SUMMER 2005

38 Years of Conservation Action R E P O R T

PAGE 3 Map of Proposed Red Desert Conservation Areas

PAGE 6 Protecting America's Hidden Treasures: The National Landscape Conservation System

PAGE 7 Arizona Public Television Series The Desert Speaks Visits the Red Desert WOC files A New Tune for the Red Desert Blues Future Hopes Pinned to National Conservation Area Designation

By Molly Absolon only by the wind; the bright unexpected splashes of pink bitterroot he rain started during the night. By morning we were poking up out of the sand; a lone antelope standing guard on a low camped in red gumbo that clung to our shoes. Each step rise; and the sound of coyotes singing us to sleep. T was treacherous and slippery, not to mention tiring due to The Red Desert is well known to Wyoming Outdoor Council the weight of the mud. I looked at my group—a couple in their members either through personal experience or through years of 60s, a family with two young children, two single parents with a Frontline articles about the area. It is a land of dramatic contrasts child each—all of them out for an adventure. Unfortunately, we that make it hard to characterize. You go from vast stretches of were getting a bit more of an adventure than we bargained for. cracked mudflats to verdant springs; from isolated aspen groves to It wasn’t hard to make a decision. With rain and snow in the miles of stunted sagebrush; from emptiness to being surrounded forecast, we turned around and hightailed it back to the trucks five by large herds of wild horses or racing pronghorn. miles away, making our getaway to avoid being mired indefinitely This part of Wyoming is home to 350 wildlife species, including in mud. Our trip was aborted, but not before we experienced some elk, pronghorn, sage grouse, burrowing owls, myriad birds of prey, of the eerie magic of the Red Desert: the surreal colors of the reptiles, and kangaroo rats. Swept clear of snow by relentless winds Honeycombs at sunset; the silence of empty spaces interrupted for much of the winter, the area provides crucial continued on page 3

Determining the Future Clearing Up the Haze: New Faces Join of the Nation’s Roadless Air Quality and Oil and the Team Page 14 E D Areas Page 8 Gas Development Page 10 I S N I

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Executive Director Mark Preiss

Established in 1967, the Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC) is the state’s oldest and largest independent statewide conservation organization. Our mission Not everyone thinks the Red Desert is pretty. is to protect and enhance Wyoming’s Many drive like mad to get through it as quickly environment by educating and involving I. citizens and advocating environmentally as possible on their way to the sexier, easy-to-love sound public policies and decisions. landscapes to the west. But for others, the Red Frontline Report is the quarterly news- Desert is where they go to get away. letter of WOC and is provided as a benefit of membership. Letters to the editor and Wyoming people recognize that much of the Red Desert remains remarkably intact, articles by members are welcome. and contains important parts of our history including pioneer trails and Indian sacred sites. The northern Red Desert is also the southern anchor to the Greater Yellowstone and holds For more information contact: wintering grounds for migrating big game and habitat for many different animals. It is a WOC, 262 Lincoln, Lander, WY 82520 place people use to hunt, hike, ranch, or get lost in. And, from as far back as the 1800s, (307) 332-7031 (phone) it has been a landscape people have sought to protect. (307) 332-6899 (fax) [email protected] In historic preservation, buildings are thought of as one of the most tangible connec- tions to our past, linking us to our history and those that came before. In the conservation Board of Directors field, we strive to protect nature’s built landscapes so that our children can have the same Jim States, Saratoga meaningful experiences we have had. Our efforts to secure National Conservation Area President Laurie Milford, Laramie designation for parts of the Red Desert are built on this common value. Vice President Susan Lasher, Worland In response to the latest push to extract Wyoming’s remaining natural resources, we Treasurer Tom Bell, Lander II.are working to bring common sense into the equation. Maybe it’s time to call a time Emeritus out in this rush, to get our bearings, to let rest the beleaguered BLM and FS staff, who are Joyce Evans, Saratoga continually pressured by D.C. to open up more and more of Wyoming’s lands to more and Scott Kane, Lander more of the same, while our water is left unprotected, our skies hazed over, our wildlife Barbara Oakleaf, Lander bewildered as they seek safe winter ranges, birthing grounds, and routes through the maze Barbara Parsons, Rawlins Terry Rasmussen, Casper of uncontrolled development. Sandy Shuptrine, Jackson Many of our current efforts are tied to orchestrating such a break, to giving all sides the Anthony Stevens, Wilson time necessary to make better informed and more creative decisions on how we can bal- Staff ance short-term gains with long-term investment in what matters to Wyoming people. Molly Absolon I know that with you, we can continue to be the voice of common sense. We know that Communications Director the clear skies of the Upper Green are filling with the haze of unprecedented industrializa- Michele Barlow tion. We know that DEQ and EPA are concerned, but also seemingly deer-in-headlight Director of Government Affairs and Conservation Education unable to do something about it. We know that there are good people working in these Andy Blair agencies trying to do the right thing, and we’re trying to help them do so. Community Outreach Coordinator Mary Corning In order to succeed, we need to know what issues hit home for Wyoming people Administrative Assistant III.and where they see a need for us to be involved. Tom Bell and others created the Bonnie Hof bauer Wyoming Outdoor Council around his kitchen table. We want to sit down with citizens Office Manager Steve Jones around the table again to find out what’s important to people across the state. Director of Air and Water Quality Some say talk is cheap, but we understand the importance of building and maintaining Lisa Dardy McGee relationships. In the months ahead, we will be setting the table to engage in discussions Director of National Parks and Forests about what matters. What matters to you. We want to know what you think are the most Bruce Pendery compelling issues in your community. We want to hear how you think we are doing. And we Director of Public Lands want to know what you would like to see done different to protect Wyoming’s way of life. Meredith Taylor Wildlife Program Coordinater Please call Andy Blair, our community outreach coordinator, or me, if you would like Tova Woyciechowicz to host one this summer. No sugar needed for the coffee. Community Organizer

Happy Trails, Mark Mark Preiss, Executive Director

Anne Austin, Frontline Designer

2 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

RED DESERT continued from page 1 winter range for an array of migrating mammals, while in the spring it is a birthing and nesting site. The desert’s distinctive landmarks— the Boar’s Tusk, the Oregon Buttes, and Steamboat Mountain—guid- “Look at a map of this State, and in the northern ed emigrants on their way west and served as important sacred spots for the indigenous people who lived and hunted here for thousands part of Sweetwater County, you will find a tract of years. of land marked “the red desert.” We conclude that But in spite of its beauty, cultural significance and abundant wildlife, the Red Desert is not an easy place. You can read journals by setting off a portion of country [indicated on from Overland Trail emigrants describing snowstorms in August, impassable mud after rains, and insufferable heat in October. Some the map], enough of this territory would be taken things haven’t changed. Others have. As you are well aware, energy development—with in to furnish a winter range for the elk and other its roads, well pads, compressor stations, power lines, truck traffic large game for all time... . and more—is already affecting parts of the Red Desert. Damage has also occurred as a result of everything from motorized recreation to the web of fences stretching across the area that block wildlife movement and fragment habitat. Years of drought have taken a toll If [we] can pull this scheme through Congress, on the quality of forage available in the desert causing declines in wildlife already stressed by human-caused impacts. it will be one of the greatest triumphs for game The Wyoming Outdoor Council has been working with our protection yet achieved. members and allies to protect this unique landscape since our founding 38 years ago. One of WOC founder Tom Bell’s first efforts was to push for the area to be designated as a North American Antelope Range. His concept was not new. Lander resi- Dr. Frank Dunham, Lander, Wyoming dent Dr. Frank Dunham proposed that the desert be set aside as a 1898, Recreation, Vol. IX, p. 271-2 winter game preserve back in 1898, and in 1935 Wyoming Governor Leslie Miller sought to have the area continued on page 4

WYOMING’S RED DESERT

Greater Red Desert

Boundaries for Frank Dunham's proposed winter game preserve in the Red Desert with links to summer ranges in Greater Yellowstone.

