases (more than half of roadless portions of these so-called which happen to be in the Thompson Firm legal ground “gap” leases cannot be developed with Divide) uncertain. The phrase “gap Locally and regionally, many of our roads. leases” is really a misnomer – it alludes favorite places are roadless areas. Think “Basically nobody thinks oil and gas to the fact that the leases were issued Grizzly Creek outside of Glenwood development is appropriate in those during the period when the legal status Springs, Red Mountain and North roadless areas in the Thompson Divide,” of the 2001 Rule was contested. Now Woody in the upper Roaring Fork says Peter. “What this decision tells us is that the Tenth Circuit has upheld the Valley, Spraddle Creek in the Vail area. that it would in fact be illegal.” 2001 Rule, we contend that there never These are areas that provide clean wa- was any gap in roadless protections, and ter, wildlife habitat, hunting, fishing and Complicated Colorado they should be called what they are: a host of other recreational activities. Unfortunately the Tenth Circuit’s “illegally issued leases.” Unfortunately, “Roadless areas generally represent ruling doesn’t automatically settle the the Forest Service’s reading is that the dwindling reserve of healthy forest- matter. Of course nothing’s ever that land that hasn’t been protected as wil- simple, is it? No, and it’s extra compli- CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

2 Wilderness Works December 2011 Lake Ridge Unit remains a puzzle

Texas company’s proposal to Roadless Rule and you A “unitize” 18 gas leases in the can bet we’ll challenge it. heart of the Thompson Divide re- More than 450 of you mains the most immediate threat to sent emails via our take- the area, despite a host of encourag- action page to urge the ing recent developments. BLM to deny the unit re- In June we sounded the alarm that quest or at least to subject SG Interests – the same company that it to a more public pro- built the Bull Mountain Pipeline just cess. The unprecedented to the west of the Thompson Divide number of comments on in 2009 – had applied to the BLM a unit proposal apparently to unitize, or combine, the leases in gave the agency pause, what amounts to a long-term lease because it made a point of extension and development plan. The publicly announcing it was process is typically carried out behind going to take its time on closed doors, and the BLM’s regula- the decision. tions require no public notification or Meanwhile, opponents input. of the unit (you know SG’s proposed Lake Ridge Unit who you are) persuaded stretches from Sunlight Peak south- Senators Mark Udall and ward to the edge of Coal Basin, and Michael Bennet to weigh includes much of the headwaters of in with a letter in Octo- Thompson Creek. If you’re a cross- ber calling for more local country skier or a snowmobiler, input and meaningful you’ll know the area as the high coun- stakeholder discussions try just west of Spring Gulch ski area, on the proposal before which is accessed via Marion Gulch, the BLM made a decision. Fourmile Road or Coal Basin. Around the same time, a

If the BLM approves SG’s applica- group of citizens calling Alison Galensky/Rocky Mountain Wild tion, the company will then have six themselves Community SG Interests’ “unit” proposal amounts to a long-term months to drill a test well somewhere for Thompson Divide natural-gas development plan for 32,000 acres in in the area. If the well produces gas, staged a massive rally in the heart of the Thompson Divide. SG will be able to hold the entire Carbondale, gathering 32,000 acres as long as it complies more than 300 signatures on a peti- from environmental analysis and with its long-term development plan. tion that also asked the BLM to open public review. We strongly dispute SG bought most of the leases at up the process to public comment. that position. auction in 2003, for an average of $2 You might think that would be Given that 39 percent of the Lake an acre. Thirteen of them are “gap” enough to put the kibosh on the unit, Ridge Unit is roadless and 13 of leases, meaning they overlap with but then you wouldn’t be reckoning the leases in it are gap leases, we’ve Forest Service roadless areas and on bureaucratic momentum. In early got several levers left to pull. We’ll therefore cannot be developed with November, BLM Director Robert challenge leases, units, and drilling roads; 39 percent of the unit acreage Abbey politely informed the sena- applications that don’t comply with is roadless. As a result, any develop- tors that his agency was continuing the law to make sure the Thompson ment plan that allows road construc- to review the unit proposal and that Divide gets the protection it deserves. tion is inconsistent with the 2001 the process was specifically exempted

