Sawtooth Mountains Companion Avalanche Rescue-Field Training

Start the year off right with a refresher course on Avalanche safety. The Sawtooth Mountain Guides Companion Avalanche Rescue Field Training is coming up on Jan. 2. The class includes avalanche rescue scenarios, effective use of tour participants, equipment considerations, leadership, and complex/multiple burials. This Field Training is appropriate for first time beacon users and backcountry enthusiasts with some experience. Registration for this field day requires attendance at the Sawtooth Mountain Guides Backcountry Travel & Avalanche Awareness lecture on December 16th at REI. The field training will happen at Bogus Basin in Boise. Cost: $50.00 class fee.

Going to miss out? Check out http://www.sawtoothguides.com/ for information on future classes and guided trips.

Great Holiday Gift For The Aspiring Young Mountaineer In Your Family

From the Hans Saari Memorial Fund:

The mission of the HSMF is to foster an appreciation for skiing and its personal challenges, alpine environments, and mountain cultures by promoting ski exploration and avalanche education. The Hans Fund will contribute to the ski community and the sport of ski mountaineering by sponsoring and encouraging innovative ski expeditions and education programs. We aim to raise the level of awareness and expertise among those traveling in avalanche terrain, and to help skiers and members of the ski community achieve their exploration and educational goals through the sport of skiing.

Yellowstone Resurgence Continues

This winter, the National Park Service will institute what will be the tightest daily cap to date on the number of snowmobiles allowed into Yellowstone National Park. The two-year interim plan, a direct result of legal action by Winter Wildlands Alliance and four coalition partners, will allow up to 318 commercially guided, Best Available Technology snowmobiles per day in the park. That’s less than half the number allowed in recent years and is certainly a step in the right direction, though only a step. The National Park Service will use the two years the interim plan is in place to prepare a new Environmental Impact Statement and a new long term plan for winter use in Yellowstone National Park.

As encouraging as this forward motion from the National Park Service is, even more encouraging is a resurgence happening on the ground in our nation’s first national park. Part of this resurgence is due to more stringent noise and exhaust requirements for all vehicles in the Park and to commercial guiding requirements for snowmobiles. The biggest difference, however, is the simple fact that there are fewer vehicles in the Park in winter now. More and more, visitors are opting to enter Yellowstone under their own power on skis and snowshoes or on snowcoaches, fewer on snowmobiles.

This means that skiers who visit Yellowstone this winter will breathe cleaner air, see wildlife in healthier and more natural conditions, encounter less snowmobile noise (albeit, what remains continues to exceed park standards) and will have more opportunities to enjoy Yellowstone under their own power on skis and snowshoes. In short, Yellowstone is well on its way to being, again, the quiet, healthy and natural sanctuary it is meant to be forever.

Mount Jefferson One Step Closer to Protection

Winter Wildlands Alliance and our local partners are one step closer to achieving permanent protection for Mount Jefferson, a pristine backcountry area located in the Centennial Mountains
along the Idaho/Montana border. The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act introduced by Montana Senator Jon Tester and recently co-sponsored by Montana Senator Max Baucus includes Wilderness designation for the Montana portion of Mount Jefferson. Backcountry skiers from around the region know this small but significant 4,500-acre area as a backcountry ski paradise. Many have stayed at the Hellroaring Hut -- one of only two successfully operated private backcountry hut businesses in Southwestern Montana. The area also provides important habitat for rare carnivores, including wolverines and lynx that stay active all winter and may be harmed by snowmobile use.

Not surprisingly, protection for Mount Jefferson is meeting stiff opposition from the snowmobile lobby, particularly in Idaho, where snowmobile interests are putting heavy pressure on Idaho’s Congressional delegation to oppose the inclusion of Mount Jefferson in the bill. WWA is working directly with Senators Tester and Baucus as well as Idaho Senators Crapo and Risch to educate them about the importance of Mount Jefferson to the human-powered recreation community and as a critical wildlife corridor. Forty-four small business partners and grassroots groups from Idaho and Montana recently joined WWA in a sign-on letter to the above-named Senators expressing our support for Wilderness designation for Mount Jefferson. Hundreds of WWA individual members have commented in favor of protecting the area. “Since WWA first formed a decade ago we’ve been working to protect Mount Jefferson,” says WWA Executive Director Mark Menlove. “It’s encouraging to be so close to achieving our goal and rewarding to see the support for this effort coming from our Backcountry Partners, grassroots groups and individual members. It’s truly a collaborative effort.”

WWA Welcomes New Board Members

Winter Wildlands Alliance is pleased to welcome four new members to our board. Each of these volunteer leaders bring commitment and expertise to the organization.

Ryan Jordan, Bozeman, MT - Ryan is the co-founder of Backpacking Light Magazine (est. 2001) and current President/CEO of Backpacking Light's Publisher, Beartooth Media Group, Inc., where he directs company strategy as well as initiatives for editorial and product development. Ryan holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Environmental Engineering from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in Biofilm Engineering from Montana State University. Backpacking Light Magazine, and Jordan's book “Lightweight Backpacking and Camping” are recognized as the most authoritative references about ultralight backpacking available.

