Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
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Conservation Northwest updates Articles this page by Jen Watkins Conservation associate, jen@conservationnw.org National Forest Travel map It matters for wildlife In November, the OkanoganWenatchee National Forest releases its first travel management map. Why is this map so important? Because it lays out the official system of roads and trails open for motorized use. The map has to balance people���s desires for recreation and access, with room for wildlife. The public lands involved stretch from the Canadian border south to the Goat Rocks Wilderness, including critical habitat for wildlife from mule deer to wolverines in the headwaters to major eastern Cascades��� rivers, such as the Methow, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Naches. People are part of travel management planning and we���ll soon ask you to comment on a range of alternatives detailing number of motorized routes to avail- ability of dispersed camping along those roads. The alternatives presented by the Forest Service address which of 8,000 miles of existing roads will be open to motorized use by 4x4s, motorcycles, or passenger cars, and which will be foot or horse access only. The travel map makes no attempt to holistically address, and reduce, the total number of roads in the forest���it only addresses what use will occur, or not, on the existing road system. Yet, in addition to current use, it is the size of the forest road system that matters to wildlife. None of the proposed alternatives address the need to dramatically reduce road densities in certain areas, for example, lands north and south of I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass, where the Snoqualmie Pass Adaptive Management Area plan calls for promoting connected habitat and older forests for wildlife by reducing road densities by nearly half. How can we balance adequate access for recreation and management with wildlife habitat and healthy watersheds on our national forests? Does this travel map help us get there? Conservation Northwest is evaluating the alternatives closely to update you on which alternative provides the best options for wildlife, including secure and connected habitats. We���ll need your voice and your help in public sessions to begin in the coming weeks. Learn what you can do for Northwest forests at conservationnw.org/forest-planning Travel management and forest planning Conservation Northwest is active in forest planning on both the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests. Forest-wide planning includes forestry as well as recreation and features landscape-scale decisions on what uses are allowed on which portions of the landscape for a 20-year period. Travel management planning focuses in to create a travel use map for the national forest (updated annually), detailing exactly which trails are open and to what kind of use. Cougars use an abandoned forest road in Yahk, BC. Wildlands CPR Finding our niche A Wild Links retrospective In a healthy system, every ���Scientists like to see our science applied and Wild Links was invaluable, a time for working together and exchanging useful information.��� ���Gary Koehler, lynx biologist 16 Fall 2012 player knows their niche, their unique role that contributes to the greater function of the whole. This holds true not just in nature. In 2007, we realized that on the landscapes where Conservation Northwest works���North Cascades, Columbia Highlands, and transboundary British Columbia���the critters seemed much more tuned to their niches than conservationists, scientists, communities, and others working to protect them and their habitats. To fill that knowledge gap, we created and hosted our first Wild Links conference. Our goal was to bring together foundations, non-profits, scientists, and land managers to share their work conserving wildlife and habitat. That first conference was held in 2007 in Ellensburg at Central Washington University. The one-day meeting focused on the North Cascades from I-90 to the Canadian border. 2008 saw Wild Links at Chewelah in northeastern Washington for Planning for a Future with Working Landscapes and Wildlife Linkages, focused on the Cascades to the Rockies. In 2009, Wild Links took on an international flair, meeting at the Oswww.conservationnw.org