Global Warming and U.S. Public Lands: America's wild lands are under threat, and will play key role in any climate change solution  (03/24/2008)
Global warming poses an unprecedented threat to our national parks, forests, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges. At the same time, protecting these natural places is more important now than ever before. Our country’s public lands store carbon and offer one of our best hopes for sustaining the plants, animals, clean water and air, and recreational opportunities that are important to our heritage.
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TWS Oil Shale Sands Fact Sheet (03/20/2008)
A fact sheet detailing the challenges of commercial oil shale development and the need for industry to prove that such development can be done without causing unacceptable harm to our air, water, landscapes, wildlife, and health before BLM commits our public lands to commercial oil shale and tar sands leasing.
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Overview of Percent of Federal Minerals and Acreage Available in Selected Resource Management Plans for the Rocky Mountain West (03/18/2008)
A spreadsheet detailing the percent and acreage of federal lands open for oil and gas development of selected Resource Management Plans in the Rocky Mountain West.
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Climate Change Implications for Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge (03/01/2008)
Alaska is experiencing visible signs of climate change, including melting permafrost, drying wetlands, and increased fire activity. To better understand what changes are taking place, and how land managers might deal with these changes on public lands, Dr. Wendy Loya, an ecologist with The Wilderness Society (TWS), initiated a project to apply climate change scenarios to Alaska’s federal wildlands. Together with TWS GIS analyst Anna Springsteen, and in partnership with the University of Alaska’s SNAP (Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning) program, Dr. Loya used temperature and precipitation data from five down-scaled global climate models to estimate how growing season length, climate variability, and water availability might change.
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Forest Management Fact Sheet (02/15/2008)
Healthy and naturally functioning forests are more likely to survive the effects of a changing climate than heavily harvested ones. This report debunks the logic that aggressive timber harvesting and suppressing all fires is sound forest management practice.
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Carbon Cycling Fact Sheet (02/15/2008)
This report highlights the adverse effects elevated CO2 levels have on forests ecosystems. Because forests have evolved at slow rates, today's warming climate and elevated CO2 levels are changing the way forests grow and store carbon.
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Fire and Climate Change Fact Sheet (02/15/2008)
While it's true that fires release emissions as they burn, forests recapture carbon as they regenerate and do not contribute to climate change.
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Kinds of Carbon: Wildland Fires vs. Fossil Fuels Fact Sheet (02/15/2008)
This report explains how carbon that is released during wildland fires is significantly less harmful to the environment than carbon released by burning fossil fuels.
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Directional Drilling Background and Recommendations Factsheet (02/12/2008)
A fact sheet describing the limitations and advantages of directional drilling and outlining The Wilderness Society's recommendations for use.
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Position Paper - Appropriate Management Response (11/16/2007)
Position of The Wilderness Society on Appropriate Management Response in wildland fire.
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Position Paper - Wildland Fire Use (11/16/2007)
Brief document outlining The Wilderness Society's position on Wildland Fire Use.
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Position Paper - State Fire Assistance (11/16/2007)
This position paper takes a look at the Forest Service's State Fire Assistance program, which provides financial assistance to states and communities for fire management activities including training, planning, hazardous fuels treatment and purchase of equipment.
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Position Paper - Fire Regime Condition Class (11/16/2007)
This paper discusses the concept of Fire Regime Condition Class - a method of classifying vegetation developed by the Forest Service which purports to represent the degree of departure of current vegetation from historical conditions.
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Wyoming Range Legacy Act FAQ (11/01/2007)
Frequently asked questions about the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, legislation that would protect the Wyoming Range from future oil and gas drilling.
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Summary of BLM's IM on Comprehensive Travel and Transportation Management Planning (10/31/2007)
A summary of BLM's IM on Comprehensive Travel and Transportation Management Planning
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Overview of Special Places Impacted by the Southwest NIETC (10/15/2007)
Overview of the National Park Service, Wilderness, National Monument, and other special lands potentially impacted by the southwest NIETC.
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Keys to Effective Engagement with Agencies (10/12/2007)
Suggestions for productive meetings with land management agencies.