Wilderness Works December 2011 3 buy it we’ll be stuck with a serious pre- for second-class status. We’ll continue Roadless Rule existing condition: 70,000 acres of gap to demand that the agencies comply leases in some of our most vital road- with the 2001 Rule, permitting no CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 less areas. roads in roadless areas in our region the Colorado Rule doesn’t, or can’t, Thus WW is joining with other – now backed by a welcome tailwind protect those leases from road develop- conservation groups across the state in from the Tenth Circuit. ment, and that’s a non-starter for us. calling for the Colorado Department Earlier versions were worse. We in of Natural Resources and the For- HOW YOU CAN HELP the conservation community have spent est Service to withdraw the Colorado Thank you to everyone who the past five years battling loopholes Roadless Rule and retain for Colorado helped in the long, drawn-out and begging for better protections, try- the full protections of the federal Rule. process of improving the Colo- ing to make the Colorado Rule the best Since neither the state nor the Forest rado Roadless Rule, and to those it could be in case it ever became law. Service are yet showing any inclination who attended the Forest Ser- This is as good as it’s going to get – and to stop the process, we may have to vice’s open houses and submitted it’s still not near good enough. mount yet another public campaign to demonstrate to them how much we the comments in July. Putting genie back in the bottle people want to preserve full protec- Now, if you can stand it, So, bolstered as we are by the Tenth tions for our roadless areas. we need your help getting the Circuit’s decision, we must still put the The courts say the federal Roadless dang thing eliminated by send- Colorado Roadless Rule genie back in Rule is the law of the land. It stands ing an email to decision-makers the bottle. as the benchmark that protections in in DC and Denver. Go to our Colorado’s original rationale for Colorado must be measured against; action page, www.wilderness- pursuing its own roadless rule was that the Obama administration pledged that workshop.org/ it would serve as an “insurance policy” the Colorado Rule ought to be “as pro- action, or read should the federal rule be invalidated. tective or preferably more protective” the QR code at That argument is now dead. It’s an than the federal one. right with your insurance policy we no longer need, Our position remains that Colorado’s smartphone. and (to belabor the metaphor) if we roadless areas shouldn’t have to settle We got a grip on thistle - and a passel of pizzas, too Patsy Batchelder Patsy Batchelder Get a Grip on Thistle, our inaugural restoration project, was a huge success: 20 acres of wildlands restored...800 pounds of thistle and houndstongue removed...over 50 new converts to restoration and weed eradication...and 45 pizzas eaten! From left: Jim Ward, one of our 2011 Friend of the Wild award winners, with Dave Reed (not pictured: Jack Wilke); Will Roush ready to take your order; WW board member Peter

Looram at work. Melanie Finan

4 Wilderness Works December 2011 Danger: low-fl ying aircraft, low-quality study

he Air Force will right here?) Tdecide in the next few We’ve requested that months whether to allow the Air Force follow the itself to conduct low- DenverDenver Colorado Department altitude training operations AspenAspen of Parks and Wildlife’s over large parts of New recommendations to avoid Mexico and Colorado, in- or fly higher over sensitive COCO cluding the upper Roaring habitat and to implement Fork and Crystal valleys. seasonal restrictions. In Most area residents particular, bighorn sheep learned of the plan for NMNM habitat, winter range for the first time in Octo- elk and mule deer, and ber, when officials from all habitat for sage grouse Cannon Air Force Base in Low Altitude Training Area and Gunnison sage grouse New Mexico held an open 0 50 Miles should be excluded from house in Aspen. The draft PeacefulSkies.org the training area. environmental assessment The Air Force wants to fl y low-level training missions over much of The second problem they presented proposes a southwestern Colorado, including the Elk Mountains. is that low-level flight Finding of No Significant training could preclude Impact – in other words, no further 130J heavy transports – would fly 300 the designation of new national parks, study needed. to 3,000 feet above the ground. The wilderness areas and wildlife refuges Perhaps the Air Force jumped to Air Force estimates any given location across the Western Slope. that sunny conclusion because it just would be overflown within 1,000 feet That’s because Department of couldn’t imagine that its proposal could an average of three times a month. Defense regulations prohibit mili- have any impact. That cluelessness is This is a problem on at least two tary flights less than 2,000 feet above reflected in the environmental assess- levels. First, planes buzzing within ground level over these types of feder- ment, which is so slapdash that it would 300 feet would have harmful impacts ally protected areas. Officials at the have a hard time finding an impact in a on bighorn sheep, elk, deer and other Colorado Army Air National Guard strip mine. animals, especially in winter. helicopter training facility at the Eagle During the public comment period, “Many animals barely make it County Airport have specifically stated which closed in early November, WW through the winter as it is,” notes WW that they oppose wilderness designation joined a broad coalition of conserva- conservation advocate Will Roush. for certain Hidden Gems areas (e.g., tion, recreation and sportsmen’s groups “They’ll be running away from air- Red Table) because the military’s own in formally requesting that the Air planes rather than spending their 2,000-foot rule would shut them out of Force do a full Environmental Impact energy finding food.” those areas. If Cannon AFB’s proposed Statement on the proposal. More than The wildlife section of the Air low-level flights were allowed over 200 of you echoed that position in Force’s draft environmental assess- lands which might someday become emails sent through our online action ment reveals how little thought and a national park or wilderness area, it page. analysis has gone into the proposal. seems certain that military brass would Cannon Air Force Base’s 27th Special While it evaluates the impacts of low- similarly nix any proposed new pro- Operations Wing wants to fly an aver- level flights on polar bears and reindeer, tected areas in the flight zone. age of three sorties per day over the it doesn’t even mention the impacts While we understand the need for proposed 60,000-square-mile area to to black bears, bighorn sheep or elk. military training, a myriad of concerns “provide realistic training to special (Glad to know they aren’t going to must be adequately addressed, avoided operations aircrews preparing for impact mammalian species 5,000 miles or mitigated in a full Environmental worldwide deployment.” The planes away, but how about even a cursory Impact Statement before this proposal – tilt-rotor CV-22 Ospreys and MC- discussion of impacts to our wildlife passes the laugh test.

