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HOME  - Land management Heli-skiing and the wild
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Written by Scott Silver
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Thursday, 23 November 2006 |
Wild Wilderness' mission is to "advocate for the protection and enhancement of those recreational activities most dependent upon what are commonly known as "wilderness values", namely: naturalness, solitude, challenge and inspiration."
Our mission statement states:
We strive to ensure that Wilderness areas, roadless areas and other areas now substantially free of development will continue to provide outstanding opportunities for high quality, non-motorized, recreation.
Wild Wilderness has long claimed that federal land management agencies, working in increasingly close partnerships with the recreation an tourism industries, have embarked upon a mutually agreed upon plan to commercialize, privatize and motorize recreational opportunities upon America's public lands. They have denies this claim.
Pasted below is an article from today's media showing the US Forest Service's efforts to facilitate heli-skiing within a protected Wilderness Study Area. To me, this is a clear example of that agency's effort to commercialize, privatize and motorized wildness. Would you agree?
Scott
--- begin quoted ---
November 23, 2006
Judge orders heli-skiing talks
By WHITNEY ROYSTER Star-Tribune
JACKSON -- The U.S. Forest Service approved helicopter skiing in a
wilderness study area without adequate environmental review, a federal
judge ruled.
But because U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill made his decision "on
the eve of skiing season," he wants disputing parties in the case to
work out an agreement.
Idaho-based Winmill agreed with conservation groups that a proposal for
helicopter skiing in the Palisades wilderness study area outside
Jackson was not adequately analyzed for environmental impacts.
Fred Smith with the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, one of the
groups challenging the Bridger-Teton National Forest's approval of the
helicopter skiing in the wilderness study area, said he was pleased
with the decision.
"We are pleased that the judge agreed with our claims that a huge
expansion of backcountry motorized activity is inappropriate in a
wilderness study area, and we're also pleased that the judge supported
our suggestion to allow the parties to work out a negotiated settlement
in the light of the decision," Smith said.
Jon Shick, owner of High Mountain Heli Skiing, was traveling Wednesday
and unavailable for comment. He has said repeatedly he does not fly in
areas frequented by wildlife, and the only impact his operation has is
tracks in the snow, which melt come spring.
The back-and-forth between heli-skiing enthusiasts and conservationists
has been ongoing for several years. In June 2005, the Forest Service
finalized a decision allowing the heli-skiing company to offer one
helicopter tour per day in the Palisades study area. The area spans the
Idaho-Wyoming border south of Jackson and includes parts of the
Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee national forests. It was identified
as a potential wilderness area through the Wyoming Wilderness Act in
1984.
The permit also allowed the company to expand into other areas in the
Snake River Range, and to allow 1,200 skier days. A skier day consists
of one person skiing on one day.
Conservation groups and two individuals challenged the Forest Service's
decision in January, saying the agency failed to adequately study the
effects of helicopter skiing in the area. A wilderness study area is
supposed to maintain the characteristics it had when it was tapped for
potential inclusion in the national wilderness system.
Groups also said the bump in skier days -- up from 468 in the original
permit -- was significant. The Forest Service had been steadily
increasing the number of skier days awarded to High Mountain Heli per
the company's request, in one-year temporary permits. Those increases
were not developed with public input.
Shick has said the permit was awarded with an "upper limit" on the
number of skier days to allow the company to expand, but it rarely used
the entire 1,200 days.
Groups filing the complaint include the Greater Yellowstone Coalition,
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Wyoming Wilderness Association and
Sierra Club. Deb Patla and Merlin Hare of Victor, Idaho, also joined in
the lawsuit.
Judge Winmill agreed with the conservation groups' challenge.
Winmill said the Forest Service must maintain the wilderness character
that existed in 1984 and maintain that character for potential
inclusion in the wilderness system, as required by the Wilderness Act.
"Thus, when Congress directed the Forest Service to maintain the WSA's
'presently existing' wilderness character, it meant the character
existing in 1984. And to 'maintain it' means to preserve it -- to not
authorize any use that would diminish the wilderness character of the
Palisades WSA as it existed in 1984," Winmill wrote.
The judge further said the Forest Service's environmental study
"recognized that loud helicopter flights could be inconsistent with
solitude," one of the criteria of a wilderness area.
Winmill said it is the "opportunity" for solitude that must be maintained under the Wilderness Act.
"This means that if an area could be accessed for solitude in 1984, it
must be maintained as such today, even if rarely used," he wrote. He
did agree that if the lack of use is caused by inaccessibility,
opportunities for solitude will not be diminished if helicopters are
used there.
Winmill concluded that the issuance of the permit was "arbitrary and
capricious" and said the court could enjoin High Mountain Heli from
using the area until proper analysis is done.
But, he wrote, "The Administrative Record shows that High Mountains
(sic) has an impeccable operating history spanning thirty years. Their
record of safety and compliance with the Forest Service directions is
outstanding. The public demand for their service supports expansion,
and their very ability to survive hinges on serving more clients.
Moreover, the Forest Service's approval was the result of an impressive
review that skillfully balanced competing interests."
Therefore, parties should work together to come up with a solution, or
they can return to the court if no compromise is reached, he said.
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