Climate Change Legislation: Opportunity to Speak Up

It’s really rather simple – human-powered outdoor pursuits need a healthy climate. If the climate is out of balance, then our favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors can go from being degraded to actually disappearing. The Outdoor Alliance, a coalition representing the human-powered outdoor recreation community, has just released a short film (view on YouTube) that bottom lines how our community intersects with this humongous issue. It also gives everyone a way to step-up and make a tangible difference in getting the climate back on track. Check out the film and take action here: www.outdooralliance.net/climate.

INDEX FUND RAISER!!!!




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SAVE INDEX CLIMBING ACCESS!!!

Goal:
The Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) seeks to raise $300,000 to buy the Lower Town Wall and surrounding crags near Index, Washington. The Lower Town wall is Washingtons most famous crag and climbers have been climbing here for nearly fifty years; it is currently threatened with closure and even possible quarrying and we seek to preserve it as a climbing park. We also seek to upgrade the parking lot and install a toilet facility, two simple improvements that have long been sought by Index climbers. These actions will enhance the area and preserve climbing access while contributing to overall conservation efforts in the Skykomish Valley.



The Climbing.
The cliffs and crags surrounding the town of Index have long offered some of the best granite climbing in Washington. The Lower Town Wall is the gem of the area and has been touted as one of the best climbing crags in the United States. Several years ago the British climbing magazine Mountain declared it one of the top 10 crags in North America and it remains a vibrant hub for local and visiting climbers. The climbing is diverse in both difficulty and style and there is truly something for every rock climber at the Lower Town Wall and its satellite cliffs. This is the only year round granite climbing in the State.


Why Now?
In the early 1900's the quarry at Index literally helped to build the foundation of Seattle and rock quarried there was used in the construction of buildings throughout Puget Sound. Climbers discovered the Town Walls soon after quarry operations stopped and have enjoyed climbing there for 50 years. In March of 2009 the owner put up no trespassing signs because she was prepared to market the area to interested quarry operators. Seeking to prevent any quarrying and loss of climbing access, the Washington Climbers Coalition secured an option to purchase this property in May of 2009. We also obtained the owner's commitment to allow climbing to continue while we raise the money to buy her land.

It Will Be A Climbing Park Forever!
Forks of the Sky State Park presently contains other cliffs near the Lower Town Wall and park managers have been very supportive of rock climbing. We seek a legal agreement that will provide for permanent preservation and operation of the area as a climbing park and then we propose to turn the land over to State Parks. This scenic backdrop to the town of Index will be preserved and this outstanding crag will be saved.

See the WCC Site for how to donate and get involved! You can check this webpage for updates on the situation:

http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/IndexFund/

ACTION ALERT – Comment on the DNR Sustainable Recreation Work Group’s Preliminary Recommendations
Deadline – October 12

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Sustainable Recreation Work Group (SRWG) has completed their Preliminary Recommendations for funding and access for recreation on DNR lands.

The report was released on September, 28, 2009.

The initial press release said the report would be available on SRWG’s webpage on September 28, 2009 with a comment deadline of October 1. = 3 days!

Contacted about this unreasonable comment period, DNR blaimed a typo and quickly issued a second press release listing a two week comment deadline of October 12, 2009.

Public comments on the recommendations can also be made in the form of an online survey The deadline for completing this survey is also Monday, October 12th.

The trend on federal lands has been to decrease ORV trails and to establish policies in which ORVs are not allowed on trails unless specifically posted. DNR is taking the opposite approach: ORVs are allowed anywhere unless posted as prohibited. The problem with this of course is that the signs are used for target practice and/or torn down almost immediately after posted.

A particularly alarming aspect of the Sustainable Recreation Work Group’s preliminary recommendations is that they seem to signal that DNR is seriously considering allowing illegal trails to become incorporated into the designated DNR trail/road network. This sets a precedent that will encourage and reward new illegal trail creation (often forged in areas least suitable for motorized use) resulting in serious detrimental environmental impact.