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Well Count Analysis Methodology (08/31/2007)
A look at how The Wilderness Society assembled its analysis of current and proposed drilling permits on western BLM lands.
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Preliminary Analysis of Current Federal Actions Authorizing Drilling of New Wells (August 2007) (08/29/2007)
In October 2006, The Wilderness Society’s BLM Action Center conducted a preliminary analysis of land use plans and large-scale projects approved or in the process of approval in the states of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in order to estimate the number of new oil and gas wells likely to be approved for drilling over the next 15 to 20 years. This document represents an update to that analysis and lists the names of the plans and projects analyzed, the number of new wells expected, and the sources the BLM Action Center used in its analysis. Over 126,000 new wells are expected in the five-state region from the 32 federal actions analyzed.
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Fact Sheet: Governor's Consistency Review and BLM Planning (08/06/2007)
Fact sheet developed by the BLM Action Center outlining BLM's responsibility to offer governor's an opportunity to review BLM Resource Management Plans for review of conformance with state laws prior to publishing a Record of Decision (ROD).
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Fact Sheet: FACA Chartered Committees and BLM Planning (08/06/2007)
Fact sheet developed by the BLM Action Center outlining participation and requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
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Fact Sheet: Data Quality Act and BLM Planning (08/06/2007)
Fact sheet developed by the BLM Action Center to outline BLM's requirements to adhere to the Data Quality Act.
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BLM Actions and Terminology (08/06/2007)
Informal guide to common BLM acronyms, terminology, and agency actions.
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Factsheet: The Interplay of Fire, Carbon Storage, Charcoal and Global Warming (07/24/2007)
“The Interplay of Fire, Carbon Storage, Charcoal, and Global Warming,” describes the relationship of wildland fires to climate change and provides scientific information to inform public discussions of fire impacts. We also summarize research being conducted by Tom DeLuca and Greg Aplet. Their research will be published in fall 2007 in the journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
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All Units Impacted by SW NIETC (By State) (06/15/2007)
All units impacted by the Southwest National Interest Electricity Transmission Corridors by state.
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Overview of Special Places Impacted by SW NIETC (06/15/2007)
A consolidated report of the numbers by unit of areas impacted by the Southwest National Interest Electricity Transmission Corridor (AZ, CA, NV).
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USFS Economic Spending Profile Report of National Forest Visitors, 2005 (06/04/2007)
Fact Sheet developed by the Recreation Planning Program outlining important findings from the USFS’s Spending Profile Report about how much off-road motorized users spend when visiting a national forest compared to quiet, traditional recreationists.
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Factsheet: HR 2337, The “Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007” (05/30/2007)
An analysis of HR 2337, which contains various reforms to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
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Factsheet: Expanding Wildland Fire Use (05/21/2007)
Wildland Fire Use (WFU) is the practice of actively managing naturally-ignited fires in designated sections of forests to accomplish resource management goals. WFU is widely accepted by scientists, policymakers and land
managers as an important tool not only to help mitigate the escalating costs of fire suppression, but also to help restore forests and make them more resilient.
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Factsheet: Dry Conditions Persist Throughout West and Southeast (05/15/2007)
Wildfire season is upon us. Experts are predicting severe conditions from Pennsylvania to Florida to California, and over 60,000 acres have already burned in Georgia. According to the US Drought Monitor, the majority of Western states and much of the Southeast are once again experiencing very dry conditions.
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Budget Overview: Why A New Direction for Wildfire Management is Necessary (05/15/2007)
The cost of putting out all fires has skyrocketed in recent years. In four of the last seven years, suppression costs have exceeded $1 billion. These escalating costs threaten to consume the majority of the Forest Service's discretionary budget, leaving them very little money to do anything else. Climate predictions, changing demographics and budget realities require a new way of thinking.
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Fact Sheet: Otero Mesa Moratorium Request (04/04/2007)
Fact sheet developed by the BLM Action Center outlining current and past oil and gas development in and around Otero Mesa and calling for a moratorium on new leasing for the duration of the salt basin aquifer water study.
