HomeThe Trails Club Conservation Committee monitors conservation issues of interest to the club. Items of interest are posted here.
The postings are pretty much in temporal order with the newest articles at the top.
Soda Mountain Update
There were public lands protection gains in 2009: a new, congressionally designated 24,100 acre Soda Mtm Wilderness in the southern backcountry of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and 59,598 acres of public lands in and near the Monument are now legally cow-free, with grazing leases terminated via private buyout (pursuant to congressional action)with funds raised from private donors.
However, these wins are merely steps in a much longer journey to get the best protection possible for this ecologically unique Cascade-Siskiyou connection area. 4000 acres of inholdings have been bought out, and there are plans to buy about 6000 acres of former Boise-Cascade private timberland using Land and Water Conservation Funds. Continuous pressure must be applied to get management activities to be consistent with the purposes of the Act that created the Monument. The culture of the BLM is not protective. In the past, Monuments were put into the National Park Service. Now, there is an effort to carve out from tjhe BLM lands a National Landscape Conservation System. It remains to be seen whether the present Administration will issue Orders that implement this System. The Medford District has not retired as many grazing leases as it should, and it has not closed as many roads as it should. Some groups are ready to sue. Stay tuned.
submitted by Sydney Herbert
Susan Saul Honored by Mazamas
Dec 2009
November 21st, 2009 was a special day for one of our Trails Club members. This member, also active in other outdoor clubs, was recognized and justly honored by receiving the Richard Montague Conservation Award by the Mazamas.
Among her significant efforts were to establish and co-sign the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, expand two wilderness areas and create four new ones during the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, to found the Gifford Pinchot Task Force, lead the Washington Trails Association Advocacy program, champion Protection of the Dark Divide Roadless Area and stop the construction of a cross-monument highway.
Your accomplishments are most remarkable for they represent a dedication
and focus seldom seen.
Thank you Susan Saul.
A Big Thank You to Our Club President
Nov 2009
Any successful organization that relies on volunteers always needs people willing to give of their time and talents. We have been most fortunate to have Susan Saul as our president, as she has brought leadership skills, dedication and insight to our club.
The Conservation Committee has been most pleased that Susan is conservation minded and she has been active in this work since about 1977. She was a prime mover and co-signer of the legislative bill that created Mt. St. Helens National Monument and she continues to be a force in protecting that area so it can remain in its natural state.
We thank you Susan for your continued support in conservation issues.
Submitted by Conservation Chair
CONSERVATION ALERT - LNG Terminal
Developers have unsuccessfully tried to construct liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the California Coast for the importation of this highly flammable gas. Now Oregon is targeted for three LNG terminals for the off-loading from tankers. Two terminals would be located near Astoria and one near Coos Bay/North Bend.
Since the primary users reside in California and Nevada, pipelines need to be constructed to transport this gas to market. This would require a minimum 50-foot wide corridor for construction and maintenance and would cross rivers, go through national forests, go over the Pacific Crest Trail and over private property, with private property being claimed through the eminent domain process.
Currently the proposals are in various stages of federal and state permitting processes for the terminals. Ultimately it will be the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to accept or deny construction of the terminals and connector pipelines. It is estimated nearly one thousand miles of gas pipelines would crisscross the state of Oregon.
FWOC ANNUAL CONFERENCE (August 2009)
The host outdoor member club, The Hobnailers, provided a pleasant environment and a busy agenda for the 2009 conference attendees.
In reflection, this writer recalls three presentations as being particularly informative and interesting. They were the Columbia River Watershed History, The Conservation History of Mt. St. Helens by our club president Susan Saul, and the Power Point presentation by the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.
Sunday morning was a busy time as the club representatives reviewed, discussed and finalized the thirty plus resolutions submitted by FWOC members. Our Trails Club Conservation Committee has since looked at the resolutions and has singled out the Molalla River Wild and Scenic Designation for our immediate support which will include an on-the-ground visit.
