March, 2009

Time is running out! Join us today to protect Arctic wildlife

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Democracy, sweet democracy. How blessed are we Americans that it doesn’t take a street full of burning tires to get the government’s attention. So entrenched is our glorious democracy that even the federal government cannot finalize decisions about how to use our lands and our waters without first consulting us citizens. That’s how it works in theory — though I can think of one recent administration, (starts with a ‘B’, ends with an ‘h’) that could have used a little flaming rubber in this regard. more

Tremendous day for Wilderness!

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Great news! The largest land conservation bill in decades has finally become law! After a long awaited victory in Congress, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act into law Monday, March 30. Read Wilderness Society President Bill Meadows’ March 25 blog celebrating the victory below. This a tremendous day for wilderness and for all who cherish our public lands. more

Migratory birds take long flight to Alaska

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It’s a long airplane flight from Baltimore to northern Alaska. But what if you were a tundra swan? This time of year, these birds head off from their wintering grounds in the Chesapeake Bay, flying about 4,000 miles to their breeding grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other spots across Alaska’s Arctic coastline. Typically, they fly through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota, stopping at national wildlife refuges and other suitable spots. more

My one-man boycott of Exxon

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I didn’t know squat about environmental issues when an oil tanker captain crashed the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska 20 years ago. I was in college at the University of Georgia at the time and the seminal moments of my life then were determined by the quality of the dates I got and by the points I scored in our daily intramural basketball games. more

20 Years After the Exxon Valdez: Our Alaska director takes a look back

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When the Exxon Valdez ran aground twenty years ago, our Alaska Regional Director Eleanor Huffines immediately left her studies at the University of North Carolina and headed to Alaska to help clean beaches and oiled wildlife in Prince William Sound. She returned to Alaska every summer thereafter to help. more

Fire season shouldn’t mean robbing Peter to pay Paul

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Conservation organizations like ours love to ask supporters to contact their congressmen to vote yes on all kinds of bills. But, the truth is that a lot of federal legislation doesn’t easily fire people up. We’ve got a bill for you that does just that and it’s about, well, wildfires. We need your help to get Congress to pass this bill. The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday, March 25. What’s the problem? more

Protesting gas leases in West Virginia: Success for now

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On March 3, The Wilderness Society filed a protest with the Bureau of Land Management, which was planning to auction off a lease that would allow oil and natural gas drilling on the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. The BLM is the leasing agent for all federal lands, including national forests, and a “protest” is a document that allows the public to challenge those leases before they are auctioned off. more

A National Treasure: Washington State’s North Cascades

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One of our top priorities in the Pacific Northwest is the North Cascades Initiative. Rising from lush valleys to Mount Baker’s 10,778-foot peak, the North Cascades are in greater Seattle’s backyard and is the most glaciated area in the Lower 48. Glaciers carved many of the deep valleys and cut mountain sides much steeper than those on the higher peaks of the Sierra Nevada or Rockies. The North Cascades are one of the few intact ecosystems in the Lower 48 that is wild and large enough to support wide-ranging species such as grizzlies, mountain lion, and wolves. more

A California gem, off the beaten track

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This feature was first published in the 2008 Wilderness Magazine. To receive the annual magazine and quarterly newsletters from The Wilderness Society, become a member today! Freelance writer Anne McMahon of Santa Margarita, California, is a former newspaper reporter who also has worked for U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) and The Nature Conservancy. more

Down but not defeated: Wilderness legislation deserves another day

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What a slug in the stomach March 11 turned out to be for wild lands. At The Wilderness Society today, folks were waiting with bated breath and figurative confetti in hand as the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a long-awaited, historic piece of legislation that would have created the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 15 years. more