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Factsheet: Critique of Forest Service Report Finds Timber Demand Analysis Inadequate (04/03/2007)
In July 2006 the Forest Service released “Timber Products Output and Timber Harvests in Alaska: Projections for 2005-25,” a revised demand analysis for timber from the Tongass National Forest, and the first step in a court-ordered process to amend the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan (TLMP). A critique prepared for The Wilderness Society by resource economist Lisa Crone, PhD, identifies at least three major flaws in the Forest Service timber demand analysis:
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Factsheet: America's Treasured Wildlife Refuges on the Brink (03/28/2007)
Several years of stagnant or declining budgets have exacerbated the more than $2.5 billion operations and maintenance backlog at refuges, and have forced a dramatic 20 percent reduction in staff nationwide. This factsheet details effects at refuges across the country.
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Factsheet: Wildland Fire Use (03/27/2007)
Wildland Fire Use (WFU) is the practice of actively managing naturally-ignited fires in designated sections of forests to accomplish resource management goals. WFU is widely accepted by scientists, policymakers and land managers as an important tool not only to help mitigate the escalating costs of fire suppression, but also to help restore forests and make them more resilient. This Fact Sheet provides more information on this management tool and how it can be expanded.
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Facts About FY 2008 Wildfire Appropriations (03/26/2007)
Over the last five years, over $14 billion has been appropriated to the National Fire Plan (NFP). During this time of large federal deficits and increasing pressure to re-examine federal budget priorities, the question must be asked whether these taxpayer dollars have promoted safer communities and more resilient ecosystems.
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Factsheet: State Fire Assistance Program (03/26/2007)
Coalition factsheet on State Fire Assistance Program, which provides funds to state forestry agencies to help communities successfully prepare for and manage wildland fires, including funding for Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
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Factsheet: State Fire Assistance Highlights (03/26/2007)
Coalition factsheet on State Fire Assistance Program highlights.
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Factsheet: Wildfire Suppression Reserve Account (03/26/2007)
Recognizing that past borrowing of funds from other agency programs for wildland fire suppression caused project cancellations, strained relationships with partners, and disruptions in management, Congress established a supplemental wildfire suppression account to preclude that practice. This brief provides a history of the account, why it should be maintained, and information on efforts to develop long-term solutions to address suppression funding.
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Factsheet: National Fire Plan - State and Local Assistance (03/26/2007)
Less than 10% of the $14 billion appropriated to the National Fire Plan in the last five years has gone to non-federal partners. This brief describes how funding can be redistributed to better balance non-federal and federal fire funding to help insure more effective national fire management.
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Community Fire Assistance Budget Continues to Decline in FY 2008 (03/26/2007)
Comprehensive fire management inherently transcends land ownership boundaries, just as wildland fire does not solely impact federal lands. Programs have been designed to help states and localities promote fire-adapted communities in fire-resilient landscapes. While funding for these programs increased slightly between FY 2003 and 2004, funding for these programs has trended downward since FY 2001. A significant decrease in funds, almost 30%, has occurred since FY 2004. Unfortunately, that trend continues in fiscal year 2008 with a proposed 17% reduction from the FY07 enacted levels
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Fact Sheet: USFS Travel Management Rule and the Travel Planning Process (03/05/2007)
Fact sheet developed by the Recreation Planning Program outlining the USFS’s Travel Management Rule of 2005, the FS’s responsibility under the rule, and questions to ask to better understand how your local national forest is implementing travel planning.
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Fact Sheet - Carrizo Plain World Heritage Site Nomination (02/09/2007)
The Wilderness Society is working with local partners to nominate Carrizo Plain National Monument as a World Heritage Site.
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Oil and Gas Resources in the Little Snake Field Office (02/08/2007)
A fact sheet summarizing the economically recoverable oil and gas resources in the BLM's Little Snake Field Office in northwest Colorado.
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Fact Sheet: 2006 Fire Season to Date (11/17/2006)
We take a look at how much has burned as well as the type of landscapes involved and their location.
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Fact Sheet: Disposal of BLM Lands (11/16/2006)
This fact sheet summarizes the legal processes by which the BLM can dispose of lands under its management.