Deb Wechselblatt, Portland, OR - As the former campaign manager for Restore Mt. Hood, a teacher, natural resource planner, policy analyst and community organizer, Deb brings a diverse range of experience to WWA’s board. She is currently a Board member for Trailkeepers of Oregon
and has a strong network of relationships with environmental and conservation groups in
the Northwest. She holds a B.A. degree in Environmental History from Oberlin College and will enter Lewis and Clark Law School in 2010.

Brooke Williams, Castle Valley, UT - Brooke splits time between Jackson, Wyoming and a collapsed salt-dome valley east of Moab, Utah where he works for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance focusing on rural counties. He holds an MBA in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute and a Biology degree from the University of Utah. An active outdoor adventurer
for more than 30 years, he has written four books including “Halflives: Reconciling Work and Wildness.” He is currently involved in The Great West Institute, a think tank exploring expansion and innovation in the conservation movement.

Charlie Woodruff, Boise, ID - A former WWA staff member, Charlie serves as Development Director for Conservation Voters for Idaho. In a previous life Charlie was an All American ski racer and ski coach from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Geology from Whitman College and has been active in conservation work for nearly 10 years. His great passion for skiing in the pristine backcountry brought him to the work of Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Snowmobiles and trees: a WWA study

We all know that pollution from snowmobiles can damage air and water quality. Impacts on wildlife are well-documented. But what about the rest of the forest?

Recently, Winter Wildlands Alliance learned that the US Forest Service, as part of forest re-vegetation surveys, gathered data documenting tree damage caused by snowmobiles in the Gallatin National Forest near West Yellowstone, Montana. The tree damage data show that in addition to well-documented impacts on air quality and wildlife, snowmobiles may be more directly and immediately impacting the health of forests. Simply put, the data demonstrate snowmobiles are chopping the tops off of trees, possibly in significant numbers.

As part of ongoing efforts to evaluate regeneration and thinning needs, the Gallatin National Forest surveyed previously logged timber stands. These surveys are required by the National Forest Management Act, and look for a variety of damage types and causes, including insect-, disease- and human-caused damage. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, WWA acquired and analyzed the Gallatin National Forest regeneration survey data collected through 1996, when funding cuts ended the survey project.

Gallatin National Forest surveys show that between 1983 and 1995, snowmobiles damaged between 12 and 720 trees per acre in the approximately 72,393 acres of harvested areas studied on the 1.8 million-acre Gallatin National Forest.

It’s worth noting that surveyed sections were not necessarily heavily used by snowmobiles. Had surveys been conducted in heavily used areas, it’s likely more damage may have been noted. Our review noted that stands with the highest rates of tree damage had snowmobile trails within the tracts. Since snowmobiling in the Gallatin has increased since surveys ended in 1996, it’s reasonable to expect that tree damage has increased as well.

Though the data covers only one national forest, it clearly shows the potential for tree damage from snowmobiles across all Snowbelt forests, and the need for better forest management practices. You can help the Forest Service to do a better job of protecting our nation’s forests by asking your local forest to do winter travel planning, and by commenting on travel planning and forest plans when they are issued. Winter Wildlands can help. Make sure we have your current email address and location to receive action alerts for your local national forests.

FY09 - Annual Report

Thriving In This Time Of Challenge
It’s no secret the past year has been one of challenge for nonprofit organizations and for the individuals, companies and organizations who support us. As I look back on the past year, however, it is the upside of working in this challenging economic environment that strikes me, that inspires me. As Nordic and backcountry winter enthusiasts and conservationists we are part of a remarkable community: a community that is responding to the current challenge with increased support for Winter Wildlands Alliance and the work we are doing. Because of our dedicated supporters and partners WWA is not only surviving but thriving. The fact is, FY09 was our best year ever for both individual contributions and support from our outdoor industry partners. Remarkable, isn’t it? And humbling. As a result, WWA has a more robust work plan than ever. We’ve expanded our geographic presence along with our advocacy services and we’re perfectly positioned to take advantage of what may be the best opportunity we’ve ever had to change national policy and to finally bring balance to the way our public lands are managed during winter. All of us at WWA understand, of course, that this support and the personal sacrifice it represents from our members and partners brings with it a heavy responsibility to accomplish our mission. To you, our dedicated members and supporters, I offer my heartfelt appreciation. I also pledge to honor your support by protecting the wild winter places we all love. Keep the wild in winter!

Winter Wildlands Alliance achieved concrete and measurable results during our fiscal year 2009 (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009) toward our mission of promoting and protecting winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snowsports experience.

To see the entire PDF version of our newsletter and the annual report, please download the latest version here or visit www.winterwildlands.org.