Wilderness Works December 2011 5 Postscript: Travel Management Plan

reat news for wildlife and point to the closures as further Gwatersheds: they actually get evidence that the main priority for a fair shake from our local national those landscapes is consistent with forest’s new Travel Management wilderness designation. Plan, and we’re feeling good The plan, already 15 years in about our role in bringing that the making, went into overtime about. after its official publication in May, If you read the articles in the when 12 different appeals were local papers during the summer, lodged against various parts of you might have gotten the sense it. Most of the appeals were by that we were lukewarm about the motorized groups that objected plan – especially considering that Richard Compton to closures of roads and trails they we appealed it. The new travel plan results in a more appropriately thought were important. WW But with only a handful of scaled road and motorized trail network on the Forest. teamed up with The Wilderness exceptions, it turned out about Society, the Sierra Club’s Rocky as good as we could have hoped for. By creeks and fisheries (roads increase ero- Mountain Chapter and Colorado Wild slating 519 miles of existing routes and sion and siltation). in appealing a few routes that had been 692 miles of bandit (or non-system) The finalization of the Travel Man- recommended for closure in the earlier routes for closure, the White River agement Plan is also good for new draft and were spared in the final, as National Forest is now on a path to a wilderness. Some of the Hidden Gems well as a dispersed-camping exception much more appropriately scaled travel proposal areas had roads and mecha- that we think is problematic. network. That means less wildlife dis- nized trails in them that we judged to In the end, all the appeals were turbance and fragmentation of habitat be too costly or ecologically damaging denied…almost as if our one appeal (roads, by creating ecological islands, to keep open. With the closure of all had succeeded in canceling out all the are the single biggest degrader of habi- but a few of them, the Hidden Gems others. tat), fewer invasive weeds (roads are Campaign is in a stronger position to Of course it doesn’t really work their chief enabler), and less damage to advocate for those areas, and it can that way, but we had the stronger arguments and we did a better job of advancing them – and for that we thank you, our supporters, who kept Check out our Facebook page us fueled and fighting for the duration. Are you new to Face- And it’s a good place to be part of In tedious, technical processes like this book? So are we, but the conversation about local conser- one, professional groups with dedicated we’re starting to learn vation issues – please feel free to dip supporters and the funding to keep the ropes. in, post a comment, share or tag a plugging away, year in and year out, The Wilderness photo, or ask a question. This winter usually have the biggest impact. And Workshop’s Facebook page isn’t just we’d like to encourage people to we’re confident that our persistent and a repeat of the WW website. In- share their backcountry experiences defensible advocacy directly contrib- creasingly we’re using it as the place and information about trail condi- uted to this good outcome. Thanks for where we post event photos, videos, tions. hanging in there with us. and links to relevant news stories Make sure to “like” the page to It often seems that human activities and other websites. We also use it to start getting our updates and event are inexorably taking over more and announce upcoming events, since invitations in your newsfeed. You can more of the planet, with nature (and it makes RSVP’ing easy and more get there via the Facebook icon on the groups advocating for it) having to functional (you can see who else is our homepage, www.wilderness- settle for less and less. This was a case coming and contact them directly). workshop.org. where one group helped tip the balance back in nature’s direction.

6 Wilderness Works December 2011 Nights at ACES & Third Street Center

All presentati ons are free. Shows are Thursday evenings at ACES, starti ng at 7:30, and every 2012 other Wednesday at TSC, starti ng at 5:30. January 11 (Carbondale) & 12 (Aspen) Beaver: Nuisance or Opportunity – Sherri Tippie, Colorado’s lone licensed live trapper and relocator of beavers Black swifts March 19 (Aspen) The Meaning of Wilderness and the Feb. 8 & 9 1 (Aspen) Beetles, Dust, and Climate: Changing Rights of Nature – Rod Nash, environmental Hydrology in the Colorado River Headwaters historian and author of Wilderness and the American – Jeff Deems, hydrologist and snow scienti st Mind 7 (Carbondale) & 8 (Aspen) The Science 25 (Carbondale) & 26 (Aspen) The Green Fire: Aldo Behind Forecasti ng Powder, and Other Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time – documen- Weather Fun – Joel Gratz, meteorologist and tary fi lm screening founder of Colorado Powder Forecast 14 (Carbondale) & 15 (Aspen) Forest

February Colorado River - Feb. 16 Pete McBride Restorati on for Resilient Forests: Where Do These Ideas Come from and What Do They 2 (Aspen) Taking Science to the Extreme: Arcti c Mean? – Tony Cheng, director of the Colorado Research Adventures – Susy Ellison, teacher and Forest Restorati on Insti tute naturalist 21 (Carbondale) & 22 (Aspen) Climate Change 8 (Carbondale) & 9 (Aspen) Black Swift s: The and Our Future in the Rocky Mountains – Ian Bil- “Coolest” Bird – Kim Pott er, USFS scienti st lick PhD, director of Rocky Mountain Biological Lab 16 (Aspen) The Colorado River: Flowing Through War on the West - Feb. 22 & 23 29 (Aspen) Pikas and Climate in the American Confl ict – Author and photographer Pete McBride West – Liesl Erb, ecologist and PhD candidate 22 (Carbondale) & 23 (Aspen) War on the West: 4 (Carbondale) & 5 (Aspen) The American How the Oil Industry is Carving up Our Last Best Places Dipper as an Indicator of River Health – Dee – Eric Molvar, author and director of the Biodiversity Malone, ecologist Conservati on Alliance

Schedule subject to change. Make sure you’re Venues on our email list to receive the latest updates!

Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES): Climate Change - 100 Puppy Smith St., Aspen | Every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Mar. 21 & 22 Third Street Center (TSC): 520 S. Third St., Carbondale | Every other Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Sponsors

Ken Ransford, P.C. Carol Dopkin Real Estate, Inc. Wilderness Works December 2011 970-920-1186 7 Gems Campaign getting its ducks in a row

he Hidden Gems was developing his Gems- TCampaign has inspired bill for Eagle and been moving with an Summit counties. extra glide in its stride At the Carbondale since August, when meeting where he made Sen. Michael Bennet his initial announcement, publicly announced he Sen. Bennet was quick to would start working on praise all the hard work wilderness legislation already done on the pro- for Pitkin and Gunni- posal, underscoring how son counties. the campaign’s extensive The Senator’s West outreach and negotia- Slope staff quickly fol- tions have made his work lowed up by making easier. field visits in Septem- Sloan Shoemaker It’s significant that Sen. ber to receive briefings On a site visit to the proposed Hay Park Addition: From left, Gems cam- Bennet has chosen to from campaign organiz- paigners Steve Smith and Pete Kolbenschlag; John Whitney of Sen. Bennet’s work on the Pitkin and ers in both counties. staff; WW’s Will Roush; and Bennet staffer Noah Koerper. Gunnison county areas. They’re now doing They’re the Gems that due diligence on the proposal, meet- other stakeholders, which is the same are in Rep. Scott Tipton’s Congressio- ing with recreational user groups and process Rep. Jared Polis followed as he nal district, which means the Senate bill

Th e summer in pictures

Counterclockwise from left: summer intern Ellen Vaughn ori- ents her Hidden Gems hiking party; up on Huntsman Ridge; exploring Seven Castles Creek, in the proposed Basalt Moun- tain Wilderness Area; Shelley Burke on a Roaring Fork Horse Council Hidden Gems ride; Sloan Shoemaker, Johno McBride, Will Roush and Michael Gorman studying the Sloan Peak map; Will Roush being interviewed by Colorado Public Radio on location in the Red Mountain Roadless Area. Michael Gorman Ellen Vaughan Ellen Vaughan

8 Wilderness Works December 2011 that Mr. Bennet produces could provide legislative window opens up. a template for Mr. Tipton to follow Thus, of the four “ducks” needing to Diff erent stickers in the House. We’ve asked Colorado’s be lined up, one (Polis) is there, and other Senator, Mark Udall, to partner another (Bennet) is now on its way; for diff erent folks with Rep. Polis on a Senate version of one (Udall) we’re reaching out to, and The Hidden Gems Campaign has Polis’s bill (Udall represented Polis’s only Tipton is an unknown. One bill has given away thousands of oval “I (Heart) district before he moved to the Senate). been introduced in the House (Polis’s) Hidden Gems” stickers over the past Sen. Bennet’s embrace of the Hidden to protect 167,000 acres in Eagle and couple of years. But if the colorful sun- Gems proposal is a welcome milestone, Summit counties, and there’s good rea- burst design isn’t your style - or if you’d but it’s only one of many in a lengthy son to believe that we’ll soon see a bill like to declare a more specifi c allegiance process. The legislative phase of a wil- in the Senate to protect another 62,000 to the cause - then this latest line of derness campaign must proceed at the acres in Pitkin and Gunnison counties. stickers is for you! pace of Congress, with long delays and Show the world that support for the sudden unpredictable breakthroughs. Hidden Gems comes from all different It generally requires getting the sup- HOW YOU CAN HELP types - anglers, snowmobilers, dirtbike port of all the House members whose riders, equestrians and hunters. districts are affected by the proposal (in If you haven’t already done so, Like the oval originals, these stickers this case, Reps. Polis and Tipton) and be sure to call or email Sen. Ben- are available for free from the Hidden the state’s two Senators (Sens. Udall net to let him know you support Gems website, www.whiteriverwild.org. and Bennet). The Hidden Gems Cam- the Hidden Gems proposal. It’s paign strategy is to follow the path of easy to send an email via the least resistance with all four members campaign website, www. of Congress, steadily getting all its whiteriverwild.org/action. ducks in a row to be ready to go when a Luke Runyon Will Roush Melanie Finan

