protecting wild places and wildlife, for their sake – and ours November 2010 Melanie Finan

ELECTIONS BRING NEW CHALLENGES But when it comes to wilderness, politics is still local

n theory, wilderness is not a partisan issue. After each There’s no doubt that the recent elections have changed election we relearn that lesson in practice. the political landscape and introduced new challenges Wilderness is nonpartisan because, at its heart, it’s for the conservation community, both locally and nation- aI local matter. This place is special; we love it and we want ally. Overall, the climate in Washington is likely to be less to preserve it. It’s like working to improve your children’s wilderness-friendly. Come January, some new members school or the downtown core or a local arts organization – of Congress will replace some who won’t be returning. why should party affiliation enter into it? That means we’ll have to spend extra time educating the Of course, wilderness is political – it requires an act of newcomers on our issues, but it also offers an opportunity Congress, and that means persuading members who see to demonstrate the strong support in their districts for land things through their own party-political lenses. But even preservation. at the Congressional level, the old saw that “all politics is In this newsletter we consider the future of our work in local” still applies to landscape protection, for it behooves light of the new political realities. politicians of either party to champion a bill if a large But as we look ahead to 2011 and beyond, it’s worth majority of their constituents are asking for it. (And it remembering that landscape conservation is as much a behooves us conservationists to work with both parties; we “conservative” value as a “liberal” one. There are no political can’t afford to alienate half our potential allies.) strangers – only supporters we haven’t yet met.

WILDERNESS: THE NEXT GENERATION In this issue Hidden Gems: eyes on prize 2 Stella Shoemaker, daughter of WW Thompson Divide executive director transcends politics 3 Sloan Shoemaker, The next energy onslaught 3 displays a “Wild for Good” bumper sticker Naturalist Nights 2011 5 at Carbondale’s Polis’s bill: our analysis 7 Dandelion Day Summer 2010 in pictures 8-9 celebration. We now have free Hidden Gems The myth of the tinderbox 10 stickers as well – Wildlife bridge contest 12 see page 4. We love our new office! 13 Donor Hall of Fame 14 Melanie Finan Gems Campaign keeps its eyes on the prize n Sept. 30, the move it along a parallel OHidden Gems track in that chamber. Campaign passed its most While both of Colorado’s significant milestone yet Senators, Mark Udall and when Rep. Jared Polis Michael Bennet, have introduced the Eagle and indicated interest, neither Summit County Wilder- has yet indicated that ness Preservation Act he will sponsor Senate (HR 6280). legislation. Though the bill doesn’t This lengthy legislative include everything we timeline isn’t necessar- think deserves wilderness ily a bad thing: it gives protection, in the wake of the campaign a chance the Nov. 2 elections it’s to work through a few looking like a wise move remaining issues on omit- ted areas, such as Basalt on Rep. Polis’s part. Asher Jonathan Mountain, and to advo- Focusing on the least Flanked by staff and Hidden Gems campaigners, Rep. Jared Polis holds cate that they be added controversial areas may a copy of his wilderness bill moments before introducing it in the House back (in some form) into be the very thing that of Representatives. the bill. maximizes the chance of getting significant wilderness legislation Hidden Gems proposal into two parts, 3rd District dilemmas passed in the next Congress. along Congressional district lines. The From the start, Rep. Salazar was In the 3rd Congressional District, proposal straddles Rep. Polis’s 2nd more cautious, requiring a very high on the other hand, the victory of Scott District (Eagle and Summit counties) level of community consensus on the Tipton over incumbent John Salazar and outgoing Rep. Salazar’s 3rd District proposal. That caution didn’t help him means the campaign will have some (Pitkin, Gunnison and Garfield coun- get re-elected, but it did impose a help- extra groundwork to lay before it sees ties). The decoupling was a recognition ful discipline on the campaign. new wilderness in Pitkin, Garfield and that the two Congressmen had to fol- The 3rd Congressional District is po- Gunnison counties. low their separate political destinies. litically very mixed, with roughly even Meanwhile, the Democrats’ loss of Rep. Polis signaled that he was eager numbers of Democrats, Republicans the House of Representatives means the to move quickly on wilderness: he ac- and independents. Whoever represents lame duck session of Congress may be cepted the campaign’s proposal for his it must answer to that diverse constitu- the only hope for a backlog of wilder- district in March, held public hearings ency: Rep. Salazar, a Democrat, had ness bills that many representatives are in June, floated draft legislation before to hew close to the center, and Repre- anxious to pass before the current Con- the August recess, and formally intro- sentative-elect Tipton, a Republican, gress adjourns. We’re hoping against duced his bill (see analysis on page 7) in will probably find himself doing the hope – it’s an outside chance, admit- late September. same. Thus all the time and energy the tedly – that new wilderness, including Given the bill’s introduction so late campaign spent satisfying the outgoing some Hidden Gems areas, could get in the year, new legislation will likely Democrat’s requirements ought to go swept up in this tide and win designa- have to be reintroduced when the next a long way toward making it acceptable tion before the end of this year. Congress convenes. That will set in mo- to the incoming Republican. Clearly, the political winds are not all tion a process of hearings and markups The loss of Rep. Salazar does pose blowing in the same direction. before the bill is ready to pass out of a challenge, though, if only because it committee and then await the arrival means starting a new dialogue with his Polis bill’s prospects of an appropriate legislative vehicle to successor. We and our partners look As you may recall, the campaign be hitched to. At the same time, the bill decided earlier this year to divide the will need to attract a Senate sponsor to CONTINUED ON pagE 4

2 Wilderness Works November 2010 Thompson Divide transcends politics any of us, when we learned that (WW’s national council) at Ellen MRep. John Salazar had lost his Hunt’s ranch in North Thompson re-election bid, thought first of the Creek in 2008. They’ve done a fantastic Thompson Divide Coalition. That most job of building just about 100-percent grassroots of organizations, TDC has consensus around the proposition that spent nearly two years patiently work- the Thompson Divide landscape is too ing to protect 200,000 acres of public special to drill. If successful, their strat- land west of the Crystal River from egy will provide crucial backstop pro- creeping gas development, and had tection for lands that had to be dropped recently received a commitment from from the Hidden Gems wilderness Rep. Salazar to introduce legislation. proposal. But while the loss of its Congress- At John Salazar’s request, TDC ional sponsor is certainly a setback, the secured resolutions of support from Coalition has such broad community nearly every elected body in the area, support and downright good karma including the key counties of Garfield, that it seems destined to prevail in any Pitkin and Gunnison. In September, political circumstance. Rep. Salazar publicly pledged to intro-

We at the Wilderness Workshop are duce legislation in the next session of Alison Galensky/CNE proud of this feisty band of citizens, Congress to withdraw the TDC area The Thompson Divide Coalition is seeking who as it happens got their start at a to protect about 200,000 acres, mostly west gathering of the Maroon Bells Circle CONTINUED ON pagE 9 of Hwy 133.