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Fact Sheet: HR 6298 - The "Wrong" Rights-of-Way Act (10/23/2006)
Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM), Chairman of the House Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on National Parks, recently introduced a bill (H.R. 6298) that, if passed, could have devastating consequences to all federal lands due to its re-interpretation of an obscure 19th Century law known as “R.S. 2477.”
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Analysis of Current Federal Actions Authorizing Drilling of New Wells (October 2007) (10/06/2006)
In October 2006, The Wilderness Society’s BLM Action Center conducted a preliminary analysis of land use plans and large-scale projects approved or in the process of approval in the states of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in order to estimate the number of new oil and gas wells likely to be approved for drilling over the next 15 to 20 years.
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Factsheet: How September 20, 2006, Roadless Rule Decision Affects the Tongass National Forest (09/20/2006)
This factsheet discusses the impact of this ruling on the Tongass National Forest.
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Factsheet: North Slope Oil Development: Air and Water Pollution, Spills, and Sprawl (08/10/2006)
Three decades of oil industry public relations have drilled away at one familiar theme that belies the reality on the ground: that drilling can be done in an "environmentally responsible" fashion. The reality is that the sprawling industrial infrastructure and pollution associated with drilling on the North Slope continue to have pervasive, lasting, and serious environmental consequences.
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Factsheet: Arctic Refuge Drilling and Gas Prices: Drilling Nets About a Penny per Gallon, 20 Years From Now (08/07/2006)
Proponents of drilling Arctic National Wildlife Refuge point to rising gasoline prices as a reason to drill one of America’s last wild places. But in reality, Arctic Refuge oil would amount to a drop in the bucket of the oil market. The U.S. Department of Energy’s own Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that even twenty years down the road, when Arctic Refuge oil is at or near peak production, gas prices would be affected by about a penny per gallon.
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Stunts to Buy Support for Oil Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (07/26/2006)
Pro-drilling House Members are trying YET AGAIN to use any excuse to pursue their myopic plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The most recent Arctic drill bill in the House dedicates speculative leasing revenues from Arctic Refuge drilling to a list of renewable energy incentives. But this is just one of a myriad of tactics, gimmicks, and schemes used by drilling proponents over time to buy votes for protecting the Refuge. Here are some other ways they have tried to offer up these speculative revenues to open our nation’s largest and wildest refuge.
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More Oily Myths: Claims For Arctic Refuge Drilling Are Fabricated (07/11/2006)
Factsheet detailing how a fake grassroots organization called "Americans for American Energy" is claiming in an Arkansas print ad that drilling the Arctic Refuge would "solve" America’s "energy problems. " This claim is wrong, as are their claims that drilling the Arctic Refuge would have any significant effect on gas prices or oil imports.
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Factsheet: Federal Onshore and Offshore Oil & Gas Leasing and Development (07/07/2006)
More than 75 million acres of federal onshore lands and lands within the Outer Continental Shelf are currently under lease for oil and gas development. Moreover, most identified federal oil and gas resources are located within areas that are currently available for leasing and development.
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How the "Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act Of 2006" (H.R. 4761) Would Accelerate Rocky Mountain Drilling (06/30/2006)
The Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006 (H.R. 4671), passed by the U.S. House on 6/29/06, would not only repeal the 25-year-old moratorium on off-shore oil and gas drilling, but also would dangerously accelerate oil shale and tar sands development in the Rocky Mountain West and provide industry with a new and unmerited entitlement program to taxpayer funds, and could lead to thousands of improvidently issued drilling permits.
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Factsheet: BLM White River Field Office Amendment Process Flawed (06/26/2006)
BLM agrees to let oil and gas industry hire a contractor to prepare a critical document that seeks
to justify more oil and gas development without considering the other values of these public
lands. With valuable resources at stake, the public deserves a process it can trust.
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Preliminary Analysis of the National Park Service's Revised Draft Management Policies (06/19/2006)
Based upon our preliminary analysis, the National Park Service’s long-standing mission of conservation and stewardship of the nation’s heritage has been restored in this current draft rewrite of the policies that govern management of our national parks. At the behest of park professionals, the American public, Congress, this coalition, and others, the National Park Service appears to have largely reverted back to the 2001 policies in virtually every section.
