NO WONDER THEY HAVE AN IMAGE PROBLEM
Cyclists on Cell Phones?
In today's society, it's hard not to be frustrated about a lot of things. Nonetheless, each week when I sit down to write my column, regardless of the morning's news, I tell myself not to rant. But today, I can't stop myself, so I apologize in advance. This will be a little ranty, but if any subject deserves it, this is it.
Earlier today, I'm walking down the sidewalk on my daily trip to the Post Office, and I'm almost run down by a young woman riding a bicycle, one hand on the handlebars, one hand pressing a cell phone on her ear. On top of all that, she was riding with no helmet and way too fast down a busy downtown sidewalk where people can pop unexpectedly out of businesses and cause a major crash.
And this is the third time I have observed this most dangerous and thoughtless behavior in the last two months, all within a block of my downtown office.
Don't you agree this warrants a rant?
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Celebrating National Public Lands Day
Free Admission at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks
The endless RV brigades of the summer tourist season have slowly made their departures from our national parks and autumn, a thankful reprieve from the scorching heat and smoky air, has finally arrived - the ideal time to get out and enjoy our public lands. And for the penny-pinching, ramen noodle eating, debt ridden among us, we won’t even have to worry about an admission fee for one day.
In celebration of the 14th Annual National Public Lands Day, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are opening their gates and waiving all entrance fees on Sept. 29. That’s $25 for a private, non-commercial rig. In my world, that’s enough savings to justify splurging on a burger and a beer on the way home.
And that’s not all folks!
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COLLABORATION CAN SOLVE CONFLICT OVER TRAIL USE
Creating Quiet Trails Doesn’t Need to be Noisy
A few weeks ago, I spent a couple of hours on a Monday night listening to long-time adversaries working together like long-time chums. When this happens, you almost always end up with positive results instead of endless polarization. And endless polarization is fairly close to what we've had in Montana on the white-hot issues of Wilderness designation and trail use.
Perhaps this is the start of a sea change, I said to myself as I listened, and now, that's what it looks like, the wave of the future, using a collaborative process to unite what I call natural allies and to do things together instead of against each other.
Note: An update to this article was placed at the end of the full post on 9/28/07....Bill Schneider
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Revett’s Rock Creek Mine
The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness areas as places “where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man.” If you take that definition for what it is, as I do, you will likely conclude that mining is prohibited in designated wilderness areas. Imagine my bewilderment, then, at the proposal for Rock Creek Mine, which calls for digging and blasting under the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness of northwest Montana. A mine in a federally designated wilderness area? But silly me—the mine isn’t in the wilderness, it’s under it. And thanks to the 1872 mining law, that’s permitted. Here I thought the ground I was hiking on, all of it, all the way down to the earth’s core, was protected.www.SaveOurCabinets.org [more]
Idaho's winter wonderland
Tamarack to Offer Olympic-Size SuperPipe, More Winter Fun
Tamarack Resort is going to be as cool as possible this winter. The four-season resort in Cascade announced the construction of a 22-foot high Olympic-sized snowboarding SuperPipe for the upcoming winter season.
The SuperPipe will be one of only a half-dozen in North America that showcase the 22-foot walls, the new Olympic standard.
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Motorized Travel Continues
Final Winter Plan Reduces Snowmobiles in Yellowstone Park
The National Park Service released the final Winter-Use Environmental Impact Statement for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks — the fourth such study in less than 10 years with a total price tag of $10 million. Not to mention, a long-running controversy.
Under the new plan, 540 snowmobiles and 83 snowcoaches would be allowed a day into Yellowstone National Park. Snowmobiles still requiring the use a commercial guide and quiet, cleaner engine technology.
The plan will be implemented in the 2008-2009 season, therefore still allowing 720 snowmobiles a day for the upcoming season.
But the numbers of visitors using snowmobiles — historically in the thousands — has steadily held to an average of 250-290 snowmobiles a day over the past four years.
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YES, YOU CAN TRY THIS AT HOME
Shore Lunch, The Angler’s Gourmet
Many people haven't even heard of shore lunch, but if somebody started a restaurant and served it, I suspect he or she might be quite successful.
In early September, I spent a week at an angler's paradise called Oliver Lake Wilderness Lodge. During my stay, I not only had great fishing but I was reminded how really great shore lunch can be.
And I am not talking about the little boxes of breading for fish you buy at the supermarket. I'm talking about the real deal. Most Canadian and Alaskan fishing lodges include a daily shore lunch in the package, and I suspect most first-timers have no clue what it is. Fortunately, for us, our guide at Oliver Lake, Mike Pundyk, was as skilled at cooking shore lunch as he was at finding fish.
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OPPONENTS HAVE NO PLANS TO DROP THE CASE
Forest Service Wins Next Round on Mount Lemmon Case
Goliath has won the next round in the David-and-Goliath battle going on down in Tucson, and the court decision should send a chill down the spine of anybody who uses public land for outdoor recreation.
On September 6, U.S. District Judge John Roll convicted Christine Wallace of using public land without paying, and he was quite "nasty" about it, according to Wallace's supporters.
"It was no surprise that she was found guilty," Kitty Benzar of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition told NewWest.Net in an interview today. "The surprise was how nasty he was about it. He (the judge) treated her like a low-life criminal."
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GET 35 MPG WHILE TOWING YOUR BOAT
Groups Opposing CAFE Off Track
I have to take a deep breath when I see "outdoor recreation" organizations opposing efforts by Congress to require automakers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles, including those used for towing, but that's exactly what's happening. At least two groups purporting to want what's best for anglers, hunters and other outdoor recreationists say we need gas guzzlers to pull boats and RVs, and if required to make more fuel-efficient SUVs and pickup trucks, automakers will simply stop making them.
Is there anybody out there who really believes automakers will abandon one of the largest and most lucrative markets because Congress requires better gas mileage?
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WHAT MAKES A FLY-IN FISHING LODGE SO SPECIAL?
Fishing at its Finest: Oliver Lake, Saskatchewan
Anglers, especially fishaholics like myself, always lust for new and better fishing. We constantly push further and farther to find it. And I've discovered that looking for great fishing is a lot easier than finding it.
But it can happen, and it just did.
Last week, I endured a 15-hour drive (last hour on gravel) and a bumpy flight stuffed into a small floatplane to reach a truly remote fishing camp in northern Saskatchewan called the Oliver Lake Wilderness Lodge. My well-planned adventures don't always turn out to be so well-planned, but this time, the reward more than matched the effort.
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