Wilderness Works December 2011 9 WW leads eff ort to fi x weak BLM plan

he master plan for We’re pushing for a more TBLM lands in our area reasonable approach to recre- is undergoing a complete ation that takes into account revision – its first in 25 the competing needs of wild- years – and unfortunately life, and for the designation of the preferred alternative more of the land for non-mo- doesn’t look good. torized and quiet recreational WW is leading the uses. conservation community’s Aside from oil and gas and efforts to improve the recreation, our concern about plan, calling for less drill- the BLM’s plan is that – well, ing, better management of that it’s only concerned with recreation, and more land oil and gas and recreation. managed to protect its It seems to assume that just Bruce Gordon/EcoFlight wilderness qualities. about all the land in the plan- The BLM’s Colorado The Colorado River Valley is already a hotspot for oil and gas ning area should be divvied up development; the BLM’s plan envisions more. River Valley Field Office between those two uses, leav- (CRVFO), which oversees ing precious little to just be. 500,000 acres in the Colorado, Roaring mention disastrous effects on wildlife The preferred alternative fails to Fork and Eagle River drainages, re- habitat, water quality, human health protect 47,000 acres of lands that the leased its draft Resource Management and quality of life in our region. agency itself found to have wilderness Plan in September. The public has until We see air quality as the most pow- characteristics. It even proposes open- Dec. 15 to comment on it; the agency erful legal lever to reduce oil and gas ing up the northern part of Assignation will then spend the next year incorpo- development’s impacts. The CRVFO Ridge (immediately southwest of Car- rating the feedback before releasing the overlaps with or is adjacent to three bondale) to gas leasing, despite the fact final version. Class I airsheds, including the Maroon that it’s been included in wilderness The planning area is already a Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, and the legislation introduced into Congress for hotspot for oil and gas development, Clean Air Act prohibits any significant a decade. thanks in part to a lack of planning. As degradation of air quality in these air- Thanks to all of you who attended recently as 1999, the CRVFO an- sheds. To make our air-quality case rock the BLM’s hearings on the plan in ticipated and analyzed impacts of only solid, we’re teaming up with Pitkin October. The next thing we can all do 300 wells over 15 years; it reached County and other conservation part- is send comments about the plan – see that number by 2002, and by 2010 it ners to hire expert consultants on air below. had approved at least 2,400 wells. Its quality and airshed modeling. (We’re still seeking funding for the modeling.) reasonably foreseeable development HOW YOU CAN HELP scenario anticipates another 5,318 Recreation management is another wells could be drilled in the planning big concern about the BLM plan. For Please email the BLM about area by 2028. (And we know how good many years, areas like the Crown have the Resource Management Plan. at underestimating these guys are!) been essentially unmanaged, leading You’ll find talking points on oil Add to that an additional 4,000 wells to extensive user-created networks and gas development, recreation expected in the Grand Junction Field of trails. The BLM realizes it’s time and recommended wilderness Office, 900 or so on the White River to start doing something, but its plan at our action National Forest, and thousands more tends toward amnesty for illegal trails page, www. on private lands and on the Gunnison and sanctioning more legal ones. The wilderness- National Forest just to the south, and preferred alternative would keep a workshop.org/ you’ve got the potential for extraor- whopping 93 percent of BLM lands action. dinary air-quality impacts, not to open to motorized travel.

