Washington "Wanna Be" greenies and USFS Sued by Radical greenies and LOOSE!s

[DOO DAWG]

Washington "Wanna Be" greenies and USFS Sued by Radical greenies and LOOSE!s

• The Green Mountain fire lookout has been ordered removed by a federal judge because of Forest Service violations of the federal Wilderness Act.
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  Lee Pollack
  This photo of the Green Mountain lookout was taken in August of 1955 by Lee Pollack of Concrete.

By Gale Fiege, Herald Writer
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DARRINGTON -- A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to remove a historic lookout from Green Mountain in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

The mood was sour at the Darrington Historical Society meeting Wednesday evening as people were met with the news that U.S. District Judge John Coughenour ruled in favor of a Montana-based conservation group that sued to have the lookout removed.

"I can't tell you how totally devastated I am by this news," said historical society president Leah Tyson. "I honestly don't see how the judge could possibly believe that (the forest fire lookout) doesn't belong up there."

The lawsuit, filed in 2010 by Wilderness Watch, alleged that the Forest Service violated the federal Wilderness Act, which doesn't allow for the use of motorized vehicles nor new construction in wilderness areas. Helicopters were used to haul out the old lookout and haul in what Wilderness Watch calls a new building.

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More at..

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20...rs-removal-of-historic-lookout-in-wilderness-

 

[94fordguy]

Reading through all the comments on that page its good to see practically all of them recognize how stupid this decision is. Hopefully it will lead to more folks appreciating just how crazy and restrictive the Wilderness Act is.

Good post

 

[John 970]

$$$$

It's disappointing how much tax money was spent on this is.

The bastards are taking it all away.

 

[MT Backcountry]

SAD DAY!

Doesn't make any sence does it. They really want it all to burn so we cant log it you know. These groups shouldn't be allowed to do this But This Is BIG Government You Know. All we can do is VOTE.
I'm in Montana and don't understand how this group can control Washington State Closures. Green Judges in my opinion and they new this?
Sorry for the loss!

 

[WaBackcountry]

Has nothing to do with "green" judges or big government. It has to do with the law. It is the duty of the judicial system to interpret and uphold the law. It is the duty of our government, which is voted into office democratically, to make the law. The forest service screwed up. That simple. You can helicopter in building materials. Honestly, I can believe anyone gives a **** though.

Why aren't we talking about the Forest Service proposal of a "buffer" between wilderness and non wilderness which ultimately will close many stellar backcountry riding areas in WA. They had a meeting this week in Eastern WA about this.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[03RMK800]

The problem was a violation of law when the wilderness was established-- it did not meet the statutory criteria of no significant manmade incursions. Over the last twenty-thirty years, we have seen land held in wilderness inventory or even nominated for full wilderness status that has lots of roads, mines, cuts, and other signs of man. I even examined properties that cherry-stemmedaround some existing use, eg 40 acre homestead with road to it, resulting in a major man-made feature right in the middle of a "wilderness'. These porperties should not be considered eligible for wilderness. Unfortunately, there has been more nomination of such lands than there have been of delisting from consideration.
With rulings like this, how many public dollars are going to required to eliminate sign of man when the feature should have been excluded from wilderness?

 

[DOO DAWG]

Larsen wants to pick and choose parts of wilderness act must be follwed

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120626/NEWS01/706269805

Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 7:07 p.m. Bill would save lookout in Glacier Peak Wilderness
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen is introducing federal legislation to preserve the Green Mountain fire lookout near Darrington.
By Gale Fiege, Herald Writer The Green Mountain fire lookout is in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

DARRINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., plans to introduce legislation Wednesday aimed at halting the removal of the historic Green Mountain fire lookout in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. "The lookout is an integral part of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, important for both recreation and the region's history," Larsen said Tuesday by phone from Washington, D.C. "The message of this bill is simple: The Green Mountain lookout stays on Green Mountain." Earlier this year the U.S. District Court in Seattle ordered the lookout removed after Montana-based Wilderness Watch successfully sued the Forest Service for using a helicopter to repair it, a violation of the federal Wilderness Act. The Forest Service maintained that the lookout's historical significance made it an allowable project in the wilderness. The lawsuit is still in the courts, pending an appeal by the Department of Justice. Larsen's proposed Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act would amend the Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984, allowing for the operation and maintenance of the lookout and preventing the Forest Service from tearing it down and carting it away. "I believe strongly in preserving our environment, and I have been a leader in the fight to protect wilderness in the Wild Sky (Wilderness), the Skagit River Valley and in the San Juan Islands," Larsen said. "It's as important to me to save the lookout as it was to save the Wild Sky. Folks who live in Montana may not understand our efforts here to preserve federal land." George Nickas, director of Wilderness Watch, said Larsen's bill has the potential to set a bad precedent, an effort that deserves national attention. "The Wilderness Act was established for the permanent good of the whole people," Nickas said. "When members of Congress pick away at it, the idea that these lands are set aside for future generations begins to ring hollow." Larsen said the position taken by Wilderness Watch fails to take into account the spirit of the law. Chris Moore, field director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, agrees. "As an organization, we believe the lookout enhances the Glacier Peak Wilderness," Moore said. The Green Mountain lookout is one of the few surviving fire lookouts in the West, Larsen said. The lookout was built in the summer of 1933, when a Civilian Conservation Corps crew climbed 6,500-foot Green Mountain in the North Cascade Range east of Darrington. Along with its use as a key fire lookout in the logging heyday, Green Mountain also was an early warning station for aerial attacks during World War II. The lookout is on national and state registers of historic places. Elected officials including Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, the Snohomish County Council and the Darrington Town Council and organizations such as the Darrington Historical Society, many recreational groups, the Forest Fire Lookout Association and state and national Trusts for Historic Preservation support the maintenance of the lookout, Larsen said. "Wilderness Watch's lawsuit wasted a lot of people's time and money," said Scott Morris, historical society vice president, "and it's time for Congress to step in and allow us to move on to more important things. The lookout won't last forever. Just let it be." The fire lookout on Green Mountain is one of only 15 left from North Bend to the Canadian border, Morris said. That's 15 of 90 that were built in the 1930s, he said. "I am not speaking for the historical society or people in Darrington when I say this, but I love the Wilderness Act," Morris said. "The lawsuit brought by Wilderness Watch is the kind of thing that (ticks) people off over a non-issue. Nickas was the one who started this whole thing, and he is the one who has set the bad precedent."

 

[JHG]

Greenies fighting with each other over the Wilderness Act is probably one of the best things that could happen for those of us that don't like it. If the new bill passes that opens the door for other amendments to the bill to be made, i.e. Mountain Biking. If it fails, then maybe some of the "green" groups will second guess backing a wilderness designation.