Energy: bracing for the next onslaught ven before the elections, there The presumptive new chair of the We expect the next two years to be a Ewere signs of a renewed energy House Natural Resources Committee, lot like 2001-08, with WW staff scram- boom on the Western Slope. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), lost no time bling to protect our most ecologically Gas prices in the region have risen in issuing a statement that his priori- sensitive areas from an endless stream from 2009 lows, and Garfield County ties will be creating jobs and increasing of proposed energy projects. Com- is on track in 2010 to issue its third- energy production on public lands. pounding the problem, the election of highest number of drilling permits ever Observers expect the next Congress to Scott Tipton as Representative in the – more than any other county in the shift toward a “drill baby drill” agenda, 3rd Congressional District is bound to state. Both these trends are fueled by working to expedite the development slow the process of getting new wilder- the recent construction of new regional of everything from natural gas to oil ness designated in Pitkin, Garfield and pipelines, giving gas companies better shale. Summit counties – and the longer it access to national markets. The administration, grappling with takes to get those areas permanently And in another troubling develop- its own political calculus, may play protected, the longer we’ll have to ment, in October the BLM granted along. In his first public remarks after keep defending them with finger-in- Gunnison Energy permission (over our the elections, President Obama ex- the-dike defensive tactics. objection) to drill the first wells in the tended an olive branch to Republicans But tempting as it may be to blame Clear Fork area exploring the Mancos by offering to work together to develop politicians for all this, the root of shale formation – potentially a whole natural gas. (The energy industry inter- the problem lies closer to home: our new gas play at nearly twice the depth preted his remarks to refer specifically unsustainable demand for energy is of current drilling in the area. to shale gas – the same stuff that lies driving an increasingly desperate search The imminent shift to a Republican- 10,000 feet under large parts of the run Congress has us bracing for more. Western Slope.) CONTINUED ON pagE 11

Wilderness Works November 2010 3 Gems: eyes on the prize CONTINUED frOm pagE 2 forward to working with Scott Tipton this thoroughly vetted and popular on the Hidden Gems proposal, but we proposal. recognize that it probably won’t rise to the top of his to-do list until we’ve Lame-duck long shot demonstrated to him that his constitu- There is, at least in theory, a ents want it in electorally compelling third route to wilderness designa- numbers. tion for some of the Gems. Rep. Part of that demonstration must Diana DeGette’s Colorado Wil- come by way of the counties. In Pitkin derness Act includes several of County, as of this writing, the commis- the areas: Bull Gulch and Castle sioners still look likely to pass a resolu- Peak north of I-70, Assignation tion in support of the Hidden Gems. Ridge/Thompson Creek west However, the dynamics have changed of Carbondale, Eagle Mountain in Gunnison County, where incumbent in Old Snowmass, and the West commissioner Jim Starr was unseated Elks and Powderhorn additions by outspoken Gems critic Phil Cham- in Gunnison County. While berland. The Gunnison commissioners this overlap sometimes leads had been considering holding a hearing to confusion in media reports, on the Hidden Gems proposal later this for the most part it’s a good year, but it remains to be seen whether redundancy and we’re grateful to The first page of Rep. Polis’s that will still happen. In any case, the Rep. DeGette for her work on behalf of Eagle and Summit County Wilderness campaign will work with the current wilderness. Preservation Act. and future commissioners to secure Gunnison County’s endorsement of CONTINUED ON pagE 6

Hidden Gems 2.0: perception correction he Hidden Gems Campaign has spent more than a The ads use bold images, factual copy and the taglines Tyear negotiating with user groups and trimming the “Reworked and Ready To Go” and “See What’s Changed” proposal to the point that what remains is to communicate the extent of the com- nearly conflict-free. In fact, the vast ma- promises the campaign has already jority of conflicts have been resolved made to accommodate recreational for several months now, and the interests. main work since then in Pitkin, Also in September, the cam- Garfield and Gunnison counties paign came out with the instantly has been to overcome the out- popular “I (Heart) Hidden Gems” dated perception of controversy. bumper stickers, which can now In September, with rapid- be seen on everything from pickup response funding from Kelly trucks to baby carriages. (Contact the and Denis O’Donovan and the John Wilderness Workshop office to get yours.) McBride family, the campaign launched Hid- It’s all paying off. A good benchmark of the cam- den Gems 2.0, a series of ads and web features to coun- paign’s growing momentum: the number of signers of the teract misinformation that had begun to take on a life of Hidden Gems Open Letter of Support has grown from its own in word of mouth and letters to the editor. about 3,000 in June to over 5,000 to date.

4 Wilderness Works November 2010 Nights at ACES & Third Street Center 2011 All presentations are free. Shows are Thursday evenings at ACES, starting at 7:30, and every other Wednesday at TSC, starting at 5:30.

