DesertBlog

Two Ways to Help Wilderness Today

WRITE A QUICK LETTER FOR MORE WILDERNESS IN IMPERIAL COUNTY

Imperial County has many exquisite wild areas that are unlike places anywhere else in the world. These unique landscapes in Eastern Imperial County include Milpitas Wash, with towering palo verde, mesquite and ironwood trees; the Indian Pass area, with its wind- and water-sculpted canyons and places that the Quechan Tribe still use for cultural purposes; and the rugged volcanic landscape of Vinagre Wash (pictured above – thanks to John Dittli and the California Wilderness Coalition for the photo).

Right now, these special places are threatened by indiscriminate off-roading, mining, and other activities. Yet a loud minority of the public remains opposed to new wilderness, and they’re contacting their elected officials right now. That’s why it’s so important for you, the majority of the public that supports expanded wilderness designations, to let your representatives know how you feel.

Please take a moment to write a letter urging your representatives, both local and national, to permanently protect these places as wilderness. Full instructions are on our main DPC website. Please respond by e-mail by Monday, May 11.

TELL BLM TO PROTECT SOUTHERN UTAH WILDERNESS – TODAY!

While we’re trying to get more designated wilderness here in Imperial County, things aren’t looking so good for existing protected areas in Utah.

Land around the Paria River has been a Wilderness Study Area since the early 1980s. By law, WSAs are supposed to be managed to protect their wilderness values until a decision is made, one way or the other, on their status. That means no off-roading. In 2000, Bill Clinton created the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) designated this same area as a “primitive zone.” Again, no vehicles allowed.

Yet off-roaders have continued to use the area during all these years, with the BLM essentially looking the other way. Here’s a video of what that off-roading directly through the river looks like (the off-roaders call this river a “road.”)

Now, a judge has ordered the BLM to follow the law, and off-roaders have responded by organizing a rally — set for tomorrow! — of potentially 1000 riders travelling in the area illegally. The BLM’s response? Monument managers will seek “voluntary compliance.”

Please act immediately to tell the BLM to enforce the law. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has a simple form for you to fill out asking the BLM to protect these wild areas from further destruction.

For more details, see this article in the Salt Lake Tribune.