Recommend wilderness in the Colville National Forest

THIS ALERT HAS BEEN RETIRED. THANK YOU!

An important next step towards wilderness protection for roadless areas on the Colville National Forests are wilderness recommendations made by the Forest Service.

Public comments have the power to improve the draft forest plan for Colville, particularly personalized comments. Please take a moment to add your own words to the letter below!

Comments are due Wed., Sept. 28, 2011.

In the 1984 Washington Wilderness Act, the Colville National Forest was largely left behind. Today just 3% of the forest is designated wilderness - less than any other national forest in the West. Yet the wild landscapes of the Columbia Highlands are an important connection between the Rockies and the Cascades for wildlife from lynx to wolves. Those same wild lands provide, treks like the famed Kettle Crest Trail stretching nearly to the BC border and some of the finest wilderness experiences in the state.

We've an opportunity to protect wild, roadless forests in the Colville. In their proposed forest plan revisions the Forest Service has made a good start on wilderness recommendations, but there are many other deserving areas, including the Kettle Crest along Sherman Pass, Thirteenmile Canyon, Twin Sisters, and Hall Mountain/Grassy Top.

Top three things to say, full talking points, and what's in and what's out in the proposed forest plan

And if you haven't already, please also send a second letter commenting on the Okanogan-Wenatchee.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Dear Forest Plan Revision Team:

As someone who regularly visits and enjoys our national forests and other public lands for human powered recreation, relaxation, and wildlife and plant viewing, I support all the areas you have recommended for wilderness in your draft forest plan for the Colville National Forest. We need more quiet, wild places maintained as wilderness for wildlife habitat and connectivity and to ensure that future generations will be able to experience uncrowded, pristine wild country in northeast Washington.

While the wilderness recommendations for the Colville are a good start and I support them all, the draft plan did not recommend wilderness for several wilderness quality areas that should be considered in the final plan. I submit that all of the following areas should be recommended as wilderness:
•	All of the Kettle Crest roadless areas (Bald-Snow, Profanity, and Hoodoo Canyon), including areas along Sherman Pass, Snow Peak, and Mt. Leona, currently listed as "backcountry" in the proposed action 
•	Thirteenmile Canyon
•	Cougar Mountain
•	Twin Sisters 
•	Hall Mountain
•	Grassy Top Mountain
•	Quartzite
•	Bunchgrass Meadows

The Forest Service should recommend as much wilderness as possible to help ensure that we set aside enough wild country and natural habitat for wildlife to live and raise their young, find refuge from development and roads, and move across large landscapes to ensure recovery and genetic health of rare and endangered wildlife. With the projected habitat altering effects of climate change, protecting more unaltered, connected habitat will become even more important for many species of wildlife as they struggle to adapt.

Non-motorized recreation is an important part of how many users like me experience the Forest, from backcountry hunters and anglers to backpackers and cross-country skiers. Remaining roadless areas should be protected for those activities as well. Backcountry areas should be specifically designated "backcountry non-motorized" to ensure they are protected for non-motorized use - including snowmobile use, which might otherwise be allowed.

To that end, any new road building or development of new ORV trails within roadless areas should be clearly prohibited in the forest plan. New trails for mountain bikers should be planned and constructed near communities and outside of proposed wilderness areas.

Outside of the wilderness quality lands mentioned above, I am glad the forest service is considering areas where forest management would focus on restoring natural habitats and old growth forests that could benefit local communities and wildlife. However, higher intensity active management should happen closer to homes and communities where there is the greatest risk of wildfire, while lower-intensity restoration should occur closer to recommended wilderness and backcountry lands.

The final plan should also reference the near unanimous public support for maintaining the wilderness characteristics of the forest’s inventoried roadless areas, which was publicly expressed and recorded in notes at the Forest Service-led collaborative forest planning process.

I heartily support increasing the number of recommended wilderness areas in your proposed plan to include those listed above, keeping new roads and motorized recreation trails out of roadless areas, and restoring old growth habitat closer to wilderness areas.

Thank you for considering my comments.

Sincerely,

Forest Plan Revision Team

Colville and Okangogan-Wenatchee NFs
Okanogan Valley Office
1240 Second Avenue South
Okanogan, WA 98840
US

Learn more about the many roadless areas in the Colville National Forest, some of which were included in wilderness recommendations.

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Recommend wilderness in the Colville National Forest

Public comments have the power to improve the draft forest plan for Colville, particularly personalized comments. Please take a moment to add your own words to the letter below!

Forest Plan Revision Team

Conservation Northwest offices