Jack Morrow Hills Planning Area. Key parts of this corner of the Red Desert have been identified as the core of the proposed National Conservation Area.

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 3

RED DESERT

RED DESERT continued from page 3 10-million plus acre California Desert Conservation transformed into the Great Divide Basin National Park. Area and Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area outside People like Dunham, Miller and Bell have recognized that of Las Vegas. this is a place that deserves to be protected for more than 100 years. Today, we remain committed to carrying on BLM Unlikely To Provide Adequate Protections the effort. On Its Own For years, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and our allies National Conservation Area have sought to work with the BLM through the National Our current efforts have coalesced into a campaign to Environmental Policy Act to come up with common sense have the northern Red Desert—approximately 300,000 solutions and alternatives for protecting the Red Desert, acres around the Jack Morrow Hills Planning Area—desig- but increasingly it is becoming obvious that this effort is nated by Congress as a National Conservation Area. unlikely to be successful. National Conservation Areas are part of the Bureau of Land The BLM is under clear direction from the Bush admin- Management’s National Landscape Conservation System, istration to expedite energy development on public lands, which was established in June 2000 by then Secretary of regardless of its sensitivity or historical uses. Furthermore, the Interior Bruce Babbitt. The mission of this system is to since the beginning of 2005, the Wyoming BLM has “conserve, protect and restore nationally significant land- announced changes in its policies that are effectively cut- scapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scien- ting people out of the planning process. These changes tific values for the benefit of current and future genera- include shortening the time to review and protest lease tions.” (See accompanying story on the NLCS on page 6.) sales; charging for access to public documents; failing to The National Landscape Conservation System consists extend comment periods in spite of website failures and of all of the Bureau of Land Management’s National incomplete information; and refusing to consider public Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness comments based on unclear requirements. Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and As a result, we have come to believe that National National Historic and Scenic Trails. In Wyoming, this Conservation Area designation—which is an act of includes 42 Wilderness Study Areas—including seven in the Congress rather than an administrative decision by the proposed National Conservation Area—as well as the BLM— is the best way to ensure the Red Desert remains a Continental Divide Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon living, vibrant landscape for generations to come. Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the California Trail and the Nez Perce Trail. The Jack Morrow Hills Coordinated Activity Plan Specifically, National Conservation Areas are designated In the meantime, the Jack Morrow Hills Coordinated by Congress to provide for the “conservation, use, enjoy- Activity Plan, which was released in the summer of 2004, ment, and enhancement of select natural areas, recreation- remains in limbo. The Wyoming Outdoor Council, and a al destinations, paleontological sites, and other special number of others, filed protests of the plan alleging that it environments, including fish and wildlife habitat.” The failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy BLM currently manages 14 National Conservation Areas Act because it does not pro- across the West, with the most well known being the vide adequate protections for

The Red Desert’s Less Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) A small ground- Famous Residents dwelling bird with no ear tufts, burrowing owls can be found in Much has been written about the abandoned ground squirrel or prairie dog burrows in the Red Desert. Found only Red Desert’s elk and pronghorn in the Americas, burrowing owls were first herds, but not so much about described by a Jesuit priest in Chile in 1782. The Latin the other 348 or so species that word ‘cunicularius’ means mine or miner— an apt description for a bird that makes its home live in the area. We thought it would be beneath the ground. Burrowing owls are one of interesting to introduce readers to a few the smallest owl species. They weigh only five of the desert’s lesser known, but equally or six ounces and stand 10 inches high on long, stilt-like legs. fascinating inhabitants.

4 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) The mountain plover is a medium-sized sandpiper-like bird that breeds in big game, sage grouse and water, and the Red Desert. Despite their name, mountain plovers prefer because it largely ignored the approximately 100,000 public comments submitted on the short-grass prairies of the western Great Plains to the high behalf of conservation. peaks. Plover hens lay up to three eggs on bare ground. “One of the biggest problems with the Gradually, the birds build up a nest of rootlets and grass BLM’s plan is that it is largely a ‘trust us’ around the eggs. Pair bonds are fleeting—females some- kind of a document,” says Bruce Pendery, times leave the nest to the males so they can lay and the public lands director at the Wyoming incubate another clutch of eggs with a different mate. Outdoor Council. “It is too vague and too discretionary. While the BLM has recommended that environmentally sensitive development occur in some “The BLM has not shown the leadership places, there is no hard-core commitment or courage required to put even the small- or enforcement to those recommendations. est piece of public land off limits to Hence the reason we filed a protest. drilling. For this reason, we believe it is WhatYou It’s hard to trust the agency based on its time to take the future of the Red Desert to can do current track record.” the people.” Write a letter to the editor of the According to BLM regulations, these Throughout the planning process for the protests should have been acted on 90 days Jack Morrow Hills, people from all walks of Casper Star-Tribune and your local after they were filed. Months have passed life have agreed that the Red Desert was dif- paper as well as to Senator Craig since that deadline came and went, and the ferent and worth saving. Now they have to Thomas asking for protection of the BLM has still not reached a final decision come together again. Jack Morrow Hills through National on the future management for the Jack Says Lander resident and owner of Conservation Area designation. Morrow Hills. Thornberry Automotive, Mark Thornberry: “You can read this failure to act as a “Enough is enough. Wyoming has always Senator Craig Thomas recognition of the plan’s shortcomings,” been known for its wide-open spaces and 307 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Pendery says. “But even if they revise the its opportunities for citizens to travel and Washington, DC 20510 plan based on our input, given the BLM’s recreate in landscapes largely untouched by Phone: 202-224-6441 recent decision-making pattern both in industry. Despite the hardships of living Fax: 202-224-1724 Wyoming and all over the West—I am not here, that’s why many of us choose to live Email: http://thomas.senate.gov/ optimistic any alternative will live up to in this state. The Red Desert is a national our desires. treasure worth protecting. Some of it html/body_email.html should just be left alone.” ! Casper Star-Tribune Letters editor: Daniel Sandoval 170 Star Lane P.O. Box 80 Casper, WY 82602 307-266-0549 800-559-0583 [email protected]

To find contact information for other Wyoming newspapers, visit the Friends of the Red Desert web site at: www.reddesert.org George Grossman National Conservation Area designation includes multiple-use. Responsible grazing, off-road vehicle use, hunting and other forms of recreation in the Red Desert will be part of the management plan.

