Take Action in the New Year

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Congressman Blumenauer and Walden hiked around Mt. Hood and now are planning to move forward a Wilderness bill in 2006. Photo courtesy David Meriwether.

Hundreds of Oregonians turned out in early December to support Wilderness additions in and around Mt. Hood, in the Columbia Gorge and in the southern reaches of the Mt. Hood National Forest from the Clackamas River to Mt. Jefferson! Now that 2006 is upon us, our Congressmen and Senators need to hear from you!

Please send a letter or contact Congressmen Walden and Blumenauer via the contact information below or via their websites. Ask them to provide Wilderness protection for more of the special places in and around Mount Hood and in the Gorge!

At the hearings Congressmen Greg Walden and Earl Blumenauer formally unveiled their plan to protect an additional 75,000 acres of wild lands from the Columbia Gorge south to Mount Jefferson and the Bull of the Wilderness.

This exceedingly modest proposal follows on Senator Wyden's proposal to protect over 177,000 acres of Wildlands as Wilderness. Senator Wyden's proposal focused on Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge, and then, later, in response to public testimony he added areas in the Clackamas River drainage.

While the blueprint proposed by Congressmen Walden and Blumenauer includes an addition in the Gorge and a few additions on Mt. Hood, Congressmen Walden and Blumenauer's proposal does include the Roaring River Roadless area in the Clackamas drainage, as well additions to the Bull of the Woods that Wyden did not include in his proposal.

TAKE ACTION: We need your help to protect more lands as Wilderness in the Mount Hood National Forest! The Congressmen are considering revisions to their proposal. Senator Wyden also needs to be encouraged to engage the delegation. Please send them a letter today asking them to protect more of the wild lands and waters around Mount Hood as Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers. Please make your letter personal by talking about the places you love, and how much you use and enjoy Wilderness.

Write to:

Congressman Earl Blumenauer
2446 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Congressman Greg Walden
1210 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Suggestions for Letter Writing:

• Thank the Congressmen for their bipartisan approach, the effort they have put into their proposal, and their protection of important places like Roaring River, Big Bottom, and Alder Creek!
• The Walden-Blumenauer proposal to protect 75,000 acres is a good start, but more can be done. Over 260,000 acres of Wilderness-quality land remains unprotected, and last year Sen. Wyden proposed protection 177,000 acres. Urge the Congressmen to expand their proposal!
• Ask the Congressmen to include special places that were left out of their first draft, including:
• The largest remaining unprotected old-growth stand in the Mount Hood National Forest at Boulder Lake
• The important hawk migration area of Bonney Butte
• Larch Mountain's old- growth forests and the headwaters of the celebrated Multnomah Falls
• Olallie Lakes roadless area
• Fifteenmile Creek, one of the most diverse areas in the Mount Hood National Forest, and key native fish habitat
• Fish Creek, the North, South, and Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River, Collowash River, and the East Fork of the Hood River - a kayaker's paradise
• The old-growth forests and Hood River's watershed at Lost Lake, Lost Lake Butte, and Marco Creek
• McCall Point, one of the Columbia River Gorge's premier wildflower areas and pine-oak woodlands
• Badger Creek Wilderness Additions, including Eightmile Meadow, which boasts some of the best deer and elk hunting on the Mount Hood National Forest.
• Salmon River Meadows' 228 native wildlife species, including 31 species that are listed as threatened or endangered.
• Mirror Lake's magnificent older forest that were scheduled for logging in the infamous Eagle Timber Sale
• The Abbot Burn and Upper Salmon River Meadows, including portions of the Pacific Crest Trail, and a key wetland for young trout.
• Remind the Congressmen that Wilderness is the most effective tool we have to protect wild places and restore balance on our forests.
• The proposal by Walden and Blumenauer requests the Forest Service to draft a forest health plan for approximately 130,000 acres in the eastern reaches of the Mount Hood National Forest to be implemented over the next 10 years. While the Sierra Club supports conservation-based thinning projects near homes and communities which avoid old-growth and undeveloped wild lands, if not crafted properly this may actually target old growth or unroaded forest stands for cutting.

Want to volunteer to help the campaign to protect Mt. Hood and the Gorge? Contact Ralph Bloemers at 503-525.2727 or email him at ralph@crag.org.