Freedom to Roam - 13 (Aspen) Bird Celebrities of the Roaring Jan. 19 & 20 2 (Carbondale) & 3 (Aspen) Beetles Fork Valley – USFS scientist Kim Potter, and Fire and Climate Change, Oh my! – photographer Dick Filby & birder Al Levantin Dr. Jessica Clament, Colorado Forest 19 (Carbondale) & 20 (Aspen) Freedom Restoration Institute to Roam: A New Model for Landscape 10 (Aspen) Prehistoric Creatures of the Protection – Jeffrey Parrish, director of Roaring Fork Valley – Presenter TBD Freedom to Roam 16 (Carbondale) & 17 (Aspen) Marmots 27 (Aspen) Water in the West – Ken Roadless - Feb. 2 & 3 Like it Hot: How Climate Change Affects Neubecker, former President, Colorado Marmot Survival – Dr. Dan Blumstein, Trout Unlimited chair Dept. of Ecology and Biology, UCLA and leading marmot expert 24 (Aspen) Mountain Lions: The Impact of Hunting on Puma 2 (Carbondale) & 3 (Aspen) Roadless: One Man’s Populations on the Uncompahgre Search for America’s Least Known Public Lands – Plateau – Ken Logan, Colorado Division author/photographer Nelson Guda* Mountain Lions - Mar. 24 of Wildlife 10 (Aspen) White Nose Bat Syndrome – White 30 (Carbondale) & 31 (Aspen) River National Forest scientist Phil Nyland Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom – PBS “Nature” documentary and Q&A with 16 (Carbondale) & 17 (Aspen) Gasland – writer/producer Gianna Savoie Acclaimed documentary about the impacts of natural gas drilling, with discussion to follow * An exhibit of Nelson Guda’s photographs will open 24 (Aspen) 300,500 Permanant Green Jobs: at the Third Street Center on Friday, Feb. 4. For details, Why Europe Isn’t Afraid of Climate Policy and please visit our website (wildernessworkshop.org) or We Shouldn’t Be Either – Piper Foster, director sign up for our email alerts. of the Sopris Foundation Wolverines - Mar. 30 & 31

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

Schedule subject to change. Make sure you’re on our email list to receive the latest updates! being downright hostile to wilderness legislation – yet George W. Bush signed Gems: eyes on the prize 13 wilderness bills totaling almost 2.5 CONTINUED frOm pagE 4 million acres. The Colorado Wilderness Act has There could be more procedural Wilderness campaigns are democ- so far had a hard time getting traction, hurdles, more attempts to water down racy in action. We, the people, bring for various political reasons, but it does and whittle away, and more legislative them to our elected representatives. We have one very important thing going for threats to the very areas we’re trying to write emails, we speak out at meetings, it: unlike Rep. Polis’s bill, it’s already protect. we stand in front of maps at farmers’ had a hearing in the House Natural But let’s put it in perspective. Get- markets, we educate and win over our Resources Committee, and that gives ting wilderness done is a struggle in the friends and neighbors one at a time. We it a shot at being included if there’s a best of times – and in the other times, grow in numbers and form a parade last-minute public-lands omnibus bill. which is most of the time, it’s still do- that our leaders want to get in front of. It’s something of a Hail Mary pass, but able. Elections change only the decision- Rep. DeGette, who sits on the commit- Consider the Reagan administration. makers, not the process. tee, is highly motivated to try to make Remember James Watt? Yet 43 wilder- So keep doing what you’ve been do- it happen before the chairmanship ness bills were passed, protecting 10 ing. Keep going out into these special changes hands million acres, during that eight-year places and learning about them and period. falling in love with them. Keep infect- We, the people More recently, we recall the Bush ing others with your enthusiasm. And No doubt about it, the Hidden II years as being a tough time for the keep your eyes on the prize – a legacy Gems Campaign will face a somewhat environment, with Natural Resources of lands that are permanently protected steeper climb in the next Congress. Committee chairman Richard Pombo for the life that is to come.

Campaign profile: Susie Kincade sk Susie Kincade why she got Last year, when the Hidden Gems Ainvolved with the Hidden Gems Campaign needed an organizer for Eagle Wilderness Campaign, and she’ll tell you County, Susie enthusiastically signed on. that Margaret Mead inspired her with the Living in the county for nearly 30 years idea that a small group really can change has given her a long view and extensive the world; that she believes in Gandhi’s contacts throughout the community. philosophy to be the change we want to “I love our wild landscapes, but sadly, see; and that she deeply holds the Native I’ve seen a whole lot of our wilderness American belief that everything is con- disappear due to human encroachment,” nected. Working to protect our last wild she says. “I feel that we can – and must – places is in perfect alignment with her steward the lands in a way that is sustain- core values. able for the entire web of life here.

A Vail Valley resident since 1981, Susie Patsy Batchelder “I tell people, ‘This isn’t about you has worked in public relations for Vail Susie in her element. and me; it’s about leaving wild lands, and Beaver Creek and has run her own wildlife, and abundant resources for marketing firm. She cut her teeth on wilderness issues in future generations.’ People respond to that, and when the late 1980s as a member of the local opposition group we actually sit down together and look at maps, they find that successfully fought the proposed Adam’s Rib Resort, there are very few conflicts.” 15 miles south of Eagle, and that eventually turned what Susie gives back to her community by running The would have been the base area into Sylvan Lake State Chrysalis Project, a girls’ empowerment program. When Park. (The slopes where the ski runs would have been are not working, you’ll find her rafting a whitewater river or now part of the proposed Adam Mountain Wilderness.) hiking the backcountry.