All citizens of the state have a vested interest in the management of our state trust lands yet most people never even hear about these meetings, comment periods and surveys. Thus the relatively small number of ORV recreationists are continually over-represented.

Please take the time to fill out this online survey and help represent to DNR the many who enjoy non-motorized recreation and are concerned about environmental degradation on our public lands.

Addressing Forest Road Maintenance

Earlier this year the president signed the American Recovery and Reninvestment Act more commonly known as the legislation providing economic stimulus funding. Over the past couple months a number of projects have been announced on National Forest lands in Washington State that address the region's massive road maintenance backlog. As the forest service road network continues to unravel the impacts are felt by both recreational users, who desire access to public lands, and aquatic resources, that feel the impact of all that sediment which ends up in the rivers. With limited agency budgets the Forest Service has been stuck reacting to the problem and has not had the resources to address some of the known issues before disaster strikes. There are many examples of undersized culverts, bridges that have outlived their design life, and drainage problems that sit as time bombs waiting for the next season of storms. Addressing some of these problems on the front end could result in reduced impacts when the storms do come resulting in fewer interruptions to public access and reduced impacts to aquatic resources.

An old road on the Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest with significant drainage and culvert issues that need to be addressed.

Earlier this year representatives from the Outdoor Alliance met with Forest Service leadership to highlight opportunities and present perspectives from the outdoor recreation community (both Access Fund and American Whitewater conducted membership surveys to identify areas of interest). We are now starting to see how the funding will be distributed to different projects.

Throughout the region of Washington and Oregon $9 million will go towards road maintenance including structure replacement, improved drainage, and culvert replacement all in the name of improving long term integrity of the road network in a manner that also addresses ongoing impacts to the aquatic resources that suffer from poorly maintained roads.

In the Puget Sound Region another $5.6 million will be directed towards deferred road maintenance and road decommissioning. These projects will focus on longstanding maintenance issues on key transportation corridors while removing roads that have served their social and economic purposes. Many old roads that have not been drivable for many years and are no longer needed continue to have ongoing impacts to aquatic resources.

On the Gifford Pinchot National Forest $4.9 in projects have been identified that focus on forest bridge design and replacement. Bridges that now provide important access for recreational users were constructed over 50 years and have outlived their design life. This project will address access issues to trailheads on this forest.

On the Olympic National Forest $4.5 million will be directed to watershed projects with a focus on the South Fork Skokomish and Sol Duc watersheds. The projects will include decommissioning some roads and upgrading others. Work will include replacements of failing culverts with appropriately sized bridges which will reduce the risk of collapse, improve vehicle and visitor safety, and insure continued access to many miles of existing forest roads.

In addition to these projects there will also be a project to replace the single pane windows at the Olympia Forestry Sciences lab and a series of projects to repair and restore facilities used by the public on the Olympic National Forest.

Congress to Discuss Full Funding of Land and Water Conservation Fund

The House Natural Resources Committee, the committee with jurisdiction over public lands, will be holding a hearings this week on a bill that would fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (HR 3534) at the authorized level of $900 million.

What is the Land and Water Conservation Fund?

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was established in 1965 to meet the nation's growing desire to preserve natural areas, culturally and historically significant landmarks, and outdoor recreational opportunities. Federal Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing provides the revenue for LWCF--the concept is a simple one where extraction of resources we all use provides some revenue for important access and conservation projects on our nation's public lands. Unfortunately only a fraction of the intended revenue from these leases has gone into the fund with the balance being diverted to general funds for other purposes. In fact last year LWCF funding approached an all time low of $155 million. The proposed legislation in Congress would rectify this situation with full funding available each year, not subject to cuts in the annual appropriations process.

Why Is This Important For Outdoor Recreation?

If LWCF was fully funded, it would have a rather large positive and direct impact on organizations like The Mountaineers who depend on access to outdoor recreation and conservation of treasured landscapes on public lands. There would be 5 times the amount of federal money available to protect land and assure access to human-powered recreation. More trails, more river access, more crags, more backcountry skiing.