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 5

RED DESERT Protecting America’s Hidden Treasures The National Landscape Conservation System

By Molly Absolon were largely ignored by the public because The recent inclusion of the National ave you examined the ruts left more much of it was dry, inaccessible and in many Landscape Conservation System among than 100 years ago by wagons head- ways defied the standard definition of beau- America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places Hing west across Wyoming? Have you ty. As a result, few people cared how they was triggered, according to the National hiked sections of the Continental Divide were managed besides the ranchers using Trust for Historic Preservation, by the BLM’s Trail across the Red Desert? Or maybe them for grazing their cattle. Therefore, the chronic understaffing and under funding, you’ve camped or hunted in one of 42 division operated with relative freedom and which jeopardize the system’s long-term via- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) very little oversight for years. In 1939, it bility. Listing does not ensure protection or Wilderness Study Areas in Wyoming? Then became known as the Grazing Service and guarantee increased funding, but designation you’ve been in part of the National five years later, the BLM. can be a powerful tool for raising awareness. Landscape Conservation System, whether This shift in nomenclature did little to For the NLCS, such knowledge and public you knew it or not. affect policy until 1976, when the Federal support could prove to be what it takes to The NLCS is comprised of 26-million Land Policy and Management Act mandated bring the system out of obscurity and into acres of some of BLM’s most valuable land- that the BLM, like the National Forest the realm of public discourse. ! scapes around the West: National Service, manage its lands for “multiple use.” Monuments, National Conservation Areas, But the BLM’s history was hard to shake. For WhatYou National Recreation Areas, Scenic and years, the agency was jokingly referred to by can do Historic Trails, Wilderness, Wilderness many as the “Bureau of Livestock and Please take a few minutes to write a Study Areas, and Wild and Scenic Rivers. Mining”— a reflection of its reputation for letter to BLM Director Kathleen Clarke to This June marks the 5th anniversary of favoring resource exploitation over other let her know that you support the the system, but it’s a birthday that could go uses, particularly conservation. National Landscape Conservation largely unnoticed by many Americans, even Babbitt’s decision to create a system those who know and love these places. The within the BLM that was focused on the System and want the BLM to put energy system, which was created by Bruce Babbitt sound management of its most sensitive and money into it to ensure its long- during his last year as secretary of the inte- cultural, ecological and aesthetic sites, term success. The BLM rarely hears from rior under President Clinton, has struggled seemed to be an attempt to give the individuals or groups on this issue, so with obscurity. Now, as it turns five, the agency’s conservation efforts clout and we need to make sure they know we entire NLCS has been named one of prestige. After all, the BLM does manage the care. You can send copies of this letter America's 11 Most Endangered Historic most land of any federal agency, and many to your BLM state director, as well as to Places by the National Trust for Historic of these acres are well worth special con- your congressional delegation. Preservation. sideration. But lack of funding and Kathleen Clarke, Director You can blame the Bush administration’s Congressional support has meant the exist- Bureau of Land Management anti-environmental record for the system’s ing units in the National Landscape Department of the Interior tepid support, but in some ways the lack of Conservation System have struggled. These 1849 C Street NW attention harkens back to the Bureau of extraordinary lands face threats from road Land Management’s origins. This is an building, habitat fragmentation, energy Washington, DC 20240 agency that doesn’t have much conserva- exploration, urban encroachment, increased Bob Bennett, State Dir., Wyoming BLM tion in its history. recreation, exploding off-road vehicle use, 5353 Yellowstone Road The Bureau of Land Management, origi- and most importantly, inadequate funding. P.O. Box 1828 nally the Division of Grazing, was created in Ω Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003 1934 under the Taylor Grazing Act to manage Phone: (307) 775-6001 a half-billion acres of “leftover” land. These vast expanses of territory Fax: (307) 775-6003

Great Basin Spadefoot (Spea intermontana) them to dig into loose soil for shelter. The Great Basin Spadefoot is a small, rather rotund, Spadefoots can spend up to eight months a year grey or olive-green amphibian. Looking a lot like a underground and can lose up to 48 percent of their large pebble, adult spadefoots are 4 to 6.5 cen- body moisture without ill effect. A frightened spadefoot timeters long with short, stubby limbs. The most distinc- is able to dig itself rapidly into the soil, disappearing from tive feature is the source of their name: the small, black “spade” sight in a matter of minutes. Some spadefoot species can gather on the first toe of each hind foot. This hardened tissue allows enough energy from just a few feedings for a year of dormancy.

6 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

The Desert Speaks Travels With Arizona Public TV Mac Blewer, Public Lands Legislative Representative, National Wildlife Federation

he spring rains of 2004 had been good to the Red “I’ve been to a lot of places in the world, Desert. Alkali Draw was covered by a lush blanket of a lot of deserts, but this one is really Tgreen grass and forbs, and the purples, blues and pink something. Really something.” hues of phlox, lupine and evening primrose waved in the breeze as northern harriers soared over the sage, grease- From a team that had explored deserts wood and rabbit-brush. from Arizona to Bolivia and beyond, his From our camp perched at Chicken Springs, where the words were not flippantly spoken. Continental Divide snakes around Bush Rim over the dis- tant Oregon Buttes, the setting sun caught the Pinnacles at John, decked out in a well-used aviator’s jacket and such an angle that their yellow peaks gave the impression biker’s cap, bore the visage of a man in his element. Dave, of ancient, worn pyramids. tucked snuggly in the motorcycle’s sidecar wearing ski gog- As if on cue, a full russet moon began to rise over the gles and a WWI fighter pilot’s cap that John had loaned Honeycomb badlands, and the crew of Arizona Public TV him, looked nothing short of a member of Monty Python’s (The Desert Speaks program) whom we had guided for the Flying Circus. The sight of Dave trying to maintain profes- last four days sprang into action. There was Tom, the direc- sional composure as he asked John questions was almost too tor, always at a hundred places at once; Dan, the fast on the much to bear. Perfect. John Cleese meets the Red Desert. draw videographer; Fran, the sage, silent producer; Dave, That day we took a two track along Bush Rim through the loquacious and quirky narrator; and Yar, the knowl- tall grasses scraping the trucks’ underbellies; a ferruginous edgeable and eccentric naturalist. They were a perfect team. hawk soared above and a desert elk appeared briefly before As Dan clicked the “off” button on the camera, the team sprinting into some stands of big sage. By dusk, we had let out a series of good-natured exclamations. Indeed, it had visited the Tri-Territory Marker, Steamboat Mountain, the been a good few days with tragedies avoided, glitches few Boar’s Tusk, the White Mountain Petroglyphs and finally (except a couple of flat tires), and some incredible adven- the Killpecker Sand Dunes. tures. Everyone was exhausted, yet ebullient. From the mad In the evening, we all circled around the fire in the capers of camping with Charlie Wilson and his band of sea of the Sands and laughed. Yar and Dave gave us a brief packgoats to panning for gold and stalking moose with Tom version of the swinging east European jig, John played some Bell near the Sweetwater River, to capturing the antics of Celtic and ragtime tunes on his squeeze-box, and Marian antelope in the Great Divide Basin, it had been one heck of Doane, a representative of the Friends of the Red Desert an adventure. Coalition who had acted as a third scout, briefly displayed a John Mionczynski, who was helping me guide the film spadefoot toad she had extracted from her tent flap, drawn crew, puffed on his pipe as he finished laying out his bivvy there by the late night dews. sack in the middle of the meadow. At one point, Yar turned to us and said, “I’ve been to a “This area wasn’t nearly as popular as it is these days,” lot of places in the world, a lot of deserts, but this one is he intoned. “A bunch of us used to come down from really something. Really something.” Atlantic City and have a huge party every now and then, From a team that had explored deserts from Arizona to but not much else.” Bolivia and beyond, his words were not flippantly spoken. We looked out over the Big Empty admiring the We all drank a final toast to the Red Desert and then rising moon. “But it’s like no other place. I wouldn’t trade retired into the dunes to a silent sleep in a landscape one it for anything else,” he added could still, at least for now, call paradise. ! “It’s kind of ironic. To try to protect a place, you have to let people know that it’s here in the first place,” I mur- The Desert Speaks is an Emmy-award-winning television series mured quietly. produced by Arizona Public Television that explores desert regions John smiled. “Yeah, you might be right. I don’t want to around the world. The series included two episodes on the Red Desert: see more roads and gas rigs in this part of the desert either. Goat Packing in the Red Desert and Wyoming's Red Desert. The goat But I hope that we don’t love it do death in the process.” We sat for a while in silence. packing show aired on Wyoming Public television this past spring, how- The next morning after grabbing some coffee, we ran to ever the other episode, which briefly addressed development threats set up a shot of John and Dave in John’s 50-year-old BMW from oil and gas, was deemed too controversial and was not shown in motorcycle dangerously banking around a corner near the Wyoming. To find out more or to order copies, go to: http://thedeserts- old South Pass-Superior Stage-Coach route. peaks.org/season.cfm?displayseason=1500