6 Wilderness Works November 2010 Rep. Polis’s wilderness bill: our analysis ep. Jared Polis’s Eagle and Summit tion. The bill would establish six training (plus a possible mountain- RCounty Wilderness Preservation new standalone Wilderness Areas biking corridor through the Red Act (H.R. 6280) is an awesome first (Adam Mountain, Bull Gulch, Table area that we aren’t so thrilled legislative step in protecting the Hid- Castle Peak, Hoosier Ridge, about). The Colorado Army Na- den Gems areas in those counties. We Tenmile, Williams Fork) and eight tional Guard’s High Altitude Avia- wholeheartedly support it, and while it additions to existing Wildernesses tion Training Site, which operates didn’t include all that we proposed due (Acorn Creek, Ptarmigan A, Ute out of the Eagle County Airport, to unavoidable political realities, we Pass, Freeman Creek, Spraddle conducts training flights in the look forward to ongoing work with the Creek, No Name, West Lake Creek Red Table, Castle Peak and Pisgah Congressman on the rest of the Gems and Woods Lake). Mountain proposal areas. SMA sta- that didn’t make it in. ™ 73,000 acres of “Special Manage- tus is a compromise that provides Rep. Polis’s bill protects 166,000 ment Areas,” providing wilderness- a win-win for our troops and for acres in the following designations: caliber landscape protection with landscape protection; politically, ™ 82,000 acres of Wilderness – the the sole exception of allowing this is where the bill needs to be. gold standard of landscape protec- continued military helicopter CONTINUED ON NEXT pagE

COMPARISON: REP. POLIS’S BILL & THE HIDDEN GEMS In this map, existing wilderness areas are indicated in green. Areas included in Rep. Polis’s Eagle and Summit County Wilderness Preservation Act are in other solid colors. Hidden Gems areas that aren’t currently in Rep. Polis’s bill are shown in cross-hatching. Richard Compton/EcoGraphics

Wilderness Works November 2010 7 ted areas – notably Basalt Mountain and significant portion of Basalt Mountain Rep. Polis’s wilderness bill the Lower Piney/Crazy Horse Creek/ can make it back into the bill. Thompson Divide Coalition CONTINUED frOm prEVIOUS pAGE Elliott Ridge complex – he’ll be open to Mountain-biking groups are some- CONTINUED frOm pAGE 3 revisiting them in the next Congress. In what divided on the Eagle and Summit ™ The 6,000-acre Porcupine Gulch motorized travel but would allow other words, this is a bird-in-the-hand County bill. The International Moun- from future leasing. We hope TDC succeeds in get- Of course, that was contingent on Special Protection Area – another mountain biking and wildfire/insect bill with the possibility of a two-in-the- tain Biking Association immediately ting our new Congressman on board, Salazar’s being re-elected. Since his because the pressure to drill that ad-hoc designation providing near- treatments. bush revision. announced its support – albeit with defeat, there’s been much speculation landscape is only going to increase. The Wilderness protection, but allowing The map on page 7 shows how Rep. Rep. Polis’s bill has been crafted to the caveat that it’s going to continue about what his successor, Congress- Bull Mountain Pipeline – which WW for a potential high-speed fixed- Polis’s legislation compares with the exclude significant conflicts with motor- lobbying Rep. Polis to trim away much man-elect Scott Tipton, will make of fought, unsuccessfully, in 2008 – cuts guideway system alongside I-70 and Hidden Gems proposal for the 2nd Con- ized user groups (snowmobilers, dirt of the Spraddle Creek area, just north TDC. across its western flank, ready to draw a possible third bore at the Eisen- gressional District. bikers, ATV riders). Wildfire concerns of Vail, to accommodate a network of hower Tunnel. Protecting the Thompson Divide gas from any wells drilled in the area. You may note that while the Hidden were largely addressed either by bound- bandit trails. (The campaign will push would appear to be the ideal conserva- Getting legislation to withdraw the ™ 5,000 acres of “Companion Areas” Gems Campaign proposed 240,000 ary adjustments or reaffirmation of back on this because it would cut the tion issue for a Republican to take on. Thompson Divide from future gas leas- – parcels that weren’t part of the acres for wilderness designation in existing policy that allows aggressive Spraddle Creek addition nearly in half.) TDC has managed to forge an across- ing is only half the battle. The other, Hidden Gems proposal but were Eagle and Summit Counties, Rep. Polis’ firefighting in wilderness. The one ex- The Summit County Fat Tire Society is the-board coalition of interests, includ- arguably more urgent half is to retire added at the request of the Summit bill addresses only 166,000 acres. The ception is Basalt Mountain, which was holding out for more companion area ing ranchers, snowmobilers and some the 81 leases that already checkerboard County mountain biking community. Congressman deliberately chose to not included in this bill due to objections acres to be included – something we decidedly conservative county commis- the land. TDC is in discussions with at The two companion areas adjacent introduce an initial package that was as by the Basalt Fire Department that we could certainly support, and Rep. Polis sioners. TDC has said from day one that least some of the leaseholders, but isn’t to the Hoosier Ridge and Tenmile controversy-free as possible, but he has are still trying to understand. The Hid- says he is open to the idea. it would fully respect existing rights ready to reveal anything about those areas would protect quiet back- indicated that if Gems campaigners can den Gems Campaign is confident that and work to retire leases only from country recreation by prohibiting resolve outstanding issues on the omit- a middle ground can be reached and a willing sellers. CONTINUED ON NEXT pAGE

Summer 2010 in pictures Clockwise from right: Chuck and Meredith Ogilby, hosts of our summer Maroon Bells Circle gathering at their wonderful home at the edge of the proposed Assig- nation Ridge Wilderness; Sloan Shoemaker speaking after Aspen Filmfest’s special screening of “127 Hours,” the new Danny Boyle film based on WW board member Aron Ralston’s story; Charlie Hopton, Jessica and Leo Ralston, Molly Bedell, Ginni Galicinao and Aron Ralston at the post-screening reception that Molly hosted for WW; Doris Downey and Dee Malone hiking above the Ogilbys’; contra dancing at the Wilderness Picnic; a Hidden Gems hike up to Red Table; enjoying the view from Castle Peak; catching the moonrise in Hay Park; Collin Stewart tabling for the Hidden Gems Campaign at the Carbondale Farmers’ Market; atop Mount

Thomas, high point of the Red Table massif. Dave Reed Melanie Finan Michael Gorman Douglas Stewart Collin Stewart Collin Stewart Douglas Stewart Dave Reed Peter Hart Aron Ralston