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Legal Status of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (06/02/2006)
A summary of Roadless Rule's legal status -- in the courts and the state petition process.
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Factsheets on Tongass National Forest Subsidies (05/08/2006)
A series of factsheets detailing the Tongass National Forest's logging program, and subsidies that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
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Factsheet: The Wildland Fire Budget -- The Reality Behind the Rhetoric. (05/02/2006)
The President’s proposed FY07 budget for wildland fire plans to short-cut many assistance programs that invest our scarce resources where they are most urgently needed -- in and around communities. These cuts come despite predictions that this could be a very active fire season and they ultimately send the message that the goal of safer communities is not a top priority. Members of Congress have questioned these cuts at recent hearings and the Administration has defended them with the rationale that they reduce overhead and duplication and other programs can take up the slack. But the reality is much different.
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Updated Analysis of Walden Salvage Bill, H.R. 4200 (05/01/2006)
Updated analysis of H.R. 4200, the “Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act," introduced by Rep. Greg Walden. The bill provides an expedited process for implementation of salvage logging and other projects following a "catastrophic event." The bill applies to all lands administered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, except for designated wilderness areas. This analysis uses the most recent version of the bill approved by the Agriculture Committee.
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Facts: Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act (04/28/2006)
The Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act, HR 4935/S 1510, introduced by Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) and Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), will designate the gorgeous backcountry terrain in Rocky Mountain National Park as wilderness. The legislation will provide permanent protection for 249,339 acres of backcountry and wilderness-quality lands, and affirm land management policies within the park.
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Factsheet: Browns Canyon Wilderness Act (04/28/2006)
The Browns Canyon Wilderness Act, HR 4235/S 1971, introduced by Congressman Joel Hefley (R-CO) and Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), will protect 20,000 acres of pristine Colorado canyon country, and the dramatic scenery of the Arkansas Valley, as wilderness.
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Projects Proposed for FY07 LWCF and FLP Funding (04/24/2006)
Factsheets of projects proposed for funding in Fiscal Year 2007 under the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program
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Analysis of Baucus/Wyden County Payments Funding Proposal: S 2485 (04/19/2006)
On March 30, 2006, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced S. 2485, the “Secure Rural Schools and Communities Funding Act of 2006.” The bill would provide a dedicated funding source for continuation of the guaranteed county payments program established by Congress in 2000.
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Factsheet: The Antiquities Act of 1906 (04/19/2006)
Since Congress passed the Antiquities Act in 1906, presidents—Republicans and Democrats alike—have used the Act more than 100 times to preserve some of our most spectacular and historically important public lands.
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Factsheet: Current and Pending Attacks to Weaken NEPA in the Public Lands Context (04/11/2006)
The National Environmental Policy Act is facing threats along many fronts, including Congressional and White House task forces, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, using wildfire fears to weaken National Forest protections, grazing programs, and national security/border issues.
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Factsheet: BLM's Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing & Drilling Process (03/28/2006)
Fact sheet summarizing the process by which the Bureau of Land Management issues oil and gas leases and then permits drilling of those leases. The major steps in this process are set out with, for each step, an overview of how the lease terms are affected and the opportunities for public participation and influence of oil and gas operations. (A one-page overview of the fact sheet is on the last page of this document.)
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The President's Billion Dollar Public Land Sell-Off Scheme (03/22/2006)
The President’s proposed FY07 budget flies in the face of widespread opposition to recent proposals to privatize some of this country’s most treasured public lands. The President, ignoring the recent defeat of similar proposals in Congress, is proposing to sell off 800,000 acres of National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands to raise money for the federal treasury.
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Facts About FY 2007 Wildfire Appropriations (03/17/2006)
Over the last five years, over $14.24 billion have been appropriated to the National Fire Plan (NFP). At a time of large federal deficits and increasing pressure to re-examine federal budget priorities, the question must be asked whether these taxpayer dollars have promoted safer communities and more resilient ecosystems.
