Winter 2007-2008 Newsletter

Winter 2007-2008 Newsletter
Vol. X, No. 1

Here's the latest edition of The Wilderness Society's member newsletter.

William H. Meadows

Our staff frequently meets business people whose success depends on the protection of our public lands and wildlife. One is Mark Paigen, who discovered the natural qualities of Paonia, a small western Colorado town, while rafting the Gunnison River. Read More...

New Wilderness Expected in Northwest

In the coming months Congress could pass four bills creating wilderness in the Pacific Northwest. There are two each for Oregon and Washington, and these measures would add a total of 265,000 acres of public lands to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Read More...

President's Drilling Push Hits Home Stretch

With just over a year left before the next president takes office, the Bush administration is making its final push to lease public lands in the Rockies, Alaska, and elsewhere to the oil and gas industry. Read More...

Investments in Land Protection on Upswing

Forests, streams, mountains, meadows, and other natural areas across the country will be protected thanks to the first increase in Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) appropriations in three years. Read More...

Large Fires at Okefenokee Proving Beneficial

From mid-April until early October, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge was on fire. While one fire that started north of the Refuge had tragic consequences in terms of loss of homes, for the refuge and its wildlife, the fires did far more good than harm. Read More...

Wilderness Society Member Builds Canoes

Born on the Maine-New Brunswick border, Burt Libby grew up with forests. While at the University of Alaska doing graduate work, he met one of the giants in the field, Olaus Murie. As a fan of Murie, who served as The Wilderness Society’s president, Libby became a Society member decades ago. Read More...

Forest Challenge in Alaska

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is one of the planet’s only remaining temperate rainforests and provides habitat for many species that have disappeared elsewhere. Unfortunately, the history of management in this stunning forest also is written in superlatives. “Sweetheart timber contracts to promote development led to massive clear-cutting, losing $900 million of the taxpayers’ money since 1982,” observes Karen Hardigg, a forest expert in our Anchorage office. Read More...

News From The Field

Read about the issues that The Wilderness Society's regional offices are working on, including securing protection for new Wilderness in California's Riverside County, restoration work on Montana's national forests, and continued work to help protect New Jersey's Highlands. Read More...