Thousands Want Strong Lake Tahoe Basin Protections

Conservation, scientific, recreation and business organizations delivered more than 12,000 public comments, letters and petitions to the U.S. Forest Service in support of strong protections for the forests and watersheds of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The comments come as the Forest Service finishes a public comment period for a new plan to manage the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, over 78% of the land around the lake. 

"The forests, mountains, meadows, lakes and rivers in the Tahoe area are some of the most beautiful and spectacular places in the world. The Lake Tahoe basin forest plan is one of the best opportunities to protect some of the last wilderness and ancient forests in the Tahoe area, and indeed the whole Sierra Nevada," said Lauren Thorpe with the Sierra Club.

"These comments show that people throughout the country care about Tahoe's forests, wilderness and wild and scenic rivers and want to see them permanently protected."

Hope for Colorado’s Chimney Rock

From the seeming morass of Congressional gridlock, encouraging sprouts have appeared in recent months. Growing from grassroots advocacy and collaboration, a number of new ideas for administrative designations have emerged, bent on permanently protecting important natural and cultural values, as well as wild land segments of Colorado federal lands.

Closest to fruition may be the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, a 4,100 acre cultural treasure near Pagosa Springs and a strong candidate as a new national monument.

Stornetta Public Lands: A Pacific Coast Jewel

Photo courtesy Rick Hanks, USDI BLM 

The Stornetta Public Lands, consisting of 1,132 acres located along Mendocino County’s south coast, adjacent to Manchester State Beach and the Point Arena Lighthouse, includes more than two miles of Pacific coastline with natural bridges, tide pools, waterfalls, sinkholes and blowholes, as well as two miles of the Garcia River, the Garcia estuary, a quarter-mile of beach adjacent to Manchester State Park, and a five-acre island called Sea Island Rocks. The area is recognized not only for breathtaking scenic values, but also for outstanding natural resources that encompass riparian corridors, extensive coastal wetlands, wind-sculptured stands of cypress, wildflower-strewn meadows, and shifting sand dunes, a varied ecosystem that provides significant wildlife habitat. Otters and seals gambol in the surf, brown pelicans sail by in characteristic single file, and countless gulls and shorebirds call the area home.

Dust on Snow Impacts Millions in the Desert Southwest

Photo courtesy Jeff Clay

The Colorado River system flows through the magnificent landscape known as Greater Canyonlands, the area that surrounds Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah.  Greater Canyonlands is a treasure trove of archeological sites, geologic splendor and unparalleled beauty. It deserves special protection for these reasons, but there is another vital factor to consider.  Damage to the desert soils in Greater Canyonlands contributes to red dust that coats mountain snow and decreases the flow of valuable water crucial to life in the American Southwest.

A plea from a young Apache girl

 This article was originally published in the Ruidoso News and Alamogordo Daily News. 

I am an Apache Indian from the Mescalero reservation. Otero Mesa is more than just a place to me, it's a sanctuary. It is a place of peace, understanding and reliability not only for me, but for animals of all sorts, as far as spirits go.

I felt spiritually reborn when I visited Otero Mesa and I am concerned for its spiritual well-being.

Like a seed it needs care, patience and time. It needs nutrition. For it to be completely pure it needs natural resources to be as providing as possible. It still feeds on its instinctive well-being. Who are we to contaminate that?

Support for National Monuments

National monuments tell the story of our nation and shape our character. For more than a century presidents from both parties have used the Antiquities Act to rise above the politics of their day and better protect our national treasures like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon.  Today millions of people recreate, retreat and recharge in America’s national monuments and other public lands.

National monuments have also proven to be an economic boon for local communities. Studies by Headwaters Economics have shown that communities near national monuments saw an increase in income and jobs after the monuments were designated.