Forest Park Conservancy - 2009 All Trails Challenge
Ever thought about hiking every mile of trail in Forest Park? How about doing that and being eligible to win some great prizes. The Forest Park Conservancy has launched the 2009 All Trails Challenge. The All-Trails Challenge (ATC) is an outreach by the Forest Park Conservancy to encourage walkers and runners to cover 70+ miles and more than 11,000 feet cumulative elevation gain of selected trails and roads in Forest Park by December 31st. For more information go to www.forestparkconservancy.org or contact them by phone 503.223.5449. Note: The Trails Club of Oregon is a member of the Forest Park Conservancy!
NEW WILDERNESS FOR MOUNT HOOD & GORGE
President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act on March 30, 2009, marking the final step for expanded wilderness protection in Oregon. The legislation expands the Mount Hood and Mark O. Hatfield Wildernesses, creates new wilderness for Copper Salmon, Soda Mountain, Spring Basin and Badlands and designates National Recreation Areas and additional Wild and Scenic Rivers.
In addition to permanently protecting wildlands where we hike and backpack from logging and road building, the legislation has some specific effects for the Trails Club.
At Nesika, the Larch Mountain addition to the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness means that all land on the right (east) side of the Multnomah Basin road from the brown gate to the end of the road, on the right (east) side of the tractor trail from the end of the road to the Trails Club property boundary, and on the east side of the Trails Club property is now Wilderness.
At Tyee, the land exchange with Cooper Spur means that we eventually might have some new neighbors to the west of West Leg Road. The legislation calls for new appraisals of the areas involved in the land exchange and should be completed in the next 1.5 years. One of the Government Camp tracts designated for exchange is just west of the Summit Ski Area and above the area that currently has houses. Portions of the Alpine, Crosstown and Glade ski trails go through the tracts identified for exchange.
Some 240 miles of trails are now protected in the newly designated areas, including the National Recreation Areas. Forest Service wilderness regulations mean that group size will be limited to 12 on many trails often used by the Trails Club. Trip leaders will need to find out whether wilderness regulations apply to the trail they are using. Guide books will be out of date until new editions are published. We'll get the database on the TCO website updated as soon as the information is available.
To see detailed maps of the new Wilderness lands, visit the Oregon Wild website at http://www.oregonwild.org/wilderness/mount_hood_wilderness_campaign/lewis-and-clark-mount-hood-wilderness-maps
Conservation Issues July 2009
Among the several projects either under construction or planned that the Trails Club Conservation Committee believes need monitoring because of their impact on our environment are:
The proposed Warm Springs Casino at Cascade Locks. This is of the utmost concern because the Director of the Dept. of the Interior will soon be making the decision to approve or deny the siting of this casino in the Columbia Gorge. It is estimated the casino would draw 8,200 visitors per day or about three million per year. This mega-casino will cause increased air pollution, harm to fish, wildlife and water quality. Scenic impacts with profuse lighting and immense parking lots, urban expansion into the National Scenic Area and a dangerous precedent will be set.
This casino if built would cause irreversible damage to our stunning landscape and natural resources now protected in the Scenic Area and we as individuals can inform the Director of the Interior of our concerns by writing or E-Mailing him. This procedure works!
Other concerns to be addressed in upcoming Blazers include the proposed LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) pipeline that would begin at a docking facility near Astoria to the vicinity of Mist where there would be a huge storage deposit and continue through western Oregon eventually to another storage area in central California for the sole purpose of Californians. Damage to the environment for the construction of roads and maintenance would be forever an eyesore and impossible to restore to its natural state. Another concern is the massive construction of windpower projects with inadequate guidelines to protect the birds.
TCO JOINS ANTI-CASINO COALITION
On the recommendation of the Conservation Committee, the board voted to join a coalition of organizations opposing the proposal to construct an off-reservation casino in the Columbia River Gorge. Like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, the Columbia River Gorge is a federally protected iconic landscape. Development of a 600,000-square-foot casino resort and associated parking lots and retail structures in the heart of the Gorge and within one-half mile of a wilderness boundary would significantly harm the natural environment and resources.