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Wilderness Society Analysis of Land Sale Legislation (03/16/2006)
Analysis of the Bush administration’s FY 2007 budget request which includes a proposal to sell up to 300,000 acres of National Forest land and use the sale revenues to continue and phase out over the next 5 years a county payments program that Congress adopted in 2000 and is set to expire this year.
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Factsheet: Land and Water Conservation Fund (03/07/2006)
An overview of the Land & Water Conservation Fund -- its origins and history, how it has been underfunded, and what can be done to restore it.
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Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monuments: Magnificent Resources at Risk (03/07/2006)
Factsheet on threats facing two National Monuments in Arizona, threats that are not well addressed in the BLM's draft Resource Management Plan for the Arizona Strip.
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Comparison of BLM's Arizona Strip Draft Plan and Conservation Community Proposal (03/07/2006)
Factsheet: Protection or Destruction: A Comparison of the Conservation Community Proposal for the Arizona Strip with the BLM's "Preferred Alternative."
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Arizona Strip Resources (03/07/2006)
Factsheet on Arizona Strip resources -- landscape, values, human history.
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Factsheet: Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Resources (03/07/2006)
Background on Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (AZ).
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Factsheet: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument Resources (03/07/2006)
Background on Vermilion Cliffs National Monument (AZ).
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Facts about the BLM's Proposed Land Sale (02/27/2006)
The Bush Administration has proposed that Federal Land Transaction and Facilitation Act (FLTFA) be amended to allocate 70% of BLM land sale receipts for “deficit reduction” rather than for the purchase of private lands for incorporation into National Parks, National Forests, and BLM lands. The Bush Administration has proposed that the BLM raise $351 million over the next ten years from land sales authorized under FLTFA to “reduce the federal deficit,” rather than to acquire inholdings within National Parks, National Monuments, national forests, and BLM conservation areas as present law provides.
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Public Land Sales Proposed in FY 2007 Budget (02/09/2006)
President Bush’s budget for FY07, ignoring the recent defeat of similar proposals in Congress, is proposing to sell off nearly $1 billion worth of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands to raise money for the federal treasury.
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Green Budget - Fiscal Year 2007 (02/02/2006)
National Funding Priorities for the Environment in FY 2007.
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NEPA: Core Environmental Safeguard Under Growing Attack (01/24/2006)
Backgrounder from Natural Resources Defense Council.
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NEPA Success Stories: Preventing Mistakes and Making Good Projects Better Since 1970 (01/20/2006)
The National Environmental Policy Act is one way ordinary citizens can weigh in on federal decisions that affect their lives. From highways to oil wells NEPA ensures that a variety of factors, including public input, are considered before the dirt is moved. Here are a few stories of how well NEPA has worked.
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Analysis - Time Sensitive Plan (TSP) Oil and Gas Development (01/12/2006)
An area by area breakdown of TSP oil and gas development statistics.
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Anaysis - Time Sensitive Plan (TSP) Oil and Gas Summary Methodology (01/12/2006)
Due to the ever changing boundaries of BLM Field Offices and Resource Management Areas, any comparison between old plans and new plans is problematic. As such, TWS provides this document to explain the methodology used to collect information and perform calculations as part of the Time Sensitive Plan (TSP) Oil and Gas Summary.
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Factsheet: Harmful Public Land Provisions in the FY06 House Reconciliation Bill (12/06/2005)
A list and description of provisions in the House version of the FY2006 Budget Reconciliation bill that harm public lands.
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National Monuments and Other BLM Lands at Risk from the Pombo Mining Provision (12/01/2005)
In addition to National Forest and National Park land, some of our finest National Monuments and other public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are threatened by the mining language in the House-passed FY06 budget reconciliation bill.
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Factsheet: Fact & Fiction About the Mining Subtitle in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (11/28/2005)
Facts about the mining provision in the FY06 budget reconciliation bill.
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Factsheet: What Might The West Look Like in 10 Years? (11/21/2005)
A snapshot of future land use and population changes as they impact public lands across the West.
