Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Press Release Page
Media representatives who wish to be added to our press list should get in touch with VWA Media Coordinator Olaf Domis via email at press@ventanawild.org.
-
May 31, 2007:
Santa Cruz Area Residents Elected To Lead Ventana Wilderness Alliance -
December 19, 2002:
President Signs Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 -
November 21, 2002:
Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 Passes House and Senate -
May 9, 2002:
Conservation Group Supports Farr Wilderness Bill -
February 11, 2002:
Conservation Groups Halt Grazing Expansion in Los Padres National Forest -
December 21, 2001:
Environmental Alliance Fights Public Land Grazing on Big Sur Coast -
January 11, 2001:
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Opposes Fort Hunter Liggett Bombing Plan -
September 18, 2000:
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Calls for Fire Management Funding -
June 28, 2000:
Local Forest Service Office Denies Helicopter Hunting Permit Request -
June 9, 2000:
Two Conservation Groups Sue Forest Service Over Road Reopening -
June 7, 2000:
Two Conservation Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue Forest Service -
April 6, 2000:
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Opposes Backcountry Heli-Hunting Proposal -
October 6, 1999:
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Urges Timely and Appropriate Fire Rehabilitation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Santa Cruz Area Residents Elected To Lead Ventana Wilderness Alliance
CONTACT:
Contact: Tom Hopkins 831-429-9010
SANTA CRUZ, CA -- May 31, 2007: Five Santa Cruz area residents have been elected to lead the Ventana Wilderness Alliance for 2007. At the winter board meeting Tom Hopkins was elected president; Jon Libby vice-president; David Jacobs, CPA, treasurer; Rich Popchak director and Julie Anne Hopkins director, all of Santa Cruz. Rounding out the roster of officers and directors for 2007 is Dennis Palm of Paso Robles who was elected secretary. The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is a Santa Cruz based all-volunteer nonprofit that works to protect the wilderness qualities and biodiversity of the northern Santa Lucia Mountains and Big Sur Coast.
The Forest Service reported that Ventana Wilderness Alliance volunteers contributed over 2,500 hours of back country trail maintenance in the Ventana Wilderness Area in 2006 which the Forest Service values at over $45,000.
The VWA also reports receipt of a $2,000 grant from Patagonia to help fund removal of several abandoned vehicles from the Willow Creek drainage along the southern Big Sur Coast. This will be the second project for the VWA in Willow Creek. In 2004 VWA volunteers backpacked over 10,000 pounds of trash and abandoned mining equipment from the newly designated Willow Creek addition to the Silver Peak Wilderness Area. For more information visit: www.ventanawild.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
President Signs Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002
CONTACT:
Tom Hopkins 831-429-9010
Kelsey Jordahl 831-775-1842
WASHINGTON, DC -- December 19, 2002 -- President George W. Bush signed into law the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 at the Whitehouse today. The bill had passed both houses of Congress by unanimous consent in the last days of the 107th Congress. Introduced by Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel), the bill adds 54,473 acres of federal land in Monterey County to the National Wilderness Preservation system.
"With the rapidly increasing population of the Central Coast, it is important that these last remaining federal wild lands be permanently preserved for uses such as hiking, horseback riding, hunting and fishing, for community water resources, and to preserve native wildlife," stated Jon Libby, President of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, a grassroots nonprofit organization that supported the legislation.
The bill expands three existing congressionally designated Wilderness Areas by adding 34,703 acres to the Ventana Wilderness Area and 17,055 acres to the Silver Peak Wilderness Area, both in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains along the Big Sur coast. The bill also adds 2,715 acres to the Pinnacles Wilderness Area in the Pinnacles National Monument located in the Gabilan Range on the east side of the Salinas Valley.
The bill also authorizes $5 million for the Forest Service to "conduct a 5-year pilot program to target the eradication of invasive plant and animal species in the Monterey District of the Los Padres National Forest." Pampas grass and other exotic plant species have invaded much of the Big Sur coast, altering native habitats and displacing native species.
