2013: Telling our stories
Ode to wilderness
Dave Heflick Conservation
associate,dheflick@conservationnw.org
Rocky Mountain highs
Back in 1971 when I was a high
school sophomore, John Denver affected my life in two profound ways. His
finger-picking style of guitar playing was
simple enough to encourage a beginner
to learn. As a professional musician, finger picking still remains my favorite style
of playing guitar. And songs like Rocky
Mountain High and Starwood in Aspen
inspired me to purchase a backpack and
a pair of hiking boots and began exploring the trails.
One of my earliest hikes was a trail
in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National
Forest; that first foray, I made it as far as
the second in a chain of lakes. Two years
later, smarter about hiking, I returned
to the same area. The drive to the trailhead now ran through fresh clearcuts.
The segment up to the first lake had been
turned into a logging road, with logging
trucks churning their way up the winding road and the roar of chainsaws near
the trailhead. The cacophony ceased at
Bertha May Lake. Enjoying the peace
and quiet, I continued up to Granite
Lake, where the quiet ended: ATVs
were running around on skid trails left
behind after a timber sale near the lake.
On the drive home after, I found myself wondering if there were at least some
areas of the national forests off-limits
to logging and motorized recreation.
Several days later, I found myself in the
middle of the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
I'd learned that logging and motorized
recreation was prohibited in wilderness
areas, and that these areas were managed
Bodie Mountain, Colville National Forest.
© Eric Zamora
as wilderness in perpetuity.
Today, I get regular "Rocky Mountain Highs" working for an organization
that champions a wilderness designation
in the Kettle River Range on the Colville
National Forest, promotes intelligent
management of recreation, collaborates
on sustainable logging, and protects and
connects key wildlife habitat.
Barbara Christensen Social media and
engagement manager, barbara@conservationnw.org
forward thinking
The hero is you
What will you choose for wildlife?
Forty years ago on a day much like
today, a Washington resident who cared
about the state's land and animals headed into a voting booth with a plan in
mind: join 613,000 others to help wildlife. Her forward-thinking vote that day
created an innovative way for almost
everyone in the state to help wildlife.
They could help, not by picking up
a shovel or buying a hunting tag, but
by letting the world know they are a
COOLDAD or GROOVY.
That vote in 1973 allowed car owners
to pick their own personalized license
Keeping the Northwest wild
plates. Fees that the state has collected
for the four decades since have added
up to millions to maintain and restore
healthy ecosystems, recover rare species,
conduct valuable research, and secure
habitat.
Just in time for the 40th anniversary,
new legislation this year helps Washington's newest wild residents: wolves.
An additional $10 fee for personalizing
plates funds wolf monitoring and reduce
conflicts between wolves and livestock.
This is expected to raise more than $1
million per biennium—without raising
taxes—to fund WDFW's use of proven
methods to reduce conflicts with large
carnivores, from range riders to changes
in range management, carcass removal
programs, and special tools like fladry.
Conservation Northwest's Prius can
be seen all over the state, packed with
dedicated staff members, working to
help wildlife and wildlands. Our new,
wolf-friendly plate declares what we're
out there working for: WILD NW.
We're pretty stoked to have every
person who pulls up behind our little
blue Toyota get a reminder that healthy
ecosystems, abundant wildlife, and pure
wildness are worth protecting. I wonder
what that wildlife-loving voter 40 years
ago chose as her personalized plate, to
protect wildlife. What will you choose?
Visit conservationnw.org/wildlife-plates
Winter 2014 7