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Factsheet: Mining Claims in National Park System Units (11/18/2005)
State-by-state listing of mining claims, including acreage, in national park system units across the West.
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Factsheet: Oil Development Would Harm Arctic Refuge Wildlife (11/02/2005)
Study after study consistently proves that wildlife has been harmed by development on the North Slope of Alaska. In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a study that documented major cumulative
impacts of oil development on wildlife, wilderness, and Native American cultures across an extensive
area of the North Slope.
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Analysis of Senate Energy Committee's FY06 Budget Reconciliation Recommendations (10/27/2005)
Analysis of Senate Energy Committee's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Provisions in their FY2006 Budget Reconciliation Recommendations (analysis courtesy Trustees for Alaska).
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Factsheet: BLM Disregards USFWS in Leasing South Shale Ridge for Drilling (10/26/2005)
The Bureau of Land Management Grand Junction Field Office is disregarding comments submitted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in moving to lease South Shale Ridge for oil and gas drilling. The Service’s letter questions BLM’s decision to open proposed wilderness lands at South Shale Ridge to this industrial activity due to its likely impact to sensitive species known to inhabit the area.
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Analysis of BLM Instruction Memorandum 2005-247 (10/07/2005)
Review of BLM’s Instruction Memorandum 2005-247 that provides guidance on NEPA compliance in oil, gas and geothermal exploration and operations resulting from the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
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Arctic Reality Check -- Drilling Into The Legislation (10/07/2005)
A close look at proposed Arctic Refuge drilling legislation shoots massive holes into drilling proponents' claims that oil development could and would be done in the "right way" or in an "environmentally sensitive way." If drilling could really be done without harming wildlife or the ecology of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, then why is the proposed legislation full of clauses that grant exemptions, weaken standards, cut out the regular checks and balances, and then dress it all up to look far more protective than it really is?
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Factsheet: Moving Toward A New Energy Future (10/04/2005)
Increased efficiency and reduced demand -- rather than drilling in our last special places -- is our most sustainable and forward-thinking energy solution.
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The 2,000-Acre Hoax (10/03/2005)
The suggestion that only 2,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be needed for oil development neglects to include associated development of roads, airstrips, living quarters and other impacts.
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Factsheet: Oil and Gas Development on Western Public Lands (09/19/2005)
Facts and myths about oil and gas development on Western public lands.
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Summary of "Forests on the Edge" Report (08/25/2005)
This report by the USDA Forest Service, the first in a series, describes housing density projections on private forests, by watershed, across the conterminous United States. The Wilderness Society has prepared this summary of the key findings of the report as part of our Eastern Forest Program, in order to assist in sharing the report findings, especially those concerning the likely future impacts of development on Eastern Forests.
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Factsheet: Community Wildfire Protection Funding in Final FY06 Budget (07/29/2005)
Summary of funding for state and local wildfire assistance programs in final FY06 Interior Appropriations bill.
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About Arctic Action (07/21/2005)
Arctic Refuge Action is a coalition of conservation, religious and Native American groups representing millions of Americans who believe the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should remain wild, unspoiled, and free of oil rigs.
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Comparison of Roadless Area Inventories in the Wenatchee, Okanogan, and Colville National Forests (07/08/2005)
Comparison of Roadless Area Inventories in the Wenatchee, Okanogan, and Colville National Forests
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Factsheet: Idaho's Roadless National Forests (06/23/2005)
Overview of the state of roadless areas on National Forests in Idaho.
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The Value of Roadless Areas in Preserving Wildlife and Their Habitat in the Northern Rockies (06/23/2005)
The nation's protected areas, those wild places that have been designated wilderness areas, national parks, and national wildlife refuges may be too small and isolated from one another to maintain native wildlife and their habitats. Roadless areas currently play a large supporting role in protecting native wildlife and their habitats in our wild lands, but they can only continue this role if they are protected from road development and alterations caused by human activities.
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Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Bush Administration's Repeal of Roadless Protections (05/06/2005)
The real facts behind the Administration's statements on roadless area protection.