Ventana Wilderness Alliance board member Gordon Johnson, who worked closely with Farr's staff as the bill was developed stated, "We are all indebted to Congressman Sam Farr for having the vision to preserve these lands for future generations and also for having the political skill to bring together the necessary bipartisan support in Congress to turn that vision into law."
The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is an all volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of wilderness qualities and native biodiversity on the public lands within the northern Santa Lucia Mountains along the Big Sur coast.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002 Passes House and Senate
CONTACT:
Tom Hopkins 831-429-9010
Kelsey Jordahl 831-775-1842
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA -- November 21, 2002 -- Early this morning the Senate unanimously approved the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002, which had received unanimous approval in the House of Representatives last week. Introduced by Congressman Sam Farr earlier this year, the Act adds 56,880 acres of federal lands in Monterey County to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Big Sur Act adds 34,703 acres to the Ventana Wilderness and 17,055 acres to the Silver Peak Wilderness, both within the Monterey District of the Los Padres National Forest along the Big Sur coast. The act also adds 2,715 acres to the Pinnacles Wilderness in the Pinnacles National Monument.
Gordon Johnson, a founding board member of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, commented, "We have been working for over five years to achieve permanent protection for these last unprotected federal lands in the Big Sur backcountry. We would like to thank Congressman Sam Farr and Senator Barbara Boxer for their extraordinary efforts to permanently protect these outstanding wildlands as designated wilderness".
Wilderness designation allows camping, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, and other non-motorized outdoor activities, while barring development and motor vehicles. Fire fighting and fire pre-suppression activities are allowed in wilderness, and are specifically authorized by the Big Sur legislation passed Wednesday. The bill also authorizes $1 million per year for five years to be used for the eradication of invasive exotic plants within the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest.
"Passage of the Big Sur Wilderness Act is the first victory for the California Wild Heritage Campaign, which seeks wilderness protection for 2.4 million acres of unspoiled federal lands and wild rivers in California", stated Kelsey Jordahl, another Ventana Wilderness Alliance board member.
The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is an all-volunteer grassroots nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, and restore the wilderness qualities and biological diversity of the public lands within the northern Santa Lucia Mountains along California's Big Sur coast. Additional information is available at www.ventanawild.org
PRESS RELEASE
Conservation Group Supports Farr Wilderness Bill
CONTACTS:
Jon Libby 831-459-6780
Tom Hopkins 831-429-9010
Paul Danielson 831-484-1656
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA -- May 9, 2002 -- The Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) today expressed its support of Rep. Sam Farr's (D-Calif.) soon-to-be introduced wilderness legislation [HR 4750], which would add over 54,000 acres of National Forest and Bureau Land within the northern Santa Lucia Mountains to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
VWA president Jon Libby said that protecting these lands in Monterey County would preserve important water sources for communities and agriculture; native plants; critical habitat for threatened and endangered species; and wilderness recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and camping.
"Permanent preservation of these public wilderness lands will ensure that they endure to serve the needs of future generations of Californians," Libby said.
The bill, dubbed the Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002, is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives next week. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is expected to introduce companion legislation in the Senate.
Libby thanked Rep. Farr and his staff for their hard work on the legislation and also thanked hundreds of local volunteers who identified mapped and field-checked all of the public lands that will be protected by passage of Congressman Farr's bill.
"This is truly a momentous occasion for all the local wilderness enthusiasts who have spent countless hours over many years advocating for protection of these valuable wilderness lands," he said.
Supporters are encouraged to share their views with Congressman Farr by writing to him at 100 West Alisal Street, Salinas, CA 93901.
The VWA is an all-volunteer non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range.
Please refer to the VWA's Wilderness Expansion Project pages at
for an overview of the VWA's efforts to protect these sensitive areas with Wilderness status, a map, and descriptions of the individual proposed additions.
PRESS RELEASE
Conservation Groups Halt Grazing Expansion in Los Padres National Forest
Contacts:
Steve Chambers, Ventana Wilderness Alliance, Santa Cruz, CA (831) 425-1787
Martin Taylor, Ph.D., Center for Biological Diversity, Tucson (520) 623-5252 x307
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. -- Feb. 11, 2002 -- In a victory for wildlands conservation and endangered species protection along the Big Sur coast, the Los Padres National Forest has withdrawn its recent decision to expand cattle grazing on public lands in the area.
