Nov 30, 2012
Dear Josephine:
Oregon Wild sent out the below message yesterday to its activists. It is very important that you take a few minutes of time to notify Senators Wyden and Merkley that you strongly object to any more wilderness expansion in Josephine County.
DO NOT use Oregon Wild’s email form attached to send any comments. They use it to capture people’s email addresses. I will send you a copy of my message to Senator Merkley and you can use that email address.
Regarding Senator Wyden, go to his web site and register you comments there.
Some talking points can be:
We already have 70,000 acres of Wilderness in Josephine County as part of the 180,000 acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
The 64,000 acres proposed for the Wild Rogue Wilderness Expansion has valuable timber resources set aside for production as part of the O&C Act of 1937.
The proposed Wild Rogue Wilderness Expansion area has deposits of valuable mineral resources like Gold as proven by past mining. A full Mineral Assessment is needed for the proposed area to determine the types and amounts of minerals present. Many millions of dollars of minerals maybe present below the ground. Some of the minerals are needed for our industrial use such as Tellurium which is used in the production of Solar Panels. Tellurium is a rare Earth substance and much of it used now in the United States is imported from China.
When the proposed Wild Rogue Wilderness Expansion legislation was introduced in Congress, it was done so without any prior consultation with the 3 Josephine County Commissioners.
Tens of Thousands of Josephine County residents are opposed to any more Wilderness Expansion.
A good portion of the land does not meet the criteria for Wilderness exclusion as outlined by the Wilderness Act. There is evidence of road construction, logging activity and mining activity in the past in the proposed area.
Oregon does not need any more Public Land turned in Wilderness for future generations. There are already 47 Wilderness Areas in Oregon totaling 1.7 million areas.
The Wilderness Expansion will do nothing to enhance tourism in Josephine County as the tourists travel on the Rogue River by raft and they will not even be able to see the land added for Wilderness. The very steep terrain away from the River prohibits hiking into that area. Besides, people on the raft trips do not have time for much hiking away from the River. The current hiking opportunity is along both sides of the Rogue River for those people entering the area on foot.
Any more Wilderness Expansion will result in more road closures which will decrease hunting opportunities which is another important tourism activity in Josephine County.
Please take action, we must resist.
Sincerely,
Ron Glynn
Jun 4, 2012
PNP comment: Hum, I wonder who all the businesses and Greenie groups are that support more Wilderness? — Editor Liz Bowen
Letter from OR. Senator Ron Wyden:
Dear Mrs. Blossom:
Thank you for contacting me to share your concern over the Rogue Wilderness Area Expansion legislation. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
As you know, the Wild Rogue Wilderness, and the Rogue River that runs through it, embodies one of the nation’s premier recreation destinations, providing numerous rafting and fishing opportunities. That’s why I introduced the Rogue Wilderness Area Expansion Act (S. 2001), with Senator Merkley, designating an additional 60,000 acres of wilderness and ensuring these lands are protected for future generations. Additionally, this bill received a hearing on March 22, 2012.
In general, I believe in a multiple use approach to managing our public lands. Furthermore, as part of the wilderness designation process, I worked to address the recreational and community needs around the Wild Rogue Wilderness. I have worked with the timber industry and conservationists to find a compromise that protects one of America’s treasures with additional wilderness designations and more targeted protections for the Rogue’s tributaries. I am pleased that nearly 60 local businesses—and over 100 organizations and business in total—support protecting the Wild Rogue, and that support grows every day. The input of local interests and communities is critical to the success of any wilderness proposal.
While we may disagree on this issue, I trust there are many other issues upon which we do agree. As I work in the Senate to represent Oregon, please know that I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for keeping me apprised of issues that are important to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I may be of further assistance on this or any other matter.
Sincerely,
Ron Wyden
United States Senator
To write to me, go to http://wyden.senate.gov/
Dec 27, 2011
PNP comment: We totally agree with this letter and statements. — Editor Liz Bowen
Dear Congressman DeFazio:
I picked up a copy of the Grants Pass Courier yesterday and it had a front page article entitled “Loggers, miners not big fans of wilderness proposal.” I am just a retired Multnomah County Parole and Probation officer now living in the forest near Wolf Creek, but I can tell you that I do not understand why you are supporting this legislation. For starters, that proposed 60,000 acre addition to the existing 358,000 acre Wild Rogue Wilderness is not Wilderness untouched by the hand of man. To the contrary, it has lots of old roads and hundreds of abandoned mines. Also, areas of it have been logged over and new growth of trees is evident. That hardly fits the definition of pristine. You really should have a staff member go out to tour the proposed acreage to see what I mean.
I see one argument used by the proponents is that will help the Salmon and help tourism.
Currently, feeder streams into the Rogue in that area now have better water quality than the Rogue River itself. The streams are already protected by very large buffer zones in the event of future logging. Secondly, almost all the visitors to the Wild Rogue Wilderness are going through the area on rubber rafts, usually guided groups, and the amount of people entering is limited by regulation. Visitors now generally do not visit the proposed addition now. They do not have time when on a guided rafting tour and the land is steep. There is simply no reason for the adding 60,000 acres to Wilderness designation as it will not increase the flow of tourists into our county nor help the Salmon.
In addition to the land in Wild Rogue Wilderness, Josephine County also has the Kalmiopsis Wilderness which consists of approximately 180,000 acres. Also, we have 3,750 acres in the Red Buttes Wilderness which we share with California. In other words, Josephine County already has plenty of Wilderness set aside for future generations. Moreover, there somewhere around 36 Wilderness areas in Oregon which is plenty for generations to come.
Finally, there are other reasons not to add that 60,000 acres. It is so rich in mineral resources which maybe useful for our National Defense in the future should we need it. As such, we do not want it locked up into Wilderness designation and the road system destroyed. Since it does have an existing road system, we need the timber resources available for future use in that area. So much of the land in our County is controlled by the Federal Government. That land was set aside for multiple use. One use was logging to provide for jobs and economic activity for our people. We do not need any more land locked up which lessens our ability to provide for our citizens.
Please withdraw your support for this legislation. We have much more pressing matters to deal with at this time. For example, it should be a priority for Congress to concentrate on helping the economy recover so employment will be available for the millions who do have it now.
Sincerely,
Ronald B. Glynn
3930 Lower Wolf Creek Road
Wolf Creek, Oregon 97497
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