10 Wilderness Works December 2011 Smoking gun: WW sues over air quality

ast winter, during a break from a pollutant that causes a variety of ad- the-Clean Air Act and the National En- Lprotracted settlement discussions verse health impacts, including respira- vironmental Policy Act (NEPA) provide for the lawsuit over drilling the Roan tory problems such as lung inflamma- firm grounds for agencies to consider Plateau, WW staff attorney Peter Hart tion and asthma, and can even lead to air impacts in their decisions. and Earthjustice attorney Mike Free- premature death. What we’re seeking in this suit is man were talking about all the drilling Air-quality impacts may be our accountability. If the agency is forced to proposals in the Colorado River Valley best hook for reining in the unbridled do rigorous analyses, we’re confident that the BLM had approved in recent natural gas boom in the Piceance Basin that air-quality impacts will be dis- years. (the gas-containing geologic forma- closed, a necessary first step to forcing Comparing notes, they made the tion that covers much of northwest the industry to clean up its act. This is striking discovery that the BLM hadn’t Colorado). Water quality has attracted good for the environment and good for in fact analyzed the air-quality impacts more attention recently, thanks to people. It also has potential synergis- of dozens of large-scale projects at all – media coverage of fracking (hydraulic tic effects with the toxic tort case led it had simply cut and pasted the analysis fracturing) chemicals, but the dearth by the Thomas Genshaft law firm and for a completely different planning area of state regulations and the wealth of similar suits around the country, which (the Roan Plateau), and called it good. exemptions from federal environmental aim to hold industry accountable for its That was the moment of conception laws for fracking operations make that health effects on communities that are of what has become a potentially prec- an elusive challenge. Making the air- getting drilled. edent-setting lawsuit by the Wilder- quality case has its own challenges, but ness Workshop, Earthjustice and three other groups. The suit demands that the BLM’s Colorado River Valley Field Th e future forest emerges Office revisit more than 30 separate drilling projects it approved in 2008- t’s going to be OK. large-scale logging of lodgepole pines 10, amounting to over 1,400 wells. I That was the takeaway message in a futile attempt to beat the beetles. We believe the BLM’s cut-and-paste from the Future Forests Summit, a He was invited to join a precursor air-quality analyses are the smoking gathering of scientists, Forest Ser- group in 2007 and helped reinvent it gun that proves what we’ve been saying vice staffers and elected officials from as a collaborative, which assembled for years, that the BLM is approving Colorado communities affected by the the full breadth of stakeholders to find drilling projects in piecemeal, cookie- bark-beetle epidemic. consensus on initial responses to the cutter fashion without considering the Held in Breckenridge in October, epidemic. The group prioritized pro- cumulative and off-site impacts. the summit was presented by the Colo- tection of life, communities and infra- A study of a single project in isola- rado Bark Beetle Cooperative, whose structure. Taken to DC, that consensus tion may conclude that its impacts are president is our own Sloan Shoemaker. brought $50 million home to Colorado small and localized – yet the impacts Many of you know Sloan as the execu- to implement the mitigation priorities. of thousands of wells are apt to be very tive director of the Wilderness Work- Having achieved that, the CBBC is serious, and felt a long way downwind. shop, but what you probably don’t now pivoting to look at the future, ask- In parts of rural Wyoming, for exam- know is that he’s recognized as one of ing what, if anything, should be done ple, drilling operations now cause air Colorado’s leading policy experts on going forward. The goal of the Future pollution that is worse than that in Los the bark beetle epidemic and its inter- Forests Summit was to pull together Angeles or Houston. Recent studies in face with communities affected by it. the current scientific understanding Garfield County have found that oil and He organized the summit and moder- about how lodgepole pine forests are gas activities account for 87 percent of ated the closing session. responding post-epidemic. Are they the human-caused volatile emissions Sloan’s involvement in the issue be- regenerating? How well? How is that and 73 percent of human-caused nitro- gan in 2005, when fears of dying forests regeneration distributed and what’s the gen oxide emissions. These compounds leading to apocalyptic wildfires were react in the atmosphere to form ozone, prompting some officials to call for CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Wilderness Works December 2011 11 vigorously regenerating with surprising Th e future forest emerges diversity. Fire and insects are a natural, recur- CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE ring part of the ecology of our region. species composition of the regenerated presented research showing that forests Be the forest green or gray, we’ll always forest? These questions are critical for are resilient and capable of rapid regen- need to fire-wise our homes and com- informing our approaches to the future eration. Working in areas denuded by munities to keep them safe. Mountain forest. the massive 1988 Yellowstone fires, he’s communities will learn to live with The picture, it turns out, is hopeful. found that they now support the most hillsides dominated by gray, beetle- The next forest is already emerging productive forest stands in the park. killed trees for many more years, but in beetle-killed areas, and preliminary Tinker and Claudia Regan, a For- they’ll also get to watch that gray turn data indicate that the stand diversity est Service ecologist based in Golden, to green as the new forest emerges in is actually greater in places where it’s also told the group that the bark-beetle a growth surge fed by increased sun, been left alone than in ones that have epidemic hasn’t had major impacts on moisture and nutrients. been thinned or logged. fire risk or water quality either. Regan The good news is that nature comes Professor Dan Tinker of the Univer- also affirmed the inherent resilience back and adapts: the future forest can sity of Wyoming (who was one of last of the forest, pointing to data showing look after itself, if we allow natural winter’s Naturalist Nights speakers) that post-epidemic forests are already processes to play out. Bighorns between a rock and a hard place

lready on the ropes from Their decline, like that of other Adisease and habitat deg- sheep throughout the Crystal radation, the bighorn sheep of River Valley, is due to disease Avalanche Creek are now facing and predation, but there is a link the prospect of a year-round between disturbance and disease. alabaster and marble operation. Blasting, splitting, crushing and The White Banks Mine (also screening operations won’t help. known as the Mystic Eagle There are off-site impacts, Mine), which once produced too. The mine would increase alabaster under seasonal restric- truck traffic past the nearby tions, has been dormant since Crystal River, which is eligible 2003. The new owners want to for Wild and Scenic status. revive it and are asking the For- John Groves/Colorado Parks & Wildlife Landowners in the area are est Service for a 20-year permit Bighorn sheep fi nding winter forage along the Crystal concerned about noise, dust and to operate it on a year-round, River. traffic. 24/7 basis. The mine owners say there’s WW has asked the Forest Service tuary for wildlife in winter. From Nov. a marble vein somewhere behind that to deny the request, limit operations 15 to April 30, visitor travel is restrict- alabaster, but they haven’t actually got- to summer only, and reduce the term ed to the road and full-sized vehicles ten to it yet. We think a 20-year permit of any permit issued. We submitted are prohibited altogether. for year-round mining operations in formal comments on the proposal in The restrictions are to protect the critical bighorn winter range should October, with a dozen other regional bighorn sheep that winter in the area, be based on more than a proponent’s and national groups signing on. spending much of their time on the declaration that “There’s gold in them Avalanche Creek is a gateway to hillside directly above the mine. Never- thar hills” and a nonexistent recent wilderness, a place for quiet recreation theless, the local herd has shrunk from operating history. We await the Forest during the warmer months and a sanc- around 75 to 15 in the past 15 years. Service’s response.