Since its creation, LWCF has made nearly 7 million acres of land available for outdoor recreation. The fund has helped to complete iconic American landscapes like Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, the Everglades, the Appalachian Trail, and Grand Teton National Park and here at home the North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, and Olympic National Parks have all benefitted from this program. In addition the fund has established close-to-home parks and recreation facilities providing new and improved recreation opportunities for all Americans. Washington is home to over 500 successful local, regional, state, and federal projects. The Duwamish River Trail, Green River Gorge Conservation Area and associated State Parks, mature forest lands in the Mt. Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest, lands along Icicle Creek in the Wenatchee National Forest, Green Lake Park, public access the White Salmon River, public shoreline access along Puget Sound, and Fort Worden State Park are just a few examples of public recreation lands in Washington that have received aid from LWCF.

Unfortunately the recent lack of funding has resulted in lost opportunities. In 2004 the State of Washington received only 5 percent of requested funds through the program and while we have enjoyed key successes, there have been a number of lost opportunities. For example key conservation opportunities along the White Salmon Wild and Scenic River were recently lost due to a lack of available LWCF.

Hearings this week by the House Natural Resources Committee are an important step towards realizing the full potential of this important program. Here in Washington State, Congressman Inslee is a key member of this committee and the the Mountaineers have joined other members of the outdoor recreation community in asking for the Congressman's leadership on this issue.

Thursday July 9, 2009, 7:00PM-9:00PM at The Mountaineers - "Crossroads on the Columbia"

The film Crossroads on the Columbia chronicles
a community’s response to private energy
investment companies’ proposals to build
controversial Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
receiving terminals on the lower Columbia River
near the historic town of Astoria, Oregon. The
passion and power of grass roots activism set
against the backdrop of the beauty, heritage
and history of the Columbia Pacific Region
make this a compelling story of America at the
crossroads of fossil fuel dependence,
renewable energy and decisions over who
controls our air, water and economy.

After the film, join Dan Serres, Conservation Director of
Columbia Riverkeeper, to discuss the details of
LNG projects targeted for our region. Learn about
the impacts of importation terminals and pipelines
to our forests, rivers, and communities and how
you can take action and join the movement:

• LNG projects would drastically increase
Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions

• LNG competes with a clean, renewable
energy future

• Cowlitz Co. WA is threatened with pipeline
development that could use eminent
domain

July 10, 2009 - Ice Caves Trail on Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Reopens

Help celebrate the opening of the Ice Caves Trail Bridge with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Washed out by floods in 2006, the bridge accesses one of the most popular trails on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

When: FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2009 at 10:00AM.

Where: 25 miles east of Granite Falls along the Mountain Loop Scenic Byway, park at the Big Four Picnic Area lot. Overflow parking available half mile up the senic byway at the Ice Caves Trailhead. Follow connector trail back to the Big Four Picnic Area.

Saturday July 11th - Team Up with the North Cascades Conservation Council for a Plant Restoration Day at Diablo Lake Overlook

Join the volunteer work party to help restore a native plant community at the Diablo Lake Overlook on State Route 20. Volunteers and National Park Service staff will remove non-native invasive plants in the morning and collect seed from native plants in the area in the afternoon. We will plant some of the seed where they have pulled weedy species and some will be propagated in the park nursery for future use.

Plan to camp at Newhalem Creek Campground for the NCCC-sponsored evening program (see below). A group campsite has been reserved for volunteers. Please RSVP by email to: ken@skookumpeak.com, or call 360-733-7014.

July 11, Saturday – Evening program on NCNP Newhalem Creek Campground Amphitheater Slide program on the “Wilderness Alps.” Come hear the story of how North Cascades National Park came to be — as told by some of those who were there in the 1950s and 1960s working to create the new park. Presented by the NCCC.

June is National Rivers Month!

June is National Rivers Month! American Rivers is presenting their popular "National River CleanupTM Program" again this year. If you would like to participate, you can find an American Rivers sponsored cleanup event near you by linking to the American Rivers website here

Kick Off of the Completion of North Cascades National Park Campaign held at The Mountaineers May 15th

Check out the front page Seattle Times article on the American Alps Legacy Campaign to complete North Cascades National Park here