A Jewell of a Morning

Secretary Jewell talks about the outdoors

It was a beautiful sunny spring morning yesterday at the 15,000 acre Prince William Forest Park. Debbie Sease and I, along with a diverse array of over 50 outdoors and conservation leaders, joined Secretary of the Interior  Sally Jewell and National Parks Superintendent Jon Jarvis to discuss how to connect American families with nature and our special places.

Secretary Jewell clearly and passionately understands that connecting kids and families outdoors is absolutely critical for the future of our communities, public lands and wildlife.  She spoke eloquently of the power of private and public sector partnerships, and her great optimism that working smartly together we can collectively make a big difference.

Debbie and I highlighted the Sierra Club's growing outdoors programs  that get over 250,000 kids and adults outdoors--from inner city kids to military families-- as well as our own Jackie Ostfeld's leadership in the Outdoors Alliance for Kids  where she pushes for policies and funding to get kids outdoors.  We got some great kudos from Sheri, with Blue Star Families, about a recent Sierra Club grant to help them get their military families to an outing in the Park.

Secretary Jewell ended her comments by highlighting the need to consolidate all the mapping data out there to better identify lands of high value for wildlife and recreation, cultural and historical values, as well as those of high energy development value.  She urged all of us to be active and smart as we work together to create a healthy future for our children and our public lands.  We're looking forward to what is in store.

--Dan Chu, Sr. Campaign Director, Our Wild America

 

Islands Worth Celebrating!

Who doesn't like a party? Especially when it celebrates the designation of our country’s newest National Monument -- one that protects the lands, waters, and wildlife of the San Juan Islands. Just off the coast of Washington State, I recently traveled to the islands to attend an event with a host of elected officials, business owners, recreationists, and conservationists.  Friends came together to thank the Obama administration for designating the new San Juan Islands National Monument and to celebrate a long-fought-for victory.

National monument status will permanently protect precious lands in the San Juan Islands. These sites, already managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), include recreational areas beloved by locals and visitors, cultural sites used by local tribes for thousands of years, historic lighthouses, disappearing habitat, and much more. Protecting recreational use of these beautiful public lands will ensure tourism and outdoor recreation continue to have a positive impact on our economy. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates that recreation -- hiking, camping, paddling, and climbing -– contributes $22.5 billion to Washington's economy and supports more than 226,000 jobs.

National monument status assigns these lands to the BLM's National Conservation Lands System, which requires the BLM to protect and preserve these lands, directs the agency to work closely with the local community on a management plan, and prevents potential exploitation, development, or sale of these sites. The Conservation Lands assignment could also have been made by Congress by designating a national conservation area (NCA). Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, Representative Larsen, and Representative DelBene introduced legislation to do just that in both the 112th and 113th Congresses. Congressional gridlock has long prevented action on this and more public lands legislation. As a result, the Washington State delegation joined the community in supporting presidential action to accomplish our goal of permanent protection of BLM lands in the San Juan Islands with a strong community voice in their management.

Many of Washington State's congressional leaders were on hand at Monday's event, Representatives Larsen and DelBene highlighted the economic opportunities that come from conservation designations, while Senator Cantwell spoke of the importance of the designation for future generations and the value of local input in the process. She noted that just because the land was under the ownership of the BLM didn't mean it would be protected from development. "We had a choice," she said. "Do we want to toss it up for the future to see what this land might become, or do we want to say it's so special that it will be preserved? The community was loud and clear. They wanted the latter." She also highlighted that national monument designations don't happen overnight.

Efforts to protect lands in the San Juan archipelago began in earnest in 1989, when a hiker noticed trees on the backside of Chadwick Hill marked for logging. Supporters spent a week gathering 600 signatures to stop the logging operation, but the group was told it needed to create a larger vision, which has now been included with the 450 acres on Chadwick Hill. About four years ago, the group realized that the rest of the BLM land in the islands was not afforded any protections. The effort to create a national monument made of these lands came from that moment, Cantwell recounted.

Senator Cantwell said of the campaign to create the monument, "It may have started in a living room on Lopez Island, but it traveled all the way to the Oval Office."

This is what made this celebration even sweeter -- it is important to remember that a group of committed individuals can still come together and protect special places; and that this protection is good for our economy and even better for the lives of our future generations. The people of western Washington know this and they are thankful for the actions of the Obama administration and the Department of the Interior.