The withdrawal was a response to an appeal by The Center for Biological Diversity and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, which opposed a plan by the Forest Service to open new lands in the area to grazing and increase the number of cattle on Forest Service lands.
"With all the scientific evidence of environmental destruction caused by livestock, it is about time National Forests began ending grazing in the many places where it harms our native heritage, rather than expanding it as they were planning to do here." said Martin Taylor, Grazing Reform Program Coordinator with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Specifically, the Forest Service was planning to remove a livestock exclosure in a designated Wilderness area, open new Forest lands to livestock grazing around Salmon Creek and on the coastal slope near the Monterey/San Luis Obispo county line, and increase the number of livestock using Forest lands on the Big Sur Coast to 362 from 268.
Following this withdrawal the Forest Service will now redo their environmental assessments, which entail scientific analyses conducted prior to making project decisions. Environmental assessments aim to safeguard against potential environmental degradation resulting from any given project.
Facing scrutiny from the Center and the VWA, the Forest Service has already shut down the largest of the allotments, the 17,112 acre Gorda allotment, for two years citing ongoing permit violations by the allotment holder.
And for the time being, the Twitchell, Torre Canyon, Buckeye and Cozy Cove allotments -- covering a total of 9,500 acres -- will remain closed to cows. In addition, over 2,000 acres of former ranches (the Sur Sur and the Sea Vista) will not be added to the San Carpoforo allotment as had been planned.
"It is encouraging that at last they are paying more attention to our environmental laws. We intend to press ahead until grazing is eliminated from all sensitive areas of the public's forest and the land is allowed to heal from over a century of grazing damage," said Steve Chambers of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.
In their appeals, the two groups pointed out unmitigated conflicts between the proposed grazing and other public land resources such as water quality, recreational opportunities, Native American heritage sites and wildlife habitat. Endangered species put at risk by public lands grazing on the Big Sur coast are the sea otter, the California red legged frog, steelhead, Smith's blue butterfly and various species of vernal pool crustacean.
PRESS RELEASE
Environmental Alliance Fights Public Land Grazing on Big Sur Coast
CONTACTS:
Tom Hopkins, Ventana Wilderness Alliance, Santa Cruz, CA (831) 429 9010
Martin Taylor, Ph.D., Center for Biological Diversity, Tucson (520) 623 5252 x 307
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - December 21, 2001 - The Center for Biological Diversity and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance have appealed the recent decision of the Los Padres National Forest to allow renewed cattle grazing on federal lands in the Los Padres National Forest next to the Silver Peak and Ventana Wilderness areas on the Big Sur coast.
The eight federal grazing allotments range from Torre Canyon below Big Sur State Park to San Carpoforo Creek on the Monterey/San Luis Obispo County line.
The Forest Service plans to keep two small allotments closed to grazing and to close a third allotment in the Cone Peak Research Natural Area. However the FS intends not only to continue grazing on most of the coast, but will actually throw new areas open to livestock around Salmon Creek, Cozy Cove and San Carpoforo Creek areas. The number of livestock using the public lands in the coastal areas is set to increase by nearly 100 from 268 to 362.
"The Forest Service has ignored countless objections to livestock on these public lands from the many citizens who visit these areas to enjoy natural beauty and wildlife. Their proposal to stop the conflicts between cows and nature are just cosmetic changes and promises to do better. If they haven't been 'doing better' up until now, how can we believe the Forest Service will improve the situation?" observed Steve Chambers, of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.
"We have uncovered multiple failures to meet the standards of at least seven federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act" explained Dr. Martin Taylor, coordinator of the Grazing Reform Program with the Tucson office of the Center for Biological Diversity. "The Forest Service didn't consider a great deal of scientific evidence or even data in their own records showing that livestock are degrading habitat for at least three endangered species, the Steelhead, the Red Legged Frog and Smith's blue butterfly. Their reasoning is inconsistent -- saying they are closing some allotments to protect species and other resources from cows while saying they are keeping other allotments open to protect the same things!"