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Analysis of New Rule on Roadless Areas and State Petitions (05/05/2005)
Analysis of the Bush Administration's decision to replace the Roadless Area Conservation Rule with a State petition process. The Bush rule entirely eliminates the Protections provided by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Without the Roadless Rule's restrictions, management of roadless areas will revert to the management direction contained in local forest management plans. The Bush rule establishes an optional two-step State petition and rulemaking process for roadless area management. The state petition process is stacked against roadless area protection in several respects.
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U.S. Forest Service Final Roadless Rule Summary (05/05/2005)
Summary of the Administration's Roadless Rule changes released on May 5, 2005.
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Roads in Our National Forests: Paving the Way to Wasteful Spending (05/05/2005)
Despite the fact that the U.S. Forest Service cannot afford to maintain existing roads and is facing the prospect of closing recreation sites, the Bush Administration is opening up even more land to road building.
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Repeal of the Roadless Rule: What is at Stake (05/04/2005)
Roadless areas in 38 states are now at risk of being opened up to logging, road building, and other developments. The Forest Service already has all the roads it needs to manage the forest and more than it can afford to maintain. The Administration would serve Americans better if it spent the Forest Service’s limited budget on protecting clean water and maintaining trails and campground, those things Americans treasure about public lands.
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Projects Proposed for FY06 LWCF Funding (04/26/2005)
Factsheets of projects proposed for funding in Fiscal Year 2006 under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
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NFMA Planning Directives Analysis (04/08/2005)
Summary and analysis of the national forest planning directives, released March 23, 2005, which supplement the NFMA planning regulations issued by the Bush Administration on December 22, 2004. This analysis begins with some background and an overview of the content and process of forest plan revisions, followed by analysis of several key issues in forest planning: Ecological sustainability (ecosystem and wildlife diversity); wilderness review; NEPA lite (comprehensive evaluation report and options); and the Environmental Management System (EMS).
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A Month of Drilling and Spilling (04/06/2005)
In March 2005 alone, numerous incidents of oil industry pollution, accidents and cover ups were reported in Alaska and around the world.
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Arctic Refuge "2,000-acre" Myth Map (03/09/2005)
Map of what 2,000-acres of oil development would look like by drilling proponents' math
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Arctic Refuge Oil Would Not Significantly Affect Oil Prices (03/09/2005)
Fact Sheet
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Factsheet: State and Local Wildfire Assistance Programs Slated for Deep Cuts in Budget (03/08/2005)
Even though up to 85 percent of the land around communities at the highest risk is state or private, resources going to non-federal lands continue to decrease.
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Fuzzy Numbers: Leasing Revenue Projections from Arctic Refuge Drilling Don’t Add Up (03/02/2005)
Fuzzy Numbers: Leasing Revenue Projections from Arctic Refuge Drilling Don’t Add Up
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Bush Budget Theatens America's Environmental Security (02/18/2005)
Joint Environmental Backgrounder: Securing environmental protection in America is critical to our nation’s well-being. While the administration proposes reducing domestic discretionary spending for all federal programs (excluding defense and homeland security) by less than one percent, environmental funding is targeted for a punishing 10.4 percent cut.
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How the Budget Resolution and Budget Reconciliation Threaten the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (02/18/2005)
Some proponents of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have indicated that they may attempt to move their proposal as part of the federal budget process. They would do so only because they know that they do not have the votes to move the drilling proposal through the normal legislative process.
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Factsheet: Potential Oil from America's Arctic Refuge Is No Solution for High Oil Prices or Foreign Oil Dependence (02/18/2005)
Details on 2005 EIA Analysis of impact of Arctic oil on imports and prices.
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Factsheet: The New Technology Scam (02/09/2005)
In the push to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development, the big oil companies and their allies in the Congress, Administration, and Alaska state government say drilling on Alaska’s North Slope has been clean and environmentally benign. This is misleading because industry has caused significant environmental damage, the benefits of dubious “new” technologies are often exaggerated, and state of the art practices are often not used due to economics or practical reasons. The result: cumulative harm to the pristine environment.
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| Factsheet: Alpine No Environmental Showpiece (02/09/2005)< |