12 Wilderness Works December 2011 Maroon Bells Circle provides bedrock support

any nonprofits in our area have a with its own seasonal calendar. The only house parties; coming up in Janu- Mnational council. The Wilderness highlight of the year is the summer ary will be a reception with Naturalist Workshop has the Maroon Bells Circle: gathering, which was held this past Nights speaker Rod Nash. a network of donors whose major sup- August at the Old Snowmass ranch of If you would like to learn more port is what gives us the financial stabil- Johno and Sunni McBride (top photo). about the Maroon Bells Circle, please ity to do the patient, long-term work of By popular acclaim, the fall hut trip contact Dave Reed at dave@wilder- protecting the wild places we all hold will henceforth be an annual event, nessworkshop.org. dear. after a successful, albeit snowy, trial run We’d like to give a shout out to the Since its launch four years ago, the in September (lower photo). Winters current members of the Circle, listed Circle has grown into a lively group typically bring one or two member- below.

Tania Amochaev Hal Harvey Anonymous (2) Mark Harvey Jim Aresty and Nancy Pickard Juliane Heyman Molly and Tom Bedell Charles Hopton David Bonderman and Laurie Bill and Ellen Hunt Michaels Adam and Melony Lewis Deborah Bradford and Bob Gardner Peter Looram and Owen McHaney Shelley Burke and Al Nemoff Judy and Amory Lovins Beth Cashdan and Paul D’Amato Pamela Maguire Caroline Cochener and Jim Bonesteel Marcie and Robert Musser Branden Cohen Ann Nichols Melanie Finan Chelsea Congdon and James Lynn Nichols and Jim Gilchrist Brundige Kelly and Denis O’Donovan Marcia Corbin Susan O’Neal Muffy and Andy DiSabatino Aron and Jessica Ralston Mary Dominick and Sven Coomer Ford and Susan Schumann Carol Duell Isa and Daniel Shaw Barbara Dunaway Katie and Hank Van Schaack Marty Flug Michael and Adelaide Waters Jeremy and Angela Foster Jack and Bonnie Wilke Joanne and Tony Guerrerio Hansjoerg Wyss

Jane and Dick Hart Adelaide and John Zabriskie Will Roush

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re you looking for special holiday a great friend of wilderness – to bring Agifts that capture the essence of you this special deal. Colorado? Do you want to feel good Between now and Dec. 31, WW about your giving, knowing you’re supporters can get 10 percent off also giving back to our local wild- any purchases from John Fielder’s lands? Colorado – plus, John will donate 30 Here’s a way you can do both. The percent of your payment back to the Wilderness Workshop is teaming up Wilderness Workshop. with John Fielder – Colorado’s pre- For details, see our website, www. eminent landscape photographer and wildernessworkshop.org.

Wilderness Works December 2011 13 DONOR HALL OF FAME he Wilderness Workshop wishes to thank the follow- the previous newsletter. New members are indicated by an Ting generous people who have made donations since asterisk (*).

$10,000+ Deborah Bradford and Bob Gardner Juliane Heyman Anonymous Beth Cashdan and Paul D’Amato Henry Hite Branden Cohen Family/True Nature Sally Cole/The Austin Memorial Charles Hopton Healing Arts Foundation Ellen Hunt/Floreat Foundation Chelsea Congdon and James Brundige Nancy And Ernest Keet,* in memory of $5,000-9,999 Mary Dominick and Sven Coomer Harold Hahn Tania Amochaev,* in memory of Harold Hahn Jeffrey Doppelt, in honor of Ron Rash and Katie Kitchen and Paul Kovach David Bonderman and Laurie Michaels Tim Shortell Fred Lodge Isa and Daniel Shaw Carol Duell Judy Hill Lovins and Amory Lovins Andy and Muffy Disabatino/ Barbara Dunaway Maki Foundation Laffey-McHugh Foundation Beth Fergus Ann Nichols Thrift Shop of Aspen Julie Goldstein and Tony O’Rourke Warren and Karen Ohlrich Tony and Joanne Guerrerio/ Susan O’Neal $1000-4,999 Guerrerio Family Foundation Aron and Jessica Ralston Alpine Bank Mark Harvey Ford and Susan Schumann Jim and Polly Shoemaker Katie and Hank Van Schaack Hidden Gems donors Michael and Adelaide Waters Following are donations made to the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign, Jack and Bonnie Wilke for which WW is the fiscal agent. Kelly and Denis O’Donovan John and Adelaide Zabriskie $25,000+ $100-249 $500-999 New-Land Foundation Kevin And Diane Wilson James Pribyl Ingrid Antoni $5,000-9,999 Jeff Heyman and Jane McConnel Shane Evans Aron and Jessica Ralston Donald Martinusen Finbarr’s Irish Pub* Patricia C. Moore Advised Fund of the Michael Bartasuis/Charter Sports Gail and Phil Holstein Aspen Community Foundation David Rose and Ceil Murray Peter Looram Ken Ransford, P.C. $1,000-4,999 George and Emily Bohmfalk Roberta and Gale Stokes Patagonia $50-99 Reese Henry & Co. Ann Duncan Donald and Sheila Kava Harry Teague Architects Gesine and Jack Crandall Grover Cleveland Morrison & Foerster Foundation Pat and Carol Welsh Pete Kolbenschlag $250-499 Kelly Bronfman Susan Pollack Willis Andersen, in memory of $500-999 Up to $50 Harold Hahn Alan and Silvia Danson Joy Benedict Carol Dopkin Real Estate Robert and Linda Zaparanick Lee Wilson Susan and George Fesus $250-499 Tim Peterson, in honor of Eric Olsen Tim and Marcee Hobbs Robert Walker and Kristen Bunn Rosemarie Lavender Robert Koppe Chip Nealy Michael McVoy Sue Rushmore Everett Peirce James Richardson*

