Summer 2006 Newsletter

Summer 2006 Newsletter
Vol. VIII, No. 3

Summer brings us warmer weather, but no vacation from critical conservation efforts.

William H. Meadows

Which one place in the natural world is most important to you? The feelings about such a place can be immense and can play a mighty role in helping the American people do right by the lands that we inherited from our forebears. Read More...

Sale of 300,000 Acres of National Forest Proposed

More than 300,000 acres of national forest and up to a half million acres of other public lands would be sold if Congress goes along with two proposals in President Bush’s 2007 budget. Both ideas have been widely criticized but remain in play. Read More...

High Gas Prices Put Arctic Refuge at Greater Risk

It is summertime, and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is operating at its biological peak. But in Washington, anger over high gasoline prices has created a volatile political climate that puts this natural treasure at greater risk. Read More...

Teenager Helping Arctic Refuge

“I have so many things and really don’t need more,” says Hannah Luisa Cohen-Fuentes. So this 13-year-old Washingtonian suggested that those invited to her June 10 Bat Mitzvah at Tifereth Israel synagogue contribute to The Wilderness Society instead of giving her a present. Read More...

Connecticut River Tracts Likely to Be Protected, But National Oulook Grim

The Connecticut River, shared by four of the six New England states, is home to the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which was established by Congress 15 years ago to protect the water and adjoining lands. The Land and Water Conservation Fund, America’s premier source of conservation funding, could help protect this rich ribbon of biodiversity. Read More...

News From The Field

Utah Wilderness, Maine's North Woods, Wyoming's Wind River Range. Read about these and other issues our regional offices are working on. Read More...

Tackling the West's Wildfire Challenge

The Wilderness Society is bringing together an unprecedented range of experts, decision makers, and opinion leaders, many of them traditionally at odds over the contentious issues involving management of fire-dependent landscapes. In May 2006, the Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership Roundtable produced a report that generated headlines across the state. Read More...

Eastern Sierra Could Gain 40,000 Acres of Wilderness

Two highly regarded wilderness areas in the Eastern Sierra near Yosemite National Park will be expanded by a total of 40,000 acres if Congress passes a new bill (H.R. 5149) authored by Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA). Read More...

Defense of Roadless Forests Continues

This summer, millions of Americans are enjoying the 58.5 million areas of unprotected roadless areas in our national forests. On August 1, lawyers representing The Wilderness Society and other groups will be in a federal courtroom to urge the judge to reject the Bush administration’s effort to repeal the rule that protects these lands. Read More...