The two groups expressed alarm that the Forest Service is actually increasing the number of livestock on the allotments, despite the well-documented damage done by cattle ranching to the public lands on this biologically unique and spectacular coastline.
A copy of the appeal is posted online at:
http://www.ventanawild.org/projects/grazing/bigsurappeal.html
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/grazing/los-padres-dec-2001.html
PRESS RELEASE
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Opposes Fort Hunter Liggett Bombing Plan
Contact: Boon Hughey, (805) 466-2312, boon@fix.net
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - January 11, 2001 - The Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) is strongly opposed to a U.S. Navy proposal to open a new air-strike bombing range adjacent to sensitive wilderness areas in the northern Santa Lucia Mountains.
The new Doolittle Training Target Area, which would be located on Fort Hunter Liggett, would accomodate over 900 bombing sorties annually from aircraft such as F-16s and F-18s. This would amount to tons of ordinance being dropped from both low- and high-elevation flights.
The Navy is currently accepting comments from the public through Jan. 15, 2001, regarding any natural, cultural and recreational resources on Fort Hunter Liggett or the surrounding areas that may be affected by the proposal.
The VWA believes that fighter-jets flying low over the adjacent Ventana Wilderness and Silver Peak Wilderness areas would seriously compromise wilderness values, such as the sense of serenity and remoteness that comes from a wilderness visit. Of further concern is the impact that the increased low-level jet activity would have on local wildlife like the endangered California condor.
"The condors are having a tough enough time as it is," said Boon Hughey, a director of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, "Throw a thousand bombing sorties into their neighborhood each year and it may just do them in."
Founded in the summer of 1998, the VWA is a non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wild lands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range. The members of the VWA work with the agencies who manage our local public lands and offer their collective experience to aid these agencies in making decisions that impact our forests.
PRESS RELEASE
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Calls for Fire Management Funding
Contact: Steve Chambers (831) 423-3191, kestrel@cruzio.com
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. Sept. 18, 2000 The Ventana Wilderness Alliance(VWA) is urging the U.S. Forest Service to fund a fire management strategy that would make fighting the inevitable forest fires in the Ventana Wilderness and Silver Peak Wilderness areas safer and less costly.
In a September 11 letter to the US Forest Service Regional Office in Vallejo, the VWA requested that the $187,000 needed to fund the development of the strategy be awarded without delay. The money, requested by the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest, would be used to develop and implement alternatives to the immediate, sweeping, and often unnecessarily heavy-handed suppression methods currently relied upon due to the longstanding lack of a fire plan for the two wilderness areas.
The proposed fire management strategy, which has been awaiting funding since the 1977 Marble Cone fire, would also provide for the development of important criteria for local fire management, such as fire history, fire behavior, and firefighting resources.
Having a fire management strategy developed and in place before a fire would allow for preemptive fire management work to be done year round, and would enable fire-fighting resources to be organized ahead of time and ready for immediate deployment. This would make the job of fighting the inevitable wildfire less dangerous and less expensive.
"Given the history of very expensive wildfires in the Monterey Ranger District, we feel that a fire management strategy for the area is long overdue," said Steve Chambers of the VWA. "The Kirk Complex fires of 1999 alone cost the federal government nearly $100 million, a large portion of which might have been avoided had a comprehensive strategy been in place."
The letter was also sent to Senators Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Representatives Sam Farr and Lois Capps, and Monterey Supervisors Lou Calcagno and Dave Potter.
Founded in the summer of 1998, the VWA is a non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range. The members of the VWA work with the agencies who manage our local public lands and offer their collective experience to aid these agencies in making decisions that impact our forests.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local Forest Service Office Denies Helicopter Hunting Permit Request
Center for Biological Diversity and Ventana Wilderness Alliance applaud decision
Contact -- VWA: Boon Hughey (805) 466-2312, CBD: Peter Galvin (510) 841-0812
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. -- June 28, 2000 -- A request to establish a helicopter hunting venture in the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest was denied today by District Ranger William Metz.