14 Wilderness Works December 2011 Taylor Rossi Carol and Buzz Dopkin Steve Smith Susy Ellison Bill Stirling Randy Gold and Dawn Shepard Ute Mountaineer Pat Hogan Joan Eisner and William Vaughan* Kip Hubbard* Sarah Johnson P.O. Box 1442 $100-249 Nick and Sarah Lebby Diane Argo Carbondale, CO 81623 Lois Marmont Offices in the Third Street Center, Michael Behrendt Dr. Ann Mass 520 S. 3rd St., Carbondale Paula Brooks and Bob Cook, in memory Dave and Steph Munk Tel (970) 963-3977 of Harold Hahn Ty and Terry Reed www.wildernessworkshop.org [email protected] William Brunworth* Cyndie Rippy, in memory of Brieanne Rippy Katherine and James Bulkley Roaring Forge The Wilderness Workshop’s mission is to Karen Church protect and conserve the wilderness and Ruth Ross natural resources of the Roaring Fork Wa- Wayne and Claire Dailey Heather and Gregory Rydell tershed, the White River National Forest, Don and Susan Edmonds Stephanie and Garrett Sullivan and adjacent lands. Anne Esson, in memory of Harold Hahn Anna Naeser and Gerald Terwilliger WW is a nonprofit organization that Connie and Ted Finan* Diana Tomback engages in research, education, legal Jim Finch John Werning advocacy, and grassroots organizing to Ginni Galicinao protect the ecological integrity of local Elizabeth Grinnan, in memory of Up to $49 landscapes and public lands with a focus on the monitoring and conservation of Harold Hahn Diana Blaschak air and water quality, wildlife species and Kate Hart Elizabeth and Edgar Boyles/ habitat, natural communities, and lands of David Kerr Wildwood Films wilderness quality. Ann and Peter Martin Trish Chew Board of Directors Tom Newland/Newland Project Kate Cocchiarella Steve Smith, President Resources, Inc. Paul and Barbara Freeman* Karin Teague, Vice President Tom and Merbie Payne Christy Garfield Peter Van Domelen, Treasurer John Emerick, Secretary Kathy Lamieux-Rodman and Bill Rodman Ann Keller Beth Cashdan Gary and Nancy Schultz Jane Leddy Steve Child Leslie and Nancy Selzer Barbara and Gere Loudon* Mary Dominick Tara and Casey Sheahan Martha Madsen Cici Fox Bob Shettel Jake McGavock Ginni Galicinao Charles Hopton James Morris Lynn Tanno Peter Looram Sally Tischler, in memory of Harold Hahn Michael and Beth Mulry John McBride, Jr. Elissa Topol and Lee Osterman Marta Parker, in memory of Roger Tim McFlynn Michael Zoob, in honor of Carol Duell Sandy Pickard* Michael McVoy John Ramo Aron Ralston $50-99 Mike Stranahan Barbara Rossi* Andy Wiessner Danny Aronson Cam Scott Carol Bayens Chris Sherman* Founders Carol Bayens Joy Caudill Karin Teague Dottie Fox Janet Bohlen Nancy Tipton Connie Harvey Staff Wilderness itself is the basis of all our civilization. Sloan Shoemaker, Executive Director Melanie Finan I wonder if we have enough reverence for life to Michael Gorman Peter Hart concede to wilderness the right to live on? Dave Reed David Richie – Margaret Murie Will Roush

Wilderness Works December 2011 15 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. Postage PAID PERMIT NUMBER 62 P.O. BOX 1442 CARBONDALE, CO CARBONDALE, CO 81623 81623 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

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Please remember WW in your yearend giving

hankha you for your past supportrt of the Wilderness Workshop. WeW hopeT you’ll consider making a speciall yearend gift to WW again this year. You’ll soon receive your annual fundraising appeal from WW – the one with the pretty card and the red-ribboned evergreen sprig inside. When you open it up and breathe the heady scent of that little sprig, stimulating fond memories of backcountry adventures, please heed the call and make a gift to the organiza- tion that’s working to keep our backcountry as is. Thank you! “Chair Mountain from Huntsman Ridge,” by 2011 Artist in Wilderness Glenn Randall.