8 Wilderness Works November 2010 Wilderness Works November 2010 9 ted areas – notably Basalt Mountain and significant portion of Basalt Mountain Rep. Polis’s wilderness bill the Lower Piney/Crazy Horse Creek/ can make it back into the bill. Thompson Divide Coalition CONTINUED frOm prEVIOUS pAGE Elliott Ridge complex – he’ll be open to Mountain-biking groups are some- CONTINUED frOm pAGE 3 revisiting them in the next Congress. In what divided on the Eagle and Summit ™ The 6,000-acre Porcupine Gulch motorized travel but would allow other words, this is a bird-in-the-hand County bill. The International Moun- from future leasing. We hope TDC succeeds in get- Of course, that was contingent on Special Protection Area – another mountain biking and wildfire/insect bill with the possibility of a two-in-the- tain Biking Association immediately ting our new Congressman on board, Salazar’s being re-elected. Since his because the pressure to drill that ad-hoc designation providing near- treatments. bush revision. announced its support – albeit with defeat, there’s been much speculation landscape is only going to increase. The Wilderness protection, but allowing The map on page 7 shows how Rep. Rep. Polis’s bill has been crafted to the caveat that it’s going to continue about what his successor, Congress- Bull Mountain Pipeline – which WW for a potential high-speed fixed- Polis’s legislation compares with the exclude significant conflicts with motor- lobbying Rep. Polis to trim away much man-elect Scott Tipton, will make of fought, unsuccessfully, in 2008 – cuts guideway system alongside I-70 and Hidden Gems proposal for the 2nd Con- ized user groups (snowmobilers, dirt of the Spraddle Creek area, just north TDC. across its western flank, ready to draw a possible third bore at the Eisen- gressional District. bikers, ATV riders). Wildfire concerns of Vail, to accommodate a network of hower Tunnel. Protecting the Thompson Divide gas from any wells drilled in the area. You may note that while the Hidden were largely addressed either by bound- bandit trails. (The campaign will push would appear to be the ideal conserva- Getting legislation to withdraw the ™ 5,000 acres of “Companion Areas” Gems Campaign proposed 240,000 ary adjustments or reaffirmation of back on this because it would cut the tion issue for a Republican to take on. Thompson Divide from future gas leas- – parcels that weren’t part of the acres for wilderness designation in existing policy that allows aggressive Spraddle Creek addition nearly in half.) TDC has managed to forge an across- ing is only half the battle. The other, Hidden Gems proposal but were Eagle and Summit Counties, Rep. Polis’ firefighting in wilderness. The one ex- The Summit County Fat Tire Society is the-board coalition of interests, includ- arguably more urgent half is to retire added at the request of the Summit bill addresses only 166,000 acres. The ception is Basalt Mountain, which was holding out for more companion area ing ranchers, snowmobilers and some the 81 leases that already checkerboard County mountain biking community. Congressman deliberately chose to not included in this bill due to objections acres to be included – something we decidedly conservative county commis- the land. TDC is in discussions with at The two companion areas adjacent introduce an initial package that was as by the Basalt Fire Department that we could certainly support, and Rep. Polis sioners. TDC has said from day one that least some of the leaseholders, but isn’t to the Hoosier Ridge and Tenmile controversy-free as possible, but he has are still trying to understand. The Hid- says he is open to the idea. it would fully respect existing rights ready to reveal anything about those areas would protect quiet back- indicated that if Gems campaigners can den Gems Campaign is confident that and work to retire leases only from country recreation by prohibiting resolve outstanding issues on the omit- a middle ground can be reached and a willing sellers. CONTINUED ON NEXT pAGE

Summer 2010 in pictures Clockwise from right: Chuck and Meredith Ogilby, hosts of our summer Maroon Bells Circle gathering at their wonderful home at the edge of the proposed Assig- nation Ridge Wilderness; Sloan Shoemaker speaking after Aspen Filmfest’s special screening of “127 Hours,” the new Danny Boyle film based on WW board member Aron Ralston’s story; Charlie Hopton, Jessica and Leo Ralston, Molly Bedell, Ginni Galicinao and Aron Ralston at the post-screening reception that Molly hosted for WW; Doris Downey and Dee Malone hiking above the Ogilbys’; contra dancing at the Wilderness Picnic; a Hidden Gems hike up to Red Table; enjoying the view from Castle Peak; catching the moonrise in Hay Park; Collin Stewart tabling for the Hidden Gems Campaign at the Carbondale Farmers’ Market; atop Mount

Thomas, high point of the Red Table massif. Dave Reed Melanie Finan Michael Gorman Douglas Stewart Collin Stewart Collin Stewart Douglas Stewart Dave Reed Peter Hart Aron Ralston

