More about the Dark Divide Roadless Area: Get Involved! Wilderness Notebooks: Lewis and Clark, in their own words

Wilderness protection and Wild and Scenic River status for the nearby Lewis River would keep this ancient forest intact.

Thirty miles north of the Columbia River, nestled between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams, lies the Dark Divide Roadless Area. With approximately 76,000 acres of intact roadless land, it represents a unique topographic region unduplicated by any other protected roadless area in Washington's southern Cascades. The southern portion of the area drains into the Lewis River, which was named for Meriwether Lewis.

Despite recent logging, the area provides prime terrain for horseback riding, hunting, hiking and backpacking. Sierra Club volunteers and organizers have worked to focus public attention on the benefits of the Dark Divide by going door-to-door, holding community gatherings, tabling at community fairs and festivals, and conducting conservation outings. In September of 2003, The Columbian -- the newspaper serving Clark County -- wrote an editorial in full support of permanent protection of the Dark Divide Roadless Area. During Sierra Club's Vancouver Community Gathering in November 2003, Congressman Brian Baird was a guest speaker and 145 people attended to show their dissatisfaction with the Bush administration's environmental rollbacks and their enthusiasm about permanently protecting the Dark Divide.

What you can do: Please write to Representative Brian Baird and urge him to continue working to permanently protect special places in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, like the Dark Divide: Rep. Brian Baird, U.S. House of Representatives, 1220 Main Street, Suite 360, Vancouver, WA 98660.

For more information, contact Shannon Harps at Shannon.Harps@sierraclub.org or (206) 378-0114 ext. 306.

Photo: View of Mt. Adams from the Dark Divide Roadless Area, courtesy Kurt Wieland.