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 7

INTHE NEWS

Which Roadless Rule Rules? The Twisting Path To Determine the Future of the Nation’s Roadless Areas

By Steve Jones areas, or put them to other uses Your favorite roadless area could be in danger. that, of necessity, would involve Not only from the blade of a road grader, but also building roads to access natural the logger’s chainsaw and the driller’s derrick. resources, such as timber, min- For Rachael Price, this threat hits home. The erals, and oil and gas. Wyoming Range is one of her favorite places to go. The new rule attempts to “It’s an idyllic little world up there. And it has involve the governors of each unique advantages for every season of the year,” state in this process, by giving she says. Rachael works for the National Outdoor them 18 months to petition the Leadership School, and last sum- U. S. Forest Service and make mer she took a group of 14- and recommendations regarding ROADLESS RULE HISTORY: 15-year-old teenagers up to the whether some or all roadless Wyoming Range for two weeks. areas in their states should January 2001: USFS adopts rule imposing a “We got a feeling of being remain roadless or whether they moratorium on building roads in national in a remote and pristine area should be transformed into forest roadless areas. within a day. We saw amazing roaded areas resembling so Large parts of the Wyoming Range are currently managed as roadless areas. December 2002: The Ninth Circuit Court of high country meadows — full of much of the rest of our Appeals finds the “Clinton Rule” was prop- brilliant wildflowers in early July non-wilderness forest lands. — enough to make 14-year-old Litigation over the validity of the new rule will erly promulgated by the USFS. boys stop in their tracks. undoubtedly be initiated. A court could rule that the July 2003: Judge Clarence Brimmer finds that “There were at least three new rule was not promulgated properly, or that it vio- the “Clinton Rule” was not promulgated in herds of elk with over 50 animals. lates federal law (such as the National Environmental accordance with the National One basin we came upon was Policy Act, or the National Forest Management Act). Environmental Policy Act and the simply covered with elk,” she Such an eventuality may save existing roadless areas, says. She notes that hunters are but the outcome of litigation is unlikely to be known Wilderness Act. Conservation groups, undoubtedly aware of the bounty before the 18-month period allotted for the governors including WOC, appeal Brimmer's decision of the Wyoming Range, since to make their roadless recommendations. to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. many hunting camps were spotted May 2005: USFS adopts a new rule (the along their two-week sojourn. Freudenthal’s role pivotal to future of Wyoming’s “Bush Rule”) allowing each national forest And in the winter, the area offers roadless areas miles and miles of great cross- So the question inevitably becomes: What will to determine the fate of roadless areas. country skiing. Governor Dave Freudenthal do about recommending Also in May 2005: oral arguments heard in But the remote pristine nature retention of roadless areas in Wyoming to the U. S. the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding of the Wyoming Range, and many Forest Service? Judge Brimmer's 2003 decision enjoining other roadless areas ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩin Wyoming, At this point, his intentions are not known. He has the Roadless Rule are now in danger. Recently, the indicated in the past that he is not a fan of this roadless U.S. Forest Service adopted a new area recommendation process. He sees it as an unfund- rule governing roadless areas ed mandate from the federal government, imposed across the country. This new rule will remove the unfairly upon the states. And he does have a point, moratorium on road building in roadless areas for oper- since each state that submits recommendations will be ations such as timber cutting and oil and gas extraction. expected to become a cooperating agency in the forest management process for each forest. He may, therefore, How did we get here? simply decline the opportunity to have the state of The U.S. Forest Service passed the new rule in May Wyoming become involved in this roadless review 2005. It is intended to replace the old roadless rule, process. But he may also choose to become involved which was enacted during the last days of the Clinton and make recommendations to the U. S. Forest Service. Administration in January 2001. The new rule sets up a His staff has contacted the conservation community rather complicated process for determining on a forest- and let it be known that he will listen to our concerns. by-forest basis, whether to retain the existing roadless But he also intends to listen to the concerns of the tim-

8 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

C Y , G

Range are currently managed as roadless areas. Lloyd Dorsey

ber industry, the motorized recreation industry, and the oil and gas and mining industries. Roadless areas, like those of the Wyoming Range, Salt River Range and Greys River Range, as Rachael Price has found, often offer unique primitive recreational opportunities that are treasured by hunters, anglers, cross-country skiers, backpackers, and day-hikers alike. WhatYou They can form a much-needed buffer and protective bar- can do rier for wilderness from civilization’s negative impacts. Now is the time for all conser- Yet their accessibility can enhance their recreational vationists to come to the aid of value on a year-round basis. At a time when Wilderness their favorite roadless area. Let Areas receive enormous use and pressure from hikers, Governor Dave Freudenthal know backpackers and horsepackers, roadless areas can some- that you have a stake in his times offer fantastic opportunities for solitude, solace decisions to recommend — or and remoteness. ! not recommend — protection of roadless areas in Wyoming. Make it a personal letter, if you can. Tell him why roadless areas—and par- ticularly your favorite roadless QUESTIONS REMAINING area—are important to you and • Will the Bush Rule be successfully challenged and why you do not want to see it C overturned in court? Y roaded and bladed and scarred. , G • Will the Brimmer decision on the Clinton Rule be overturned by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals? • Will Governor Freudenthal make any recommenda- Lloyd Dorsey tions to the USFS about preserving Wyoming’s road- The Wyoming Range is popular for out- less areas? door recreation year round. Here a hiker traverses a field of mountain bluebells. • How seriously will the USFS take the roadless recom- mendations of any state’s governor? Summer 2005? Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 9

INTHE NEWS Keeping Our Air Clean

By Bruce Pendery for Questar’s proposal to drill wells year round in the Pinedale il and gas activities release hundreds of tons of industri- Anticline field. This assessment showed that nearly three times al pollutants into the pristine air above Wyoming every as much nitrous oxides (NOx) were being produced than were Oyear, and that amount is expected to rise—especially in originally predicted in the 2000 Pinedale Anticline environmen- the Upper Green River Valley. tal impact statement: a total of 1,895 tons per year, rather than “This place is incredibly special…the air quality in the Upper the 693 tons per year anticipated. Green River Valley is the cleanest in the lower 48 states. It is The environmental assessment also disclosed that monitoring almost as clean as central Tibet…which scientists say has the air pollution, which the BLM had committed to do in the origi- cleanest air in the world,” says Upper Green River Valley nal environmental impact statement, was not being done. Coalition community organizer Linda Baker. This spring, more evidence appeared in the Jonah Infill envi- “We want to keep it that way,” she adds. ronmental impact statement. This document showed that the But mounting evidence indicates that oil and gas develop- 3,100 new wells called for in the Jonah field would lead to ment is causing major air quality problems in western Wyoming. increased visibility impairment in the Bridger Wilderness on As a result, the Wyoming Outdoor Council is increasing up to 10 days per year. In addition, the project will release its attention to the issue. Our goal is simple: to ensure that air 16,362 tons of hazardous air pollutants and 56,226 tons of volatile quality is not only maintained but improved in areas where it organic compounds per year; double existing background con- has been degraded. centrations of sulfur dioxide; triple particulate matter concentra- tions (PM10 and PM 2.5); double existing ozone levels; and exceed nitrogen deposition thresholds in the Bridger Wilderness, VE)