8 Wilderness Works November 2010 Wilderness Works November 2010 9 (a practice known as “unitization”). WW staff attorney Peter Hart Thompson Divide Coalition sits on TDC’s steering com- CONTINUED frOm prEVIOUS pagE mittee and continues to talks. In all likelihood the end result it’s impossible to know advise the Coalition will be an agreement to buy out the whether the gas compa- on the many techni- leaseholders, necessitating a substantial nies plan to drill at the cal issues before it. fundraising effort to make the pur- last minute or let the We urge everyone chase. leases expire. If a compa- who cares about the Many of the existing leases were is- ny drills a single produc- health of the Thompson sued in 2003, which means they’re set ing well, it can extend the Divide area to join TDC to expire in 2013. That deadline ups lease indefinitely and even by going to savethompson- the ante in the negotiations, because merge it with surrounding leases divide.org. The myth of the beetle-kill tinderbox t’s become common in the past few needles are chock full of highly flam- – and, since January, as board presi- Iyears to see grim-faced politicians mable oils. Those oils begin to break dent. The CBBC has helped win $40 posing for photo ops in front of beetle- down as the needles die and turn red – million for beetle-mitigation projects in killed forests, or to hear local fire chiefs and when the needles fall off they cease the state, prioritizing treatments where hyperventilating about the danger of to function as tinder altogether, and the they’ll do the most good. beetle-induced wildfires. Beetles and standing dead trees are actually harder There are definitely places that need fire now loom in the popular imagina- to catch fire. treatment. Beetle-killed trees quickly tion like two horsemen of the apoca- We were happy to note that this lose their structural integrity and begin lypse, one following inexorably behind most recent study was widely reported, falling over within two to five years. the other. and that more and more fire officials With 3.5 million National Forest acres But as with so many issues these are calling for mitigation projects and affected by beetles, a bunch of trees days, that popular narrative is at odds funding to be based on the science, are going to be falling on forest roads, with the science. Several studies have rather than on politics. campgrounds, powerlines, trails and suggested that beetle-killed trees aren’t While politicians too often are drawn perhaps your head. That’s why Sloan has any more flammable than healthy ones, toward big, expensive projects that traveled to Washington, DC twice with and in fact are less fire-prone after their involve logging large swaths of dead the CBBC to pitch legislators and For- needles have fallen off. trees in the backcountry, the scientists est Service brass for funds to mitigate The latest study to corroborate are telling us that that won’t help, and these hazard trees, preserving access these findings, released in September, that what we need to be doing instead while making our public lands safe for is based on an analysis of fuel loads is focusing on thinning all trees – live the public. in beetle-killed forests in the greater ones as well as dead – in the narrow ig- One more thing about the science. Yellowstone area, which was then nition zone close to homes and critical Beetle outbreaks and wildfires are natu- correlated with recent fire activity. infrastructure. That’s a treatment that ral, cyclical phenomena in the Rocky Researchers from the University of actually reduces fire hazard, and it’s Mountain West that have been occur- Wisconsin and the National Park Ser- also less ecologically invasive. ring at unnatural rates in recent years. vice found that the assumption that red In other words, we’re better off What looks like a cause-and-effect or gray trees pose more of a fire hazard adapting our communities to the eco- relationship is likely a correlative one, just doesn’t hold up. system, rather than trying to engineer with both increases being driven by Though it seems counterintuitive, the forest to make it safer for us. climate change. So if we’re truly paying the result makes sense when you look WW executive director Sloan Shoe- attention to the science, we’ll be less more closely at the way lodgepole pines maker has been working on this issue worried about trying to prevent beetle- (the species most affected by mountain for the past five years as a member of caused fires – and a lot more worried pine beetles) burn. When green, their the Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative about stopping climate change.

10 Wilderness Works November 2010 Peaks Roadless Area, a little-visited, wildlife-rich bastion south of Silt that Bracing for the next onslaught we’ve been working to protect, with CONTINUED frOm pagE 3 only partial success, for several years. for new supplies, of any type, in every that the EIS examine a scenario of no The other four were in roadless areas in location. further leasing at all – and in scenarios the Routt National Forest, near Steam- Every two years we make a big show that involve more leasing, that they boat. of voting for our elected The larger issue at stake officials, but the votes that here is that the Forest really add up are the ones Service committed not to we cast every day through allow new leases in roadless our purchases and choices. areas while the Colorado If we get the government Roadless Rule is still be- we deserve, then that’s ing formulated, and we’re how. holding them to it. (The Looking on the bright leases are on Forest Ser- side, we don’t have to wait vice land, but it’s the BLM another two years to start that auctions the mineral making different choices. rights.) Although the BLM insists the five leases have Setting the sideboards been only temporarily on drilling Dave Reed withdrawn, and could be Here’s some good news. brought back for auction at After years of nagging by A group of conservation groups, including WW, won a reprieve from leasing for the Mamm Peaks Roadless Area, south of Silt, in industry request, we hope WW, the White River the BLM’s November quarterly auction. that our challenge will keep National Forest has finally all further roadless leases faced up to the fact that it off the block until the Colo- needs to revise how it approaches leas- include a blanket prohibition on drilling rado Rule is finalized. ing forest land for energy development, in federally inventoried roadless areas and has begun preparing a new Oil and in the entire Thompson Divide Roan heads back to court & Gas Leasing Environmental Impact landscape. We also called for the EIS to On another front, settlement discus- Statement (EIS). fully consider impacts on air and water, sions over drilling the Roan Plateau This document will serve as the wildlife habitat, endangered species, have broken down, and the case has blueprint for all energy development and human health. been sent back to the judge. A ruling is on the Forest for the coming 15-20 “To a certain extent we’re asking the likely several months off. years. The old version was written in agency to do what they don’t know Despite overwhelming public sup- 1993, when it predicted 23 wells over how to do,” notes WW’s Peter Hart. port for protecting the Roan, in 2008 20 years (we’re now at 80, with the “But the law requires it, public health the Bush Administration leased every potential of another 1,000 in coming demands it, and we’re the impetus for acre of public land on and around the years). the agency to figure out how to do it. Plateau for oil and gas development. As is required with EIS’s, the For- We’re here to help.” WW joined nine other conservation est Service started with “scoping,” the groups in suing the Department of process of figuring out the range of is- Mamm leases deferred Interior over the decision, and entered sues the document should address. This WW was part of a group of six into court-ordered settlement talks in was our opportunity to make sure the conservation groups that chalked up a 2009. agency considers all the environmen- potential victory by forcing the BLM The Roan Plateau is one of Colo- tally important angles, and we did that to pull five proposed leases in roadless rado’s top areas for biological diversity in detailed comments that we submit- areas from its Nov. 10 quarterly lease due to its richness of species, rare ted in July. auction. plants, pure strains of Colorado River Most significantly, we recommended One of the leases was in the Mamm cutthroat trout and unique ecosystems.