--Dan Ritzman, Senior Campaign Manager

 

Secretary Salazar asks for a show of hands from all those "happy" about the new monument (photos: Dan Ritzman)

Inspiring: Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument

Colonel Charles Young House (Photo: WikiCommons)

Last week, Ohio received an honor in both the conservation of public land and in memorializing a piece of early-American history. The Wilberforce, Ohio, home of Charles Young, a Buffalo Soldier and the very first African-American colonel, became a national monument Monday. President Obama gave the designation to the historic hero’s home at a special signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

In total, the president designated 5 new national monuments across the country last Monday, enhancing his legacy of protecting and preserving public lands. But more importantly, sites like the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument allow future generations to learn more about our shared cultural history. Charles Young is an inspiring figure. Americans will treasure his legacy all the more with the addition of his home to the national monument system.

They’ll learn about his rise to military prominence as the child of former slaves from Kentucky. They’ll visit the house Charles Young named “Youngsholm,” where he shared company with other influential African-American leaders and thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Historic: First State National Monument

Brandywine Creek, First State National Monument (Photo: WikiCommons)

Last Monday afternoon, Barack Obama penned his approval of five new national monuments. It was truly a historic moment, especially for the state of Delaware. In designating the First State National Monument near Dover, the president made Delaware, the nation’s first state to sign the Declaration of Independence, the last state to receive a national monument. Finally, the National Park System -- of which monuments are part -- reaches all 50 states.

The new monument, which will now be preserved through federal land conservation efforts, will tell the story of Delaware’s rich colonial history through four separate sites--the Woodlawn Tract, the Old Sheriff’s House, the New Castle Courthouse Museum, and Dover Green. It will also serve as a place where tourists and nearby urban residents can retreat into nature, connect with wildlife, and learn the role that Delaware played in the both the establishment of the nation and America’s wild legacy.

The monument designation itself has been a long time in the making. For years, Delaware Senator Tom Carper and the entire Delaware delegation have made it a priority to create a national monument in their home state. Even Vice President Joe Biden has shown his support for maintaining a national monument here, in his home state. With support from civic leaders, preservationists, other elected officials, and the Conservation Fund, their dream is now a reality.

The Lacey Act: A Sharp Tool From The Climate Action Shed

President Obama couldn’t have been more explicit in 2013 in voicing America’s need to address climate disruption. He’s said so twice already this year in high-profile, public speeches. The first was in January, during his second inaugural speech, and the second was in February’s 2013 State of the Union address, in which he said, “for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.”

As urgent as it is to put in place new laws and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate disruption, there are a few very effective laws on the books already that can help slow the climate chaos. The oldest and one of the most effective bills out there is one that you’ve likely never heard of: the Lacey Act.

Signed into law in 1900, the Lacey Act instituted prohibitions and penalties on the import of illegally trafficked wildlife species. When Congress expanded the law in 2008 to cover plants, the U.S. became the first country to ban illegal trade of timber and wood products. The Lacey Act and its 2008 amendments are now one of the most powerful existing tools we have to reduce deforestation and combat climate disruption.

Monumental Progress Against Climate Disruption

Sierra Club members and supporters have had plenty to celebrate this week. When President Obama used his pen to designate five diverse sites across the country as national monuments, we applauded him and we welcomed the economic and recreational benefits, as well as the cultural preservation, that these sites will bring.

We’ll continue to celebrate the revenue that new national monuments will bring to local economies, the cultural and historical landmarks they will protect, and the opportunities for travel and exploration they will provide for bird watchers, kayakers, climbers, and other adventurers. But designating national monuments will have a much longer lasting effect -- one that goes beyond a fleeting adventure down a river or trip to visit to a historic site -- it will help reverse the disruption of our climate.

By expanding our nation’s fleet of national monuments to include more large landscapes, the president is making great strides in establishing his lasting climate legacy. America's public lands are increasingly under threat from oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and the effects of a changing climate. The same dirty fuels being extracted from our public lands are exacerbating climate disruption at a pace that is too fast for our landscape and wildlife to adapt.