Since the proposal surfaced in April of this year, opposition from the public and groups like the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has been overwhelming.
"We heartily applaud the District Ranger's decision to deny this controversial proposal," said the VWA's Boon Hughey. "The wildlands of the Big Sur backcountry are far too precious to be sold out to a helicopter taxi service."
At the heart of the controversy has been the potential effect helicopters would have on the endangered California condors that recently have been reintroduced in the Big Sur area. Two of the four proposed helicopter landing areas are within the regular flight corridors of the condors. The VWA and CBD on June 7 filed a notice of intent to sue under the Endangered Species Act should the application have been approved.
The CBD protects endangered species and wild places of western North America and the Pacific through science, policy education, and environmental law. The VWA is an all-volunteer non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two Conservation Groups Sue Forest Service Over Road Reopening
Forest Service plan would pose risks to unique river habitat and threatened species; Center for Biological Diversity and Ventana Wilderness Alliance sue to require proper analysis.
Contact -- VWA: Steve Chambers 831-423-3191, CBD: Peter Galvin 510-841-0812
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - June 9, 2000 - The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) today filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that would require the Forest Service to conduct a full environmental analysis before reopening the Indians-Arroyo Seco Road.
The Forest Service plans to reopen this remote recreational road without carefully examining the impact on the environment, which include hazards to human safety from landslides and heightened wildfire risk, as well as risks to threatened and endangered species from reconstruction activity, disposal of landslide debris, and subsequent increased recreational use.
The Forest Service plans to move forward on this project under what is called a "categorical exclusion," which means the agency has made a unilateral determination -- without careful study and citizen participation -- that the project will have no detrimental effects on the environment or human safety.
By doing this, the CBD and the VWA believe the Forest Service is illegally sidestepping the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The controversial 18-mile stretch of dirt roadway, located in southern Monterey County, has been closed since 1995 after two massive landslides made it impassible. The road travels through very steep terrain from Memorial Park Campground to the Arroyo Seco Campground 18 miles to the north, and during the past few decades has experienced numerous costly landslides and washouts.
It also bisects a section of the Ventana Wilderness and runs immediately east of the Arroyo Seco River, the only undammed major tributary of the Salinas River watershed. The river is a candidate for Wild status under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and may support the only remnant of the historic Salinas River Steelhead, a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Confirmed populations of the threatened red-legged frog also inhabit the river.
The CBD protects endangered species and wild places of western North America and the Pacific through science, policy, education, and environmental law. The VWA is an all-volunteer non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two Conservation Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue Forest Service
Helihunting Proposal Threatens California Condors in Los Padres National Forest; If Approved, Center for Biological Diversity and Ventana Wilderness Alliance to File Suit
Contact -- VWA: Boon Hughey (805) 466-2312, CBD: Peter Galvin: 510-841-0812
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - June 7, 2000 - The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) have filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) should it approve a proposal to allow helicopter hunting in remote areas of the backcountry near Big Sur.
According to the notice, which was filed today, the LPNF has not conducted a consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concerning the effects of helihunting on the California Condor and other threatened and endangered species, as required by federal law. The two groups would sue under the Endangered Species Act.
Low level flights by aircraft such as helicopters have been documented to have severe negative effects on birds, including nest abandonment and repeated flushing from nests and roosts, which can cause stress leading to behavioral impairment and reduced chances of reproductive success. The vicinity of at least two of the four landing sites as spelled out in the proposal are known to be frequented by condors, and the birds are known to frequent the projected flight paths of the helicopter operations.
The helicopter hunting proposal can be found at www.r5.pswfs.gov/lospadres/html/envnws.htm. A copy of the notice of intent to sue will be furnished upon request.
The CBD protects endangered species and wild places of western North America and the Pacific through science, policy, education, and environmental law. The VWA is an all-volunteer non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range.