Wilderness Works November 2010 11 Firms competing to design Vail wildlife bridge he dream of building by vehicles there in recent Ta wildlife-only bridge years), and reconnecting the over I-70 lives on – and now habitat on both sides of the it’s the subject of an interna- interstate will help ensure tional design competition. continued interbreeding and In late September, five genetic diversity. Addition- design teams from North ally, it’s a location where ani- America and Europe con- mal access to the bridge will verged on West Vail Pass to never be cut off, thanks to visit the site of the potential both sides of the highway be- bridge, which WW and the ing Forest Service property. Southern Rockies Ecosystem Our hope is that an overpass Project (now a part of the in this high-profile location Center for Native Ecosys- will create public support

tems) first proposed in 2005. Clevenger Tony for many more structures The five are the finalists throughout the state. A wildlife bridge over I-70 would have to be designed to span six in the ARC International lanes and would cost much more than this one in Banff; a new The big hurdle to con- Wildlife Crossing Design competition may generate more efficient designs. structing such a bridge, of Competition, which selected course, is money. A structure Vail Pass from among two dozen sites sponsors of the design competition. based on designs pioneered in Canada’s in the United States and Canada as the In 2006, with our help, CDOT Banff National Park, configured to location for the prototype crossing. received a federal appropriation of span a potential six lanes of I-70, could The winner of the juried competi- $420,000 to perform preliminary engi- cost as much as $12 million – that’s a tion will be announced in January at a neering and environmental assessments pretty big tab in an era of government transportation gathering of the National of the West Vail Pass wildlife bridge. belt-tightening. Organizers of the ARC Academy of Sciences in Washington. With that study complete, the project competition hope that it will inspire I-70 is often called the Berlin Wall to is now ready for the design phase. new design concepts that cost less to Colorado’s wildlife, because it presents We and our partners homed in on build and work better for the Vail Pass an almost impassable barrier to ani- the West Vail Pass location early on site. mals migrating between the southern because it’s a choke point along a criti- And we’re hoping that if they design and northern parts of the state. There cal wildlife migration corridor (two it, the funding to build it will come. are several points where wildlife can reintroduced lynx have been killed go under the highway, but they’re not always located where animals tradition- ally want to cross. Plus, some species, notably lynx and moose, prefer to stay The legacy continues aboveground. e’re more than pleased to announce that Cici Fox The Colorado Department of Whas joined the Wilderness Workshop’s board of Transportation has a natural interest in directors. the subject, given that collisions with Cici is the daughter of the late Dottie Fox, co-founder of wildlife pose a significant danger for WW and one of the grand dames of the wilderness move- highway users. Nationwide, vehicle- ment, so her joining our board marks a fitting passing of the animal collisions are estimated to cause torch to the next generation of wilderness leaders. 210 human fatalities, 29,000 human Cici is an accomplished artist, like her mother, and is injuries and $1 billion in property dam- looking forward to playing an active role in WW’s Artist in age annually, according to the Western Wilderness program. Transportation Institute, one of the Cici Fox

12 Wilderness Works November 2010 We love our new office (and kitchen table)! t long last, the Wilder- to our new office. (If you Aness Workshop has an haven’t yet made a gift, there’s office worthy of its name. still time!) Those of you who’ve had In the meantime, we’d like the chance to visit us at our to express our great grati- new digs in Carbondale’s tude to the following gener- Third Street Center can ous Kitchen Table Campaign attest that it’s a sweet space. donors: There are beautiful clean Anonymous walls where we’re finally Diana Beuttas able to hang our grow- Chelsea and James Brundige ing collection of Artist in Ann Harvey and Mike Wilderness works, a proper Campbell entryway, tons of storage Beth Cashdan and Paul space, and best of all, a Dave Reed D’Amato dedicated production room: WW office assistant Melissa Nelson tidies the kitchen table. Beth Fergus the literal workshop where Gina Berko and David we produce maps and other materials opening in June, the community non- Fleisher for our campaigns. profit center, reclaimed from a former Doug Graybeal Taking pride of place in the produc- elementary school building, has blos- Hal Harvey tion room is what we fondly call the somed into a place of infectious energy David Hyman and “kitchen table” – a custom-designed and still-unplumbed possibilities. If you Barbara Reid work surface with map-storage draw- haven’t yet stopped by, do so with all Pete Kolbenschlag ers that’s the modern equivalent of the haste. Everett Peirce kitchen table where our founders first In the new year we plan to dedicate Hal Sundin spread out their maps. a plaque honoring donors of $1,000 or Karin and Harry Teague And then there’s the vibrancy of the more to our Kitchen Table Campaign, Lewis Teague Third Street Center itself. Since its which is helping to finance the finishes King Woodward

Please remember WW in your yearend giving hank you for your past support When you open it up and breathe Tof the Wilderness Workshop. We the heady scent of that little sprig, hope you’ll consider making a special stimulating fond memories of back- yearend gift to WW again this year. country adventures in your brain’s You’ll soon receive your annual limbic system, please heed the call fundraising appeal from WW – the and make a gift to the organization one with the Dottie Fox card and the that’s working to keep our back- red-ribboned evergreen sprig inside. country as is. Thank you! Dottie Fox

Wilderness Works November 2010 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 (*).

$100,000+ Hal Harvey, in honor of Connie Elizabeth Fergus Don Birnkrant Felicity Huffman Harvey Phil and Gail Holstein Tamara Tormohlen and Marc in memory of $50,000-99,999 Juliane Heyman Charles Hopton, Breslin Judy Hill Lovins and Amory Dr. Edgar Wayburn Trish Chew Adam and Melony Lewis Lovins Barbara Reid and David Hyman R. Barry Crook $10,000-49,999 Ann Nichols Katie Kitchen and Paul Kovach Karen and Yves Delepine* Jessica and Aron Ralston Wyly Fund of Communities KUUR* Marj Perry and Bill Fales $5,000-9,999 Foundation of Texas Ford and Susan Schumann Suzanne Farver Molly and Tom Bedell The Susan Christine O’Neal Wesley Segelke*, in memory of Gina Berko and David Fleisher Andy and Muffy DiSabatino/ Fund marjorie B. Stein Catherine Porter and James Laffey McHugh Foundation Peter Van Domelen Hal Sundin Fuller Maki Foundation Katie and Hank Van Schaack Karin and Harry Teague Sue and Bob Hess Thrift Shop of Aspen $1,000-1,999 $500-999 Charles and Linda Ho Ann Harvey and Mike Anonymous Tim and Maree Hobbs $2,000-4,999 Dylan Hoffman Nancy Pickard and James Campbell Sally Cole Beth Cashdan and Paul Bud Knapp Judy Hutchins Aresty Valery and Kearns Kelly Mary Dominick and Sven D’Amato James and Hensley Peterson Chelsea Congdon and James Roberta and Gale Stokes* David and Maureen Kerr Coomer Pete Kolbenschlag Barbara Allen and Bil Dunaway Brundige $100-249 in honor of ron Rosemarie Lavender Guerrerio Family Foundation Jeffrey Doppelt, Barbara Andre* rash and Tim Shortell of aspen Sheldon and Marianne Lubar Jane and Dick Hart Diana Beuttas alpine guides Fund

Hidden Gems donors The following are donations made to the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign, for which WW is the fiscal agent.

