Dear Citizens,
From time-to-time, Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) sends you public comment action alerts to protect the wildlands, waterways, fish, and wildlife in the Clearwater Basin. FOC provides this service because you have the right to be consulted about any agency actions on public lands. This right is being threatened. The Forest Service is proposing an overhaul to agency-specific regulations found in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This statute fosters informed decision-making because it forces agencies to consider the environmental impacts of their actions. It also ensures that citizens are provided high quality information and accurate scientific analysis before an agency decides to act on a proposal. FOC reviewed these proposals and the amendments actually make it more difficult for the public to participate and allows the Forest Service to categorize activities so as to avoid acknowledging, much less analyzing, potentially adverse impacts. Learn more and TAKE ACTION.
Fuming about the proposed NEPA changes? FOC has several opportunities to hike it out!
Join Friends of the Clearwater for a trek up Johns Creek, Saturday, July 20, 2019. Johns Creek is a tributary to the South Fork Clearwater River and is an important anadromous fish bearing stream. We’ll talk about ways to protect Johns Creek under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in the next forest plan, the proposed Hungry Ridge timber sale, and the current suction dredge mining season. Meet in the Safeway parking lot in Moscow, Idaho at 8:30AM. Bring lots of water and food and plan to carpool.
Friends of the Clearwater and the Palouse Group-Sierra Club are hosting the Annual Summer Campout August 9-11, 2019 at the Wilderness Gateway Campground on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. Join us for some or all of this family-friendly event. We’ll hike through wild country fit for a grizzly bear, swim in the Lochsa River, enjoy a communal meal courtesy of Friends of the Clearwater, and give an issues update!
If you plan to attend any or all of these events, please e-mail ashley@friendsoftheclearwater.org.
Friends of the Clearwater is conducting a BioBlitz on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest! A BioBlitz is an event where we find as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time to get a snapshot of the area’s biodiversity. We’ll visit a logged area and an unlogged area in our national forest to compare the biodiversity in each. And we want you to help us! This weekend will focus on gathering information through pictures—a science census of sorts! The weekend will involve spending an evening camping at an established campground in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, and volunteers are responsible for their own food and gear. When we return, there will be a debriefing dinner where we upload, identify, and discuss our findings.
Those interested in the BioBlitz should contact Katie Bilodeau, katie@friendsoftheclearwater.org, for more information and to sign up.
Finally, if you’ve ever considered becoming a member of Friends of the Clearwater, now is the time to act on that thought! An anonymous donor will multiply any first-time memberships and donations $1 for $1 from now until December 31, 2019! Click on the link below!
We hope you’re having a wild summer!
Ashley Lipscomb
Membership and Development Director