RO Popo Agie Wilderness, and Wind River Roadless Area. P

M What all these numbers mean on the ground is increased haze, decreased visibility, more acidification in lakes, and the likelihood in the future of increased human health problems such as asthma. Even the BLM seems to recognize there is a problem. The agency is pursuing supplemental analysis of air quality issues resulting from the Jonah Infill project before giving it final approval. And in December, the BLM and Forest Service discontinued approving new drilling permits in the Riley Ridge Pinedale residents say it is increasingly common for the Wind River field near Big Piney, partly because of the need to update air Mountains to be obscured by haze, a change many attribute in part to oil and gas development. quality analyses.

Interagency Monitoring of Protected Environments (I We believe the BLM needs to do the same thing for the We believe we can protect Wyoming’s incredible vistas and Pinedale Anticline. The agency’s decision approving well drilling ensure air pollution does not harm the health of Wyoming’s in this field stated that if NOx emissions exceeded the expected people, especially more vulnerable populations like the old, the level—which they are by a factor of nearly three—then very young, and those with asthma. But we face a challenge as BLM would “undertake additional cumulative air quality the booming natural gas industry continues to grow. environmental review.” This has yet to happen. “We’re currently in significant expansion here…with several Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has thousand wells over several thousand miles,” said Dan Olson, begun to weigh in. In a letter to the BLM in December regarding the head of the Wyoming Department of Environmental the Questar winter drilling proposal, EPA officials said they Quality’s Air Quality Division, at a recent air quality symposium were “very concerned about the emissions from the increased sponsored by the Wyoming Outdoor Council and the Upper rate of drilling and the potential effects of the increase in Green River Valley Coalition. emissions on Class I airsheds.” Class I airsheds are areas of “Quite frankly, nobody…including me…can calculate and extremely high air-quality that receive special protection under answer the question of whether there is [an air quality] prob- the Clean Air Act such as national parks and wilderness. lem,” Olson said. In the News The Evidence Grows The media has also called attention to the growing problem. But signs of such a problem have begun to surface. The first The Pinedale Roundup opined on December 16, 2004, that, “It is significant evidence of increased air pollution in the Upper about time that the BLM and the [Wyoming Department of Green River Valley was documented last fall when the Bureau of Environmental Quality] stood up and took some responsibility Land Management (BLM) released an environmental assessment for what happens on the land and in the air continued on page 12

10 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

GREATER YELLOWSTONE this lease sale is considerably smaller that a provisional authorization of the Management Plans for the Upper Green than the one proposed and delayed due overall highway alignment under the cur- River Valley Delayed. The releases of the to public pressure last fall, it still contains rent preferred alternative is likely to vio- draft Pinedale Resource Management Plan important wildlife habitat, provides late the Clean Water Act unless significant (RMP) and the South Piney coalbed excellent hunting terrain, and is a popular design changes are made. We—and the methane project environmental impact recreational destination for skiers, snow- road builders—are now waiting for the statement (EIS) are now not expected until mobilers, anglers and hikers. Furthermore, Corps’ final decision. Meredith Taylor con- late summer or fall. When the plans are it is adjacent to a number of suspended tinues to serve as the conservation repre- released, the Wyoming Outdoor Council leases in roadless areas that have not been sentative on the Advisory Committee for and our partners in the Upper Green will developed because of access problems. We the reconstruction project. Contact: ensure you are informed and know how are concerned that this sale will open up Meredith Taylor to be involved. Contact: Bruce Pendery and these other acres, in effect nearly tripling Meredith Taylor the number of acres available for develop- Shoshone National Forest Timber Projects ment. Furthermore, given the problem with in the Works. In 2003, the Wyoming National Forest Plan Revisions: Coming air quality from the development already Outdoor Council won an appeal on the Soon to a Forest Near You. Preliminary taking place in the Upper Green River Wiggins Fork Timber Sale in the Shoshone work has begun on revising both the Valley, we are reluctant to see more National Forest near Dubois. Now an Bridger-Teton National Forest and the drilling occur until adequate regulations Environmental Assessment on a revised Shoshone National Forest management and monitoring for air quality are in place. sale is due to be released this fall. The plans. The new plans will determine Contact: Bruce Pendery and Meredith Taylor Wiggins Fork Vegetation Treatment will priorities and set policies for the forests include 475 acres of mechanical treatment, for the next 10 years or more, so we 497 acres of lodgepole treatment, 1,318 believe it is critical for both the Wyoming acres of aspen restoration, and 2,218 acres Outdoor Council and the general public to of prescribed burning. The Wyoming weigh in. We have begun meeting with Outdoor Council is discussing the changes both Bridger-Teton and Shoshone national with the Wind River District silviculturist forest officials. We’ll keep you posted on to address our concerns about the impacts how you can be involved. Contact: of the sale on recreation, wildlife and the Meredith Taylor forest ecology. In addition, there is a watershed improvement project proposed Using Good Science To Guide Good along Charlie Creek, as well as fuel reduc- Policy. The National Forest Service is tion projects near Mad Butte, Trout Creek, required to use Management Indicator Wood River, Popo Agie, Carter Mountain Species—or key sensitive plants and and the Upper Wind River. Theses projects animals—to guide forest planning, but are designed to reduce fuel loads along for- for years the Bridger-Teton has failed to est/private land boundaries through timber fulfill this obligation. Finally this spring, cuts and prescribed burns. A feasibility after pressure from the Wyoming Outdoor study exploring opportunities for bio-mass Council and others, the Forest Service technology to provide electric power for agreed that they have been operating Dubois using fuels from the fuel-reduction illegally without Management Indicator projects is currently being researched. The Species designations and monitoring. Togwotee Pass Wyoming Outdoor Council is monitoring Now the forest’s staff biologist has devel- these projects to ensure they balance the oped a list of “Ecological Indicator Species” A Highway Runs Through It. forest’s various uses and protect recreation and habitat types. Contact: Meredith Taylor The Togwotee Pass Highway Reconstruction and wildlife. Contact: Meredith Taylor Project is slowly unfolding as summer Closing the Gate: Protecting Special construction season ramps up into over- National Migration Corridor Proposal Places in the Wyoming Range from time mode. The Wyoming Outdoor Unveiled. The Wildlife Conservation Development. The U.S. Forest Service has Council worked with Earthjustice and Society has released its plan for a National announced its intention to pursue leasing American Wildlands to comment on the Migration Corridor proposal to protect the 44,600 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Wyoming Department of Transportation existing migration links between key habi- Forest for oil and gas development. These (WYDOT)’s application to the Army Corps tat areas in western Wyoming. The leases are primarily located in the northern of Engineers for a permit to build in wet- Wyoming Outdoor Council is working with portion of the Wyoming Range. Although lands. The Corps’ agreed with our concern the Society to develop a continued on page 12

