Happy Holidays!
After this WildAlert, it's time for us to take a break for the holidays. And in January, WildAlert will have a new look! Wishing all of you the best for the holidays and New Year.

Future of Wild Clearwater, Nez Perce National Forests At Stake!
The Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests are among the wildest remaining places in the Northern Rockies. Their future is very much at issue as the U.S. Forest Service begins to plan their management for the next decade and more.

At this early stage in the process, the agency is asking us what we think it should consider as it develops that plan. We have an important opportunity now to help ensure that the plan adequately protects these wonderful wild forests.

Please send your comments today. The deadline is December 31, 2004. You can send that message immediately from
http://ga1.org/campaign/idahoforests/wd8ks5x2h77nd3j

Photo above: Hart Lake, Mallard Meadow proposed wilderness, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho.
Photo below: Upper Lochsa proposed wilderness, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho. Photos courtesy of Craig Gehrke.

As Wild as When Lewis and Clark First Saw Them
"(F)rom this mountain I could observe high rugged mountains in every direction as far as I could see."

William Clark used these words in 1805 to describe what we today call the Clearwater Basin of Idaho. Much of the basin, which enfolds the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests, is as wild as when the explorers traversed it.

Whether it will remain that way is very much the central question in a forest planning effort now underway for the two forests.

The region contains the longest remaining undisturbed portion of the overland route Lewis and Clark used nearly two centuries ago. It is a trail that the Nez Perce people used for generations before the explorers came. Native Americans continue their traditional hunting and gathering on the two forests. Joining them today are hikers, hunters, anglers, river runners, history buffs and others who value and seek out the best remaining wild places in our country.

Rich in Wildness and in Wildlife
Nearly 1.5 million acres of the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests are still roadless and undeveloped. They make up some of the wildest forests in the entire Columbia River Basin and some of the healthiest, with centuries-old cedar stands. Their clear rivers-the Lochsa, Selway and Kelly Creek, among others-provide habitat for troubled species such as Chinook salmon, steelhead, westslope cutthroat and bull trout.

Canada lynx use the forests as do wolves, mountain lions, wolverines, black bears, fishers, martens and goshawks. Elk, deer, bighorn sheep and mountain goats also live there. In all, the forests support a rich diversity of aquatic, avian and terrestrial species. Some of the most sensitive are dependent for their very survival on the continued wildness of these roadless areas.

The Issues: What's at StakeIn the final plan, the Forest Service will decide how to manage the Clearwater and Nez Perce for the next 10 to 15 years.

This is our best opportunity to:

• Support the continued protection of existing national forest roadless areas.
• Support the agency's efforts to restore fire to its important role in forest ecosystems and to urge it to continue of that work.
• Influence the Forest Service's decisions about where and under what limitations off-road vehicles will be allowed to travel. And
• Urge the agency to send to the Congress the strongest possible wilderness recommendations.

How You Can Help: Contact the Forest Service Today
The deadline for comments in this phase of the process (which the agency calls the "scoping" phase) is Dec. 31, 2004. The agency needs to hear from us about these important issues. You can send that message immediately at
http://ga1.org/campaign/idahoforests/wd8ks5x2h77nd3j

The Forest Service requires that public comments be "substantive." Simply translated, that means it isn't enough to just ask for something; we must explain why it matters. Thus, your own thoughts, in your own words will have by far the greatest impact. If you can find time to write your own comments, we urge you to do so. We have included a sample letter from which you can draw the major points and have also provided contact information. Remember, the deadline for comments is the last day of the year, December 31, 2004!

Contact Information
Clearwater and Nez Perce
Forest Plan Revision Team
Route 2, Box 191
Kamiah, ID 83536

Website: Use the comment form at
http://www.fs.fed.us/cnpz/forest/contact/feedback.shtml
(no email address available for comments)

Fax: 208-935-4275

Sample Letter

Dear Forest Planning Team:

Please consider my comments in the scoping process for the revision of the management plans for the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests.

Please maintain in a roadless condition all 1.5 million acres of lands on these two forests that are now roadless. They provide habitat for many rare and sensitive species and also contain some of the best remaining stands of old growth forest in the Northern Rockies. Kept roadless, these areas will continue to function as healthy forests, providing clean water, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities for generations to come.

I believe the following areas are fully deserving of permanent wilderness protection and I urge you to recommend them to the Congress: Mallard-Meadow, Great Burn, Moose-Cayuse, Weitas, Upper Lochsa and Meadow Creek.

I applaud the progress the Forest Service has made in recent years toward returning fire to its natural role in the Clearwater and Nez Perce landscape. Please continue and expand that work.

Please move aggressively to manage off-road vehicle (ORV) use on these two forests. Specifically, I urge you to close recommended wilderness areas to them to maintain the areas' wilderness characteristics and nature. Please limit ORV use to signed, designated routes only, prohibit ORV use on all user-created routes and eliminate all cross-country ORV travel.

ORVs should be allowed only where a sound scientific assessment shows that they do not harm watersheds by increasing erosion, do not disrupt wildlife habitat, do not contribute to exotic week infestations that damage native plant communities and do not conflict with other forest recreationists.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
(Your name and address)