A bulleted list of Hot Flashes
is provided below. Please click on the topic you are interested
in or scroll down the page to read all of our Hot Flashes.
Roan Plateau:
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| Colorado's Roan Plateau photo courtesy of SkyTruth. |
Energy development on top of Colorado’s majestic Roan Plateau (Broadwalk 2003) has been contentious for years, with proponents and opponents holding sway at different times. The Roan Plateau, near Rifle, is rich both in natural gas and oil shale, and wildlife and ecological diversity. It’s home to some of the state’s largest deer and elk herds, mountain lions, peregrine falcons, bears, rare plants and genetically pure native cutthroat trout dating to the last ice age. It is a rare island of wildness surrounded by a sea of oil and gas fields, and local residents overwhelmingly prefer to see it left untouched. Colorado legislators Sen. Ken Salazar, Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall have proffered a bill that would leave more acreage protected than the BLM proposal, but still opens far too much of the Roan’s roadless acreage to mineral exploitation. For current status, see www.saveroanplateau.org.
Repeal the RAT!
In 2004, the Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act, aka the recreational access tax or RAT, imposing various fees for everything from picnic tables and privies to scenic turnouts along roads, became law. On certain public lands it was possible to be ticketed for taking a hike without paying a $5 fee. Help is at hand, though, in the form of the Fee Repeal and Expanded Access Act of 2007, introduced by Senators Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Crapo (R-ID). The bill would revoke authority given federal agencies, with the exception of the National Park Service, in 2004 to institute new fees and increase existing fees at campgrounds, trailheads, and other public areas.
Baucus, a long-time critic of the fees, said the current system amounts to double taxation. “Americans already pay to use their public lands on April 15,” Baucus said. “We shouldn’t be taxed twice to go fishing, hiking, or camping on OUR public lands. It just doesn’t make any sense.” The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition is currently campaigning to get as many Congressional co-sponsors to the bill as possible. For more information on your legislator’s stand on this bill, and how to ask him/her to sign on to it please go to www.WesternSlopeNoFee.org
Proposed Energy Corridors:
The November 2007 “West-wide Energy Corridor Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement” (DPEIS) -- http://corridoreis.anl.gov -- proposes huge swaths of habitat-fragmenting corridors through hundreds of thousands of acres of public land (including national recreation areas, monuments, wildlife refuges, and more) to “accommodate multiple pipelines (such as for oil, gas, or hydrogen), electricity transmission lines, and related infrastructure, such as access and maintenance roads, compressors, pumping stations, and other structures.” Once these corridors are designated, energy companies will then push to “connect the dots” between far-flung segments of public land over thousands of miles of private and state lands, such as state parks and wildlife areas. Although the DPEIS makes no mention of it, these massive swaths will also connect proposed coal-fired power plants. This is a real step backward, supporting 19th century energy technology, when the emphasis must shift increasingly toward local, sustainable energy sources.
USFS & BLM Travel Planning Process:
The US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are in the process of identifying and designating roads and trails for all of the various modes of transportation, from shoe leather to Hummers, on our public lands. Many Travel Plans are being released this winter, and public hearings and meetings are being held to gather public input. The motorized recreation community has been very effective in mobilizing its constituency to attend these meetings, which gives the appearance that they represent the public’s interest. They claim that the plans are “locking them out,” preventing them from enjoying their chosen recreational activities. We “quiet users” have until now remained altogether too quiet, failing to give the agencies our “side of the story.” Many of us don’t really understand how much peace and quiet we’re giving up, and it’s up to us to attend these meetings and speak up. For more information on how to get involved in saving some solitude please contact your local conservation group or The Wilderness Society’s Recreation Planning Program, josh_hicks@tws.org. |