$10,000+ $250-499 Francesca Militeau Up to $49 Aspen Skiing Company Crystal Valley Environmental Karen Moculeski Christine Breit Environment Foundation Protection Association David Rose and Ceil Murray Susan Cuseo Kelly and Denis O’Donovan Bruce Berger Tyrolean Lodge/Pierre and Tom Fabian Michael and Adelaide Susie and Rick Grossman Beth Wille Laurae Fortner-Welch Waters Tai and Molly Jacober Annie and William Worley Sherilyn Gourley $5,000-9,999 Betty Ann Woodland $50-99 Alana Monge, in honor of Aspen Business Center King Woodward Diana Beuttas gladys Harris Foundation $100-249 Susan Philp and Lance Clarke Nanna Schov and David Mork Thrift Shop of Aspen Carol Bayens Ned Cochran Dan Nielsen $1,000-4,999 Bernice Davie Martha Dick Louise Parker The Willam H. & Mattie Wattis Kathy DeWolfe Mike Foster Karen Ryman Harris Foundation Trautlinde Heater David Hatcher Cleve Schenck Linda Weeks $500-999 Dan Hirschfeld Scottie Cooper and Tom Leddy Hap Young Gesine and Jack Crandall Rob Ittner Kevin McCartney Rainy Day Designs William and Barbara Lorah Sandy and Stephen Stay Ken Ransford Donna and Tim McFlynn Anne Teague

14 Wilderness Works November 2010 Joanne and Lee Lyon Meredith Ogilby Peggy and Chuck Malloy* Blanca O’Leary Buddy Meyers and Jill Teitelbaum Elizabeth Penfield Laurie and Jim Noyes David and Suzy Pines Elayne Rossi* David Polovin Greg and Patti Rulon Ken Ransford Kenny Ryan Michael Rausch P.O. Box 1442 Gary and Nancy Schultz Cynthia Wayburn and Jim Roush Carbondale, CO 81623 Tim Shortell* Michael Sailor Offices in the Third Street Center, 520 S. 3rd St., Carbondale John Starr Terry Schaefer Tel (970) 963-3977 Lee Beck and John Stickney Ellen Freedman and Auden Schendler www.wildernessworkshop.org Lewis Teague Judith Schramm [email protected] John and Sarah Villafranco Jana Simpson* The Wilderness Workshop’s mission is to Dan Walsh* Ryan and Anda Smalls protect and conserve the wilderness and Adelaide Waters Dave Struempler natural resources of the Roaring Fork Wa- Betty Weiss Stephen Szoradi* tershed, the White River National Forest, Bill Wesson Shelly Sheppick and Stu Ufrig and adjacent lands. $50-99 Jim and Fay Ward WW is a nonprofit organization that 5 Point Film Festival* Up to $49 engages in research, education, legal advocacy, and grassroots organizing to Steve Alldredge* Anonymous protect the ecological integrity of local Joyce Allgaier, in memory of Verland and Steve Bonowski landscapes and public lands with a focus Beverly Ohlson Jacqueline Dearborn on the monitoring and conservation of Danny Aronson* Carol Dopkin air and water quality, wildlife species and Patricia Batchelder John Fox habitat, natural communities, and lands of Carol Bayens Kay Hannah wilderness quality. Dina Belmonte Jane Leddy Board of Directors Jennifer Bennett Gordon Ledingham* Tim McFlynn, Co-president Bruce Berger Sandy and Mary Lynn Munro Mary Dominick, Co-president Shelley Burke Steven Novy* Peter Looram, Vice president Lori Burnstine Heather Preusch Peter Van Domelen, Treasurer Katey Buster Heather and Gregory Rydell Steve Smith, Secretary Judith Byrns Shelley Spalding Beth Cashdan Steve Child Frances Candlin Tom Stiles John Emerick Jen Seal and David Cramer Jan Oen and Don Thompson Cici Fox Kristine Crandall Rebecca Young* Ginni Galicinao Mark Fox Robert Zupancis Charles Hopton Ginni Galicinao John McBride, Jr. Bev Goss Michael McVoy Doug Graybeal Special thanks Aron Ralston Heidi Hoffmann and Tom Griffiths e’d like to give a big shout-out Karin Teague to two very special donors. Mike Stranahan Matt Hamilton W Andy Wiessner Katherine Hubbard First, we’re deeply grateful to actress Deborah Hutchinson Felicity Huffman for her major and Founders Rob Ittner quite unexpected capacity-building Joy Caudill Jack Johnson* Dottie Fox gift. As some of you may know, Felicity Connie Harvey Sarah Johnson grew up in Old Snowmass and main- Kim Keilin* tains ties to the area. Staff Justine Kirk Sloan Shoemaker, Executive Director And second, tremendous thanks to Melanie Finan Peter Looram Adam and Melony Lewis, whose chal- William and Barbara Lorah Michael Gorman lenge gift, announced at last Decem- Peter Hart Tim McFlynn Melissa Nelson Joe McGuire* ber’s “Forever Wild” event, was impor- tant in itself and helped us raise twice Dave Reed Libby and Mike Meyer* Will Roush Jim Gilchrist and Lynn Nichols as much in matching donations.

Wilderness Works November 2010 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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Attention Pro Photographers! WW’s Artist in Wilderness program is now accepting applications for its winter residency for a professional photographer. The deadline for applications is Jan. 10. The winning applicant will receive a $1,000 stipend for the one-week residency, plus travel expenses, accommodation and a vehicle as needed.

For the application form and full details, please go to our website, www.wildernessworkshop.org.

Get ready for Naturalist Nights - see schedule, page 5