Rock Creek Wilderness?

[Dogmeat]

Was home for the weekend and happened to read a letter to the editor in the Red Star today ...

Apparently yet another politically well-connected Wyoming rancher is lobbying for another wilderness area right next to the family ranch (go figure eh?)

This was interesting to me since it was a former senator.

I'm not terribly familiar with the area, but suffice to say I thought it was awfully convenient he was railing against ATV traffic in the area and conveniently it was his family ranch that was in the area ....

IDK, just thought I'd make a post about it since we've seen this time and time and time again in this state .... super rich ranch-folk buying up public land bordering their properties through wilderness proposals, etc.

Anyone have any more info on this?

 

[shelbwyo]

I am about sick of hearing about this as well. I know the rock creek area have been in there hunting and riding 4-wheelers and what not. I will have to do a bit more research on the area that is being propsed as wilderness but i think it will extend off the cloud peak wilderness. I have just heard stuff and read the paper here in sheridan and i am not sure who is trying to get this started havent really heard of a local rancher, but i havent really kept up on it because it is a stupid idea. Will look and see what i can find for ya.

 

[shelbwyo]

Just some comments i found about the whole deal

http://www.sheridanmedia.com/poll/s...tional-forest-become-official-wilderness-area

 

[shelbwyo]

Here is these nimrods website, i think we all need to start writing them!

http://www.wildwyo.org/Recommended_WildernessRC.html


And here is the history that they are claiming... Not realy sure what the real story is

http://www.wildwyo.org/RC_history.html

 

[shelbwyo]

I never knew that they were trying to close these trails, i am starting to dislike this Wyoming Wilderness Association!

http://www.wildwyo.org/Bighorn_NF.html

 

[shelbwyo]

Here is some more on it, maybe not the most crediable source but got a map. So a roadless area is pretty much a wilderness is it not seems to me like the FS has been treating it like a wilderness area even though it is not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Creek_Roadless_Area

 

[shelbwyo]

Some more crap to make ya angry, found this video really biased and seems like they dont know what they are talking about... They really have no valid point

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wi...rth-should-rock-creek-be-a-protected-wilderne

 

[shelbwyo]

Older story but just some more info

http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_e124bbac-8c7a-11de-9143-001cc4c03286.html

 

[shelbwyo]

http://www.buffalobulletin.com/cms/news/story-435125.html

 

[Dogmeat]

Former Sen. Malcolm Wallop was the author of the peice in the Casper Star Tribune last Saturday ...

How convenient for him, his family has a massive ranch in that very area

 

[shelbwyo]

I know the name and whatnot, but im not sure which ranch is his. I actually know the area pretty well but not sure which ranch he owns, I know the HF Bar guest ranch is involved with the whole deal but not sure who owns it, i think its a lady tho if i remember right. There are a couple other big ranches right there too and it could be one of them. Well i hope the 3000+ acre fire that is burning on that area right now will show them how rough the country really is and why it would be a bad idea to totally shut it off to any recreation or logging.

 

[shelbwyo]

The Gilead fire which is in the area that they are wanting to make the wilderness, the newest report says that it is 4000 acres now, and still growing

 

[psychoneurosis]

Interesting there is a fire in the proposed Wilderness area- FS recently concluded that fire risk from beetle infestations of wilderness was a huge problem

FS said wilderness contributed to beetle outbreak and significantly impaired their response. Seems a little counter intelligent to want to designate more at this point. That report is attached

They are also doing a follow up webinar on this issue- free to the public and probably full of all kinds of anti-wilderness goodness. I have already signed up

Link to that

http://www.fs.fed.us/rmrs/events/#future-forests

 

[Twostroke]

The wilderness declreation is getting out of control, it seems that they can not read their own acts that they have passed and are making land that does not meet requirements into wilderness. They made an area near here wilderness that is basically waste land, heck people dumped trash there and I grew up riding motorcycles there, not sure how they can consider it a "prestine roadless area" as they are suppose to.

I saw a bumper sticker once that said "wilderness land of no use" I'd love to get my hands on one.

 

[psychoneurosis]

Another good concern to raise against Wilderness designations is the Forest Service has developed management guidelines for watersheds impacted by the pine beetle. Normally improving watershed health is one of the issues cited as a reason for a Wilderness designation. The FS guidelines have been uniformly adopted by almost every water district in CO.

The mitigation activities recommneded in the FS guidelines would be basically precluded with a Wilderness designation as we all know how effective cutting trees with only a handsaw and an ax really is. Those docs are attached

Northern Arizona University also produced a very good documentary about the level of work needed to create healthy forests after the beetle and ultra high tree densities. Again none of this mitigation can reasonably be done in Wilderness and really precludes all recreation once the beetle kill trees start falling.

You can just search "forests under fire" on youtube to watch the video and I have hard copies of the DVD if you want to submit them with any comments

Just for motivation, we have beaten Wilderness proposals. They are not invincible!

 

[shelbwyo]

That fire is up to 6000 acres now but has definetly slowed down