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 11

AROUND WYOMING

AROUND WYOMING continued from page 11 methane development in the area. In addi- CLEAN AIR continued from page 10 strategy for public support of a tion, in January we joined the Powder under their watch.” Not to be outdone, the Congressional designation that would pro- River Basin Resource Council in filing a Casper Star-Tribune wrote in an editorial on tect the corridor for pronghorn and other follow-up lawsuit intended to impress April 25, 2005, that, “Air quality could be mammals traveling from the mountain upon the BLM the full implications of the the hammer that nails a lid on Wyoming’s highlands of Grand Teton National Park to Pennaco case. Finally, our separate legal energy boom.” the Upper Green River Valley and Red challenge to the environmental impact Reflecting all these concerns, Governor Desert. Contact: Meredith Taylor statement (EIS) approving coalbed Dave Freudenthal wrote in the State’s com- methane development in the Powder River ments regarding air quality impacts from the Basin remains pending in the Wyoming Jonah Infill project: “I would hope that BLM POWDER RIVER BASIN District Court, but we are cautiously opti- would use the present circumstances as an Powder River Basin Coalbed Methane mistic because in March the Northern example of what not to do in the future. Boom Moderated by Pennaco Victory. Plains Resource Council received a favor- The BLM must be vigilant in its management The Wyoming Outdoor Council continues able decision from the Montana District of development such that it always knows our efforts to ensure that the victory we court in its challenge to the Montana the condition of the various resources with- had in the court case of Pennaco Energy, coalbed methane environmental impact in its management authority and the incum- Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Interior is statement. Contact Bruce Pendery bent impacts of development on those translated into a victory on the ground for resources. Anything less jeopardizes current ranchers and rivers in the Powder River and future developments.” Basin. The unique and unprecedented STATEWIDE effects of rampant coalbed methane devel- Ancient Corridors Move Across the State. What We Are Doing opment in the Basin have continually been Meredith Taylor continues to take her On April 27, together with a number of shown to violate laws written to protect Ancient Corridors program around the other conservation groups, the Wyoming things such as water quality, and the state as part of the Speaker’s Bureau for the Outdoor Council met with EPA officials in Wyoming Outdoor Council has found that Wyoming Council for the Humanities. This Jackson to discuss our concerns. It was a legal advocacy is an effective tool for outreach program presents the prehistoric productive meeting that we believe will ensuring that development takes place in a view of free-ranging wildlife herds through help ensure the EPA continues to be a way that minimizes its negative effects. In the Trapper’s Point bottleneck near strong advocate for protecting air quality. response to the Pennaco decision, the Pinedale. She most recently presented the And on June 2, the Wyoming Outdoor Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is program at a Wildlife Society event held at Council and the Upper Green River Valley preparing new environmental analyses that the University of Wyoming in Laramie and Coalition hosted a public forum on air quali- should lead to better regulation of coalbed was a featured speaker at the Murie ty issues in the Upper Green River Valley. Center’s Annual Earth Day Festival in The panel included Terry Svalberg (air quali- Jackson. She will also present the program ty specialist with the Forest Service), Susan at the 8th Biennial Scientific Conference Caplan (air quality specialist with the BLM), Kitchen Table Conversations on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Dan Olson (director of the Wyoming Across the State. Yellowstone National Park in October. Department of Environmental Quality Air As most of you know, the Wyoming Contact: Meredith Taylor Quality Division), Larry Svoboda (EPA), and Outdoor Council was started around a Bob Yuhnke (a private attorney who repre- kitchen table by Tom Bell and others Legislative Update. In anticipation of the sents environmental groups, including the who were concerned about the threats 2005 Budget Session of the Wyoming Wyoming Outdoor Council). About 50 peo- they saw to Wyoming’s environment, Legislature, 13 interim and select commit- ple attended the meeting. wildlife and quality of life. Now we’re tees are examining a hodgepodge of public Mr. Yuhnke is providing expert com- going back to that proverbial table. This policy topics including natural gas valua- ments on several environmental impact summer and fall, the Wyoming Outdoor tion and taxation, minerals development statements for us. He brings more than 30 Council is planning to hold a series of using advanced technologies, establish- years experience in all areas of the Clean meetings around the state based on the ment of utility corridors along highways, Air Act. kitchen-table model. Our goal is to coyote management on agricultural lands, Finally, the Wyoming Outdoor Council meet members and local leaders, talk recreational use of state trust lands, tem- has increasingly focused attention on the about what we are working on, and porary water rights for towns and cities, EPA and State Department of Environmental find out what people see as the most and management of municipal solid waste. Quality rulemakings that affect air quality. pressing environmental issues facing For more information on study topics and Our goal—to protect our clear, their communities. If you are interested meeting dates, visit the legislature’s clean air and human health—is simple, in hosting a kitchen-table conversation, web site at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/ or but the tools this task demands of us let us know and we’ll set it up. contact the Legislative Service Office at require precision and accuracy to wield Contact: Andy Blair ! 307-777-7881. Contact: Michele Barlow effectively. We look forward to this new challenge. ! 12 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

A Summer/ Fall 2005 Events Calendar

Your guide to fun educational adventures in the company of Wyoming’s people and landscapes

