Dear Wildlanders,
With winter melting into spring, we have a number of important wildland issues that we need you to take action on. Please consider sending public comments for the Army Corps of Engineers dredging plans, writing letters to the Forest Service urging them to prevent megaloads from traversing US 12, and submitting public comments to the Idaho Transportation Department concerning US 95 realignment.
The Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comments on their Draft Environmental Impact Statement Lower Snake River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan until March 26. Please send comments to psmp@usace.army.mil. There are talking points for you to consider. They include a failure to assess alternatives to dredging, failure to consider alternatives to barge transportation, failure to provide cost/benefit analysis of dredging, and failure to assess impacts from climate change.
Despite Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s ruling that the Forest Service does have jurisdiction over regulating megaloads traveling through the wild & scenic river corridor, the threats remain. Please consider writing a short letter to Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Supervisor Rick Brazell explaining that you expect the agency to take a pro-active stance following the court’s ruling. A little nudge can go a long way.
After a public comment extension, the deadline for the Idaho Transportation Department US 95 Thorncreek Road to Moscow Project is March 25. The department has communicated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that their preferred route is E2, which would build a 4-lane highway along the base of Paradise Ridge. Learn more by visiting the Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition website.
According to the Lewiston Tribune, Western Pacific Timber Co. is drafting a conservation easement for lands that may be included in the Upper Lochsa Land Exchange. Note, the Forest Service has not made a decision on the exchange. The article also stated that the office of Idaho Senator Jim Risch requested that lands outlined in Idaho County’s proposal be included in the current land appraisal process. The appraisal is expected to last into July, after which the Forest Service will release it’s Final Environmental Impact Statement and make a decision.
Click here if you would like to read our recent Op-Ed concerning the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests Forest Revision Collaborative. We think the current process is confusing and collides with 40-years of public land laws.
Lastly, consider coming out for the Palouse Broads-Great Old Broads for Wilderness spring meeting & potluck on Tuesday March 26! Meet in the Fiske Room of the 1912 Center, 6-8pm, in Moscow to learn about their upcoming summer trips to Kelly Creek and the N. Fork Clearwater. They are also showing A Sense of Wonder, a documentary about Rachel Carson.
Go Wild,
Brett