Congressional Inaction Leads to Four Years Without Wilderness Protection

Four years ago this week -- on March 30, 2009 -- the 111th Congress passed a historic piece of legislation that protected over 2 million acres of wilderness across nine states. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was the largest wilderness bill in decades, and represented the culmination of years of work by countless activists to protect our country’s last wild places. Last year, Congress again reached a historic milestone, albeit an unfortunate one. The 112th Congress became the first since 1966 not to protect a single new acre of wilderness. Dozens of bipartisan, common-sense proposals were stalled in yet one more example of Republican obstructionism.

The real losers of all this bickering are the treasured places that remain unprotected -- landscapes like 20,000 acres in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. The Tennessee Wilderness Act would protect these lands from logging and off-road vehicles, and would also create the first new wilderness in Tennessee in over a generation. The local community very much wants to see the area protected because it will draw tourists to the region and be a boon to the local economy. Both of the state’s Senators, both Republican, are strong champions of the bill and actively want to see it move forward. But despite this support, congressional inaction and opposition from Republican leadership to any new wilderness has caused the bill to languish.

Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Wild: San Juan Islands National Monument

Turn Point Light Station, Stuart Island, San Juan Islands, Washington (Photo: Bureau of Land Management)

Almost 1,000 acres of islands, located among pinnacles and reefs in Washington State’s Puget Sound, make up the brand-new San Juan Islands National Monument. The site is one of five unique landmarks that President Obama declared as national monuments Monday, granting them critical federal protection.

Rare -- even ancient -- wildlife inhabits the San Juan Islands, where bald eagles, marine mammals like baby seals, seabird colonies, and 600-year-old trees reside. The area is also steeped in history, and is home to storied lighthouses on both the Patos and Turn Point Islands, along with culturally significant Native American sites, such as ancient fishing grounds and camas gardens.

Thanks to local community efforts and support from the San Juan County Council, State Senator Kevin Ranker, Representatives Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene, Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, Governor Jay Inslee and, ultimately, President Obama, the lush green and rocky islands will be protected for generations to come.

Pristine: Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument

Rio Grande del Norte (Photo: Brian O'Donnell, Conservation Lands Foundation)

Wild elk, deer, and sheep roam the Southwestern terrain of Rio Grande del Norte. Hundreds of species of migratory birds fly over the land, and the rivers are filled with bass and indigenous fish. There are more than 240,000 square acres of this beautiful wilderness and, after decades of grassroots efforts, it's now part of America’s National Monument system.  Rio Grande del Norte in northern New Mexico is the largest of the five sites that President Obama designated as national monuments yesterday in a special signing ceremony.

This landscape, home to centuries of cultural history, deserves widespread protection, and after 15 years of tough grassroots and political advocacy, Rio Grande del Norte is finally getting the designation it deserves. Local elected officials, business owners, Latino organizations, tribal leaders, and conservation activists have all worked hard to see this area become a national monument. Now, thanks to President Obama and his executive authority under the Antiquities Act, Rio Grande del Norte will be protected for generations to explore and enjoy. A total of 16 presidents -- eight Republicans and eight Democrats -- have used the Antiquities Act more than 130 times to set aside public lands for permanent protection since Congress created the Act in 1906.

Iconic: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument

In March, we celebrate Women's History Month to recognize women who have changed the world. Yesterday, 100 years after her death, President Obama designated approximately 11,750 acres of Maryland as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, protecting a historic American landmark and celebrating an iconic woman who risked her life to fight for a more just society.

Only seven sites in our National Park System were established to commemorate some aspect of women's history. The designation of the Harriet Tubman National Monument is a step in the right direction -- and now, as we look toward the 2016 centennial celebration of the National Park Service, it's important to continue diversifying our national parks to more fully reflect America's shared heritage and cultural diversity. Tubman's fearless leadership as conductor on the Underground Railroad shatters the myth that women and enslaved people of the antebellum period were powerless.

Along with Tubman's birthplace and childhood home, the Jacob Jackson home site and the Brodess Farm, the new monument includes acres of wild land within the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Located on the eastern shore of Maryland, this wildlife refuge has the largest breeding population of bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida. It is historically significant because it commemorates sites associated with Tubman's early life as an enslaved woman, including a network of homes and farms, waterways and woods where Tubman and her family lived and worked from the 1820s to the 1840s. It was Tubman's adept understanding of this geography that helped her to escape slavery and ultimately return to Maryland to successfully liberate enslaved relatives and friends.