JULY-AUGUST The Wyoming Outdoor Council Chapter of Sierra Club. Contact: Kate Drexler, Development Organization, U.S. Department of offers custom adventures into the Red Desert. [email protected], 733-4557 Energy. Contact: Ed Werner, ewerner@can- Give us a call and we will plan a trip for you. Due dowyoming.com, 358-2000 to our limited resources, we ask that your group Wyoming Range hike in BTNF (W of Pinedale). size be no smaller than six people. Contact: Andy Sponsor: Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. SEPTEMBER 17 Blair, [email protected] or 307- Contact: Erik Molvar, [email protected], Rock Creek hike in Bighorn National Forest (W 332-7031 ext. 14. 742-7978 of Buffalo). Sponsor: Wyoming Chapter of Sierra Club. Contact: Kirk Koepsel, kirk.koepsel@sierra- JULY 16 AUGUST 16-18 Brucellosis workshop in club.org, 672-0425 Palisades Wilderness Study Area hike in Bridger- Laramie. Sponsors: U.S. Animal Health Teton National Forest (BTNF), W of Association, U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Ride the Red. Join us on the Wyoming Outdoor Jackson.Sponsors: Wyoming Chapter of Sierra Club Interior, University of Wyoming. Contact: Jill Lovato, Council’s annual mountain bike ride through the and Wyoming Wilderness Association. Contact: Kate 766-5146, [email protected] Red Desert. Contact: Andy Blair, andy@wyomin- Drexler, [email protected], 733-4557 or goutdoorcouncil.org, 332-7031 ext. 13. Page McNeill, [email protected], 690-3505. AUGUST 19 Pickle Pass/Grayback Roadless Area monitoring trip in BTNF (S of Jackson). Sponsor: SEPTEMBER 23-24: Brown-capped rosy finch survey in Medicine Wyoming Wilderness Association. Contact: Page “Future of Energy” lecture and panel discussion Bow National Forest (W of Laramie) Sponsors: McNeill, [email protected], 690-3505 in Jackson. Sponsor: University of Wyoming Audubon Wyoming, US Forest Service. Contact: Lecture and Seminar Series. Contact: Sara Flitner, Alison Lyon, [email protected], 721-4887 AUGUST 20-21 Bennett Mountains Wilderness [email protected] Study Area hike in Seminoe Mountains (NE of JULY 23 Rawlins). Sponsor: Wyoming Chapter of Sierra E X P L O R ETHE P AST Sweetwater River to Martin’s Cove trip (E of Club. Contact: Kate Drexler, kate.drexler@sierra- ARCHAEOLOGY PACK TRIP Jeffrey City). Sponsor: Wyoming Chapter of Sierra club.org, 733-4557 Club. Contact: Kirk Koepsel, kirk.koepsel@sierra- BENEFITS WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL club.org, 672-0425 AUGUST 20-21 Day hikes and car camping, AUGUST 22-29 Honeycomb Buttes in Red Desert (SE of South Bird-watching in the Beartooth Mountains (NW Pass City). Sponsor: Friends of the Red Desert. Join Taylor Outfitters and archaeologist of Cody). Sponsor: Meadowlark Audubon Society. Contact: Marian Doane, [email protected], Rich Adams in a search for artifacts of the Contact: Neil and Jennifer Miller, 568-9346 332-3608 reclusive Sheepeaters, an ancestral branch of the Shoshone tribe. The Sheepeaters or AUGUST 22-29 Washakie Wilderness Area JULY 23-24 Day hikes and car camping, Mountain Shoshone are thought to be the Steamboat Mountain and Killpecker Sand archaeology trip (NE of Dubois). Sponsor: Taylor earliest human inhabitants of the Dunes in Red Desert (NE of Rock Springs). Outfitters. Contact: See sidebar for details. Sponsor: Friends of the Red Desert. Contact: Yellowstone region. Marian Doane, 332-3608, [email protected] AUGUST 27 Snowy Range hike in Medicine Bow The Absaroka Range, where the trip National Forest (near Elk Mountain). Sponsor: takes place, is a spectacular area of high JULY 29 Palisades Wilderness Study Area hike in Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. Contact: Jeremy plateaus and open meadows. By horseback BTNF (W of Jackson). Sponsor: Wyoming Nichols, [email protected], 303-454- or on foot, we’ll see moose, elk, mule deer Wilderness Association. Contact: Page McNeill, 3370 [email protected], 690-3505 and bighorn sheep. In addition, you can AUGUST 27-28 Wyoming Range tour in BTNF (S enjoy swimming, fishing, painting, photo- JULY 30 Expedition into grizzly bear habitat of Jackson). Sponsor: Wyoming Wilderness graphing, or visiting with other archaeology near Cody with Chuck Neal, biologist and Association. Contact: Page McNeill, wildjh@wave- buffs. com.net, 690-3505 author of “Grizzlies in the Mist.” Sponsor: This eight-day horsepack trip costs Wyoming Wilderness Association. Contact: Page $2,000 per person, including a $500 McNeill, [email protected], 690-3505 SEPT. 10-11 Honeycomb Buttes in Red Desert (SE of South Pass City). Sponsor: Friends of the tax-deductible donation to the Wyoming AUGUST 6-7 Day hikes and car camping, Red Desert. Contact: Marian Doane, marian@red- Outdoor Council. We’ll provide horses, Steamboat Mountain and Killpecker Sand desert.org, 332-3608 meals, tents, and camping equipment. You Dunes in Red Desert (NE of Rock Springs). bring a sleeping bag/pad and personal Sponsors: Friends of the Red Desert and Wyoming SEPTEMBER 10 Battle Mountain hike in items. Meredith and Tory are longtime Chapter of Sierra Club. Contact: Marian Doane, Medicine Bow National Forest (near Baggs). 332-3608, [email protected] or Kate Drexler, Sponsor: Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. Wyoming residents, proficient outfitters, [email protected], 733-4557 Contact: Jeremy Nichols, jeremy@voice- and savvy authorities on the natural and forthewild.org, 303-454-3370 cultural history of the Wind River Valley. AUGUST 13 Contact: Meredith Taylor at 307-455-2161 Rock Creek Trail hike in Medicine Bow National SEPTEMBER 11-12 Renewable energy confer- Forest (S of Arlington). Sponsor: Wyoming ence in Douglas. Sponsor: Converse Area New or [email protected]

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 13

PEOPLE Anthony Stevens fiancé Erika Wagner. Erika and Anthony organization gained financial stability and plan to be married in July. established an endowment. She was also a Joins Board of The Wyoming Outdoor Council steadfast, dependable worker who sought Directors welcomes Anthony to our board of direc- no glory for her personal achievements, Wilson Resident’s Love of the tors. As our youngest board member, we which whether in advocacy, academics or look forward to adding his perspective to athletics have been impressive and far- Outdoors Drives His Concern For our vision and work. reaching. It will take us a while to fill Wyoming’s Wild Places Christine’s shoes. — Molly Absolon From a young age, Anthony Stevens turned to the wilderness in his backyard for adventure, exercise and escape. Christine Lichtenfels “I spent as much time as I could outside Steps Down Andy Blair Joins Staff fishing and backpacking,” Anthony recalls. New Outreach Director Comes “That was where I was happiest, so I have From Board a hard time watching these places be With Passion and Enthusiasm for destroyed.” Former Staffer and Board Wyoming and Conservation This concern has motivated Anthony to Member Leaves a Legacy of Andy Blair get involved in conservation, and in March Quiet Competence majored in phi- he joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s The first time I met Christine losophy at McGill board of directors. He is excited about hav- Lichtenfels was in the early 1980s, when University in ing an opportunity to give something back we were vying for the same spot on our Montreal because to the wild places college crew. Christine was known to be he was interested that have nour- tenacious, hard working, committed and in the nature of ished him and tough. I was not optimistic about my “what is and helped him find chances to beat her out for a seat in the why.” But when his way in the junior varsity boat. Lucky for me, Christine he asked his pro- world. He follows decided to quit crew so that she could fessor those very in his mother’s go to the canyons of southeastern Utah questions, he hit a wall of resistance. footsteps. Emily over spring break. Even then, she had her “Philosophy lost a lot of its Stevens, who priorities straight. credibility for me at that point,” Andy says. passed away in It’s hard to believe more than 20 years “I thought I would be studying knowledge 2002, was a board have passed since those days. Both and that there was room for asking ques- member and benefactor of the Wyoming Christine and I have changed in some ways, tions to gain understanding, but it seemed Outdoor Council for a number of years. but not so much in others. Christine is still as if all we considered were a lot of dead “My mother definitely started off my tenacious, hard working, committed and white dudes.” interest in the outdoors,” Anthony says. tough. I didn’t want to be up against her Andy’s interest in thinking about the “I owe a lot of that to her, but I have devel- then, and I wouldn’t want to be today. She bigger questions in life have led him in a oped my own personal relationship with is a formidable adversary, and she fought number of different directions, most Wyoming as well. It is this relationship that tirelessly on behalf of Wyoming’s environ- recently to the Wyoming Outdoor Council drives my desire to help ensure we protect ment during her years at the Wyoming as our new outreach director. He comes to our open spaces for the future.” Outdoor Council. us from the National Outdoor Leadership As a boy, Anthony spent summers on a Christine has stepped down as a mem- School (NOLS) where he worked as a field ranch near Dubois and wintered in Jackson. ber of the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s instructor and later a program supervisor. He went away to boarding school in his board of directors to take some time off “I feel as if I’ve been an environmental teens. He was, he says, a somewhat trou- before eventu- advocate throughout my NOLS career,” bled young man. ally pursuing Andy says. “I’ve just taken a different “As a kid I spent a lot of time getting a new career approach. My job was to educate people in and out of trouble,” Anthony says. “I in physical and to help them develop a relationship mastered blaming other people for every- therapy. We’ll with the land. It seems like a natural thing that went wrong. As I grew older miss her. In her progression for me to move into work I realized that there was no one else classic behind- where I am more actively trying to to blame but myself. If I wanted to the-scenes kind protect these places.” change, it was up to me. If I wanted to of way, she qui- Andy first got interested in the make a difference in the world, it was etly took care outdoors when he was 11 and went off to up to me.” of the mundane summer camp. The campers were required Anthony enjoys just about anything day-to-day business details that allowed the to take part in a number of camping excur- that gets him outside, and he spends as Wyoming Outdoor Council to become an sions, some of which were life changing, if much time as he can hiking, backpacking, increasingly efficient and professional not life threatening according to Andy’s kayaking or backcountry skiing with his organization. Under her leadership, our recollection.