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Opposes Backcountry Heli-Hunting Proposal
Press Release -- Contact: Boon Hughey, (805) 466-2312, boon@fix.net
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - April 6, 2000 - A proposal by the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest to conduct hunting trips into the Ventana Wilderness and surrounding area via helicopter would have a harmful impact on the backcountry.
According to an Application for a Special Use Permit recently filed with the district and presented in the Forest Service's quarterly Schedule of Proposed Environmental Actions, four general locations have been proposed for a number of backcountry helicopter landing sites.
Active backcountry helicopter activity will have a disruptive effect upon wildlife, including and perhaps most notably the recently re-introduced California condor, which is regularly observed
The northern Santa Lucia are unique mountains, offering solitude, wilderness, and natural refuge just a short drive from urban centers. Allowing helicopters to shuttle clientele into this serene landscape will compromise all wilderness values and constitute a serious intrusion upon the experience of other backcountry visitors.
"I think that hunters, hikers, botanists, and birders would all agree: it is difficult to imagine something more intrusive and disruptive than being buzzed by a helicopter while trying to experience the wilderness," said Boon Hughey, a board member of the VWA.
The helipad areas designated in the proposal abstract are already served by official Forest Service trails, allowing public access by foot or horseback. Helicopters simply are unnecessary. The Ventana Wilderness Alliance strongly opposes the proposal and encourages the U.S. Forest Service to reject the application outright.
The helicopter hunting proposal can be found at www.r5.pswfs.gov/lospadres/html/envnws.htm. Visit www.ventanawild.org for more information.
Founded in the summer of 1998, the VWA is an all-volunteer non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range. The members of the VWA work with the agencies that manage our local public lands and offer their collective experience to aid these agencies in making decisions that impact our forests.
Ventana Wilderness Alliance Urges Timely and Appropriate Fire Rehabilitation
Press Release -- Contact: Boon Hughey, (805) 466-2312, boon@fix.net
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. - Oct. 6, 1999 - The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is urging the use of prompt and thorough rehabilitation measures to help heal the significant firelines cut by bulldozers to contain the wildfires burning here.
"In federally designated wilderness areas, the work is only half-done when the fire has finally been put out," said VWA executive board member Boon Hughey.
According to the Wilderness Act of 1964, a wilderness area is one `where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man and which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable,' Mr. Hughey noted.
"It is incumbent upon those in charge to allocate the time and resources necessary to mitigate the damage done by bulldozers, and to honor the spirit of the law as described in the Wilderness Act," he said.
After the Marble-Cone Fire of 1977, which burned over 177,000 acres in and around the Ventana Wilderness, the rehabilitation of some fire breaks cut by bulldozers was inadequate. In places the backcountry still bears scars as wide as county roads, complete with lateral berms and rusty cans and bottles scattered along the edges. In addition, many miles of hiking trails were never reconstructed, and remain abandoned today.
"Our focus is to make sure that the suppression rehab efforts this time around are done right," Mr. Hughey said.. "In fact, it may be a golden opportunity to re-work much of the substandard rehab work left over from 1977, since the bulldozers used many of the same firelines to control the current fire."
As of Wednesday, fires in and around the Ventana Wilderness had burned approximately 81,000 acres. To control the flames, the VWA estimates that bulldozers have cut over 40 miles of firelines within Wilderness boundaries. While dozer lines are often necessary to halt a raging wildfire, extensive rehabilitation work is necessary to return the scarred earth to something resembling its former pristine state.
Done correctly, fireline rehabilitation reshapes the disturbed land back to its original contours, provides a nurturing environment for vegetative regrowth, and minimizes the threat of erosion.
The VWA is offering the services of its 75-person, all-volunteer membership to help in the recovery effort. Mr. Hughey is available to comment on any stories regarding the fires and other issues affecting the northern Santa Lucia mountains.
Founded in the summer of 1998, the VWA is a non-profit wilderness conservation organization dedicated to protecting the wildlands of California's northern Santa Lucia mountain range. The members of the VWA work with the agencies who manage our local public lands and offer their collective experience to aid these agencies in making decisions that impact our forests.
Visit www.ventanawild.org for more information and links to fire information.
