Due to the marvels of today's communication systems I was recently able to sit in on a two hour teleconference while on my boat off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The Clearwater Basin Collaborative held a sub committee meeting on Aug 7th regarding the wilderness designation for the Great Burn for the bill they are getting ready to finalize. I was aked to participate as an "expert on winter use". Not sure about the expert part but I did participate.
The CBC has really turned about 170 degrees from their earlier promise to include snowmobiling in their proposed National Recreation Area bill. The sub committee chair came across as suggesting this was a "new" idea and late in the game. Sandra Mitchell and I made a presentation to the land designation comittee about three years ago that most people seemed to "have forgotten". Selective memory I guess. Dave Galantuomini spearheaded the current effort to get Sandra and I included on the CBC sub committee agenda. Dave has been active in the Forest Plan Collaborative also. We owe him a big thank you for his help.
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Dave made his presentation based on including "special use areas" for snowmobiles within the proposed wilderness designation. He used the same maps I provided for the FS. All in all it was an overlay of the alternative Clearwater proposed action. It did include all of Goat Lake and Blacklead Mtn. riding.
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There was a big, drawn out response from someone on the Great Burn Study group about wild life issues casused by snowmobiles, all of which was speculative. Then he got into the fact he is also a snowmobiler and stated the area is so difficult to access that it only serves a few sledders at best. He said he tried to get into Surveyor and couldn't get over Schley Mtn. He said you need a "high tech" sled, which the average snowmobiler coudn't afford, to get in there. And what the heck?..there are hundred's of miles of groomed trails for the snowmobilers to use anyway.* I did have some enjoyment refuting both the wildlife and sled comments. I was probably a bit sarcastic when I noted riding skill trumped sled function.
At the end of the day the subcommitte did not voice much support for the wild life rhetoric put forward, but has a concern of special use areas within a wilderness designation. One of the wilderness supporters offered that we should try get the full CBC board to go with a National Protection Area *designation instead of a wilderness designation....and then said he wouldn't support it!* Another wilderness guy was OK with the snowmobile special use area if they got more wilderness acreage in other areas. One of the subcommittee members did say it "might" be time to start thinking about change for winter use. I responded that I agreed . The wilderness act is 50 years old and when you read it there is not much mention of winter use. It all relates to summer use. Snowmobiles suitable for the backcountry were pretty much a non issue in 1964.* There was a fair amount of speculation/discussion from the wilderness people that the FS will probably go with the snowmobile special use areas in the Clearwater Forest Plan...and a hint it would be challenged in court.
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I have not had an opportunity to meet with Sandra and Dave re: strategy going forward. I doubt that the CBC bill would get full Idaho congressional delegation support without the inclusion of snowmobile special use areas. Sandra has done some research/input on this. Both Idaho Senators need to support it to get it before the Senate Energy and Natural resources committee for a hearing. At any rate it looks like our work has just started...again... in the CBC saga. Personally I would like to see the Great Burn designated a National Protection area that included snowmobiles because then it is a done deal approved by Congress and not subject to the ten year Forest Plan reviews. I'll keep you posted.
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The Collaborative meeting for this coming Sat. has been cancelled. I'll visit with Sandra via phone and then send out some talking points for comments on the Clearwater NF Proposed Action in a few days. I think we are better served to keep BSP and ISSA comments in lockstep.
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Stan Spencer.