14 Frontline Report Wyoming Outdoor Council Summer 2005

“I had no idea how to pack a backpack, Meredith Taylor, picked up the bobcat to ber when my parents first visited me in so mine was totally lopsided,” Andy skin it for a museum. (She secured the nec- Wyoming. It was my first season in Grand remembers. “We hiked five miles, and I essary permits, of course). Marisa bravely Teton. They said that I’d be crazy to ever was miserable. Then it rained for five days. continued to work in Wyoming in spite of leave. They sensed how much I loved it.” There were four of us crammed into one of this introduction. Lisa has moved around a bit in the years those plastic K-mart tents with no rain fly. Marisa was the Wyoming Outdoor since she first came to Wyoming, most We had two inches of standing water in Council’s lead attorney on many energy recently clerking for a judge in Anchorage, there. Hiking out, I tripped on a root and development issues in the Upper Green Alaska, but the circle closed this summer fell on my face. I never wanted to go camp- River Valley until her departure this past when she returned to assume the job of ing again.” winter. In this role, she was passionate, National Parks and Forest Director at the But something must of stuck with Andy. intelligent and tireless, and we’ve missed Wyoming Outdoor Council. He continued to participate in the camp’s her contributions “I interned at WOC two summers ago,” trips and gradually they became less of an since she left to Lisa says. “I have enjoyed this past year in unwelcome burden. By the time he got to pursue other Alaska, but it never felt like home the way high school, he was active in the outdoor endeavors. Marisa is Wyoming does. When I saw the job open- club and learning to climb. In 1985, he came currently working ing at WOC, I was thrilled.” to Wyoming to take a NOLS mountaineer- for a California As a student at the University of ing course. attorney on Wyoming, College of Law, Lisa focused on “My love for Wyoming started back Superfund issues environmental and natural resource law. in ’85 when I first came out here on a before heading off “My experiences living and working in NOLS course. I love the open spaces and to Switzerland this northwest Wyoming inspired my decision the wildness of the land, the deserts and summer. Her intel- to go to law school. I wanted to obtain the mountains.” Andy says. ligence and ingenuity recently earned her a the knowledge and skills necessary to advo- A mountaineer, rock climber, skier and highly competitive Fulbright Fellowship at cate for the protection of the wild places all-around outdoor enthusiast, Andy hopes the University of Geneva Institute for that mean so much to me.” to continue the Outdoor Council’s efforts International Studies. There she will be Lisa brings to her position a unique to reach out to new constituencies and focusing on climate change. blend of legal knowledge, an awareness build partnerships in unexpected places Marisa eventually will bring her of the many issues facing National Parks including in some of his own communities. knowledge back to the United States and Forests, and a strong commitment to “Climbers, bikers and others could be and undoubtedly will find a way to make Wyoming. She is familiar with Wyoming’s more active protecting the places where our planet more livable when she does. We backcountry, having trekked through many they recreate, but we need to reach out are happy to know that she will be working miles of it on foot and ski, and she has to them and let them know they can make on climate change because finding sustain- an intimate knowledge of its plants and a difference,” Andy says. able solutions to our environmental prob- animals after a couple of seasons as a field Andy, his wife Jacki Klancher, and their lems helps all of our efforts, even those botanist, a job managing Wind River Herbs’ brand new baby live in Lander. We wel- back here on the range. Tova Woyciechowicz lab and organic farm in Alpine, and time — PEOPLE come Andy and his family to the Wyoming in the field with her wildlife biologist Outdoor Council. Already his laugh can be husband Matthew. heard echoing through the office, and his “I am grateful to live in a place like energy and enthusiasm are a great addition Welcome New Wyoming where there are ecosystems that to the staff. remain relatively intact. I look forward to National Parks and working to help ensure that those systems Forests Director remain protected for people in the future to be awed by them as I was and still am,” Lisa Dardy McGee Returns to Geneva Bound she explains. ! Wyoming Outdoor Council Farewell to Marisa Martin - Lisa Dardy McGee’s first taste of Greater Yellowstone Program the West came during a summer spent Attorney scooping ice cream in Grand Canyon Traveling late at night with me on the National Park. Born and raised in highway between Muddy Gap and Lander, Cincinnati, Ohio, she was unprepared for Marisa Martin got her first Wyoming-style the grandeur, scale and color of the western welcome when we hit a bobcat. It wasn’t landscape. She spent five summers during just the fact that only one car passed us fol- and after college working in national parks, lowing the accident or the sadly unique first as a ranger intern in Yellowstone, and experience of seeing the grandeur of the then as a ranger naturalist in Grand Teton dead animal that gave her a sense that she’d National Park. hit the real frontier. Rather it was the fact “I have so many great memories of that our seasoned wildlife coordinator, those summers,” Lisa recounts. “I remem-

Summer 2005 Wyoming Outdoor Council Frontline Report 15

Ready, Set, Ride the Red! Out & About at the Saturday, September 17 County Fair

verybody loves a county fair: fry bread, rodeo and fast-flying anuga Jeff V Erides. The Wyoming Outdoor t’s that time of year again. Mark your calendars Council will be joining the fun at the now for our annual mountain bike ride in the om Darin T Fremont County Fair this summer and IRed Desert on September 17. Come on out and join us. Like last year, we’ll travel up to 35 miles we need your help! We'll be at the fair through the scenic desert, but there will be a number of route options for 10 hours a day from July 21 through varying skill levels. Snacks and refreshments will be provided at aid sta- tions and a beautiful T-shirt will be given to all participants. August 2, and we need volunteers to We are still working out the particulars of the route but work at our booth. Any time you can will send out a detailed itinerary to all of those who sign up. Pre-registration is required. To help cover our expenses, donate would help us fill our days. No the registration fee will be $25. experience needed. Please contact Tova Contact: or Andy at 307-332-7031 to sign up. Andy Blair, 307-332-7031 ext 13 Tova Woyciechowicz [email protected] 307-332-7031 ext 15 [email protected]

NON-PROFIT ORG. WYOMING U.S. POSTAGE P AID OUTDOOR PERMIT NO. 149 COUNCIL LANDER, WY 82520 262 Lincoln • Lander, WY 82520 Ph: (307) 332-7031 • Fax: (307) 332-6899 email: [email protected] web: www.wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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