Banana Seats, New Belgium, and Boise

By Sara Cohn, Community Conservation Associate-

Tour De Fat is gearing up for the 2008 tour (pun intended). For those of you who didn’t get the pun – Tour de Fat is New Belgium Brewing Company’s traveling celebration of all things bicycle. This traveling bikefest wanders the country spreading the good word about the myriad benefits of cycling.

And it is coming to Boise August 23rd 2008.

New Belgium is also offering a tantalizing deal to those of us who are, or are interested in becoming, die hard bike lovers. Give up you car to New Belgium for one year and you will receive a New Belgium cruiser for one entire year. High stakes, but in Boise, totally doable.

To me, bikes have always represented freedom. My sister and I even made up a song when we were little about how much we love to ride our bikes. Luckily, this blog doesn’t have sound – otherwise you would probably find yourself subjected to that song right now. If you are like me and love your bike, take a minute to think about all your bikes, – from Big Wheels , to training wheels, to banana seats, to handle tassels, to mountain bikes, single speeds, and the thrill of a roadie. Are you willing to give up your car for a year and really explore your love of bikes?

Quiet Recreation Deserves Attention

By Brad Smith, Conservation Associate-

Even with gas prices flirting with $4.00 per gallon, the popularity of off-road vehicles continues to increase. In Idaho, registered ATVs and dirt bikes are at an all time high of approximately 131,000. This puts increasing pressure on our public lands, including wildlife, fish and other recreational uses.

Despite their increased popularity, the average Idahoan chooses to recreate in other ways. Even if you assume that there is one owner for each registered ATV and dirt bike in the state of Idaho, that’s just a little more than 7% of the state’s population.

Visitor use data gathered by the Forest Service supports this notion. For example, on the Sawtooth National Forest, only 2.8% of the visitors to that forest participate in off-road vehicle use.

While off-road vehicle use is having a disproportionate effect on our public lands and the freedom to enjoy quiet places with our families, the solution to the increasing off-road vehicle use problem is being applied to all recreationists. Rather than try to plan for off-road vehicle use, the Forest Service and BLM should plan for all recreational uses of our public lands.

Sharing a Shoreline

By Susan Drumheller, North Idaho Associate -

The Idaho Conservation League has teamed up with North Idaho Bikeways and the cities of Sandpoint, Ponderay and Kootenai, Bonner County and other partners, in an effort to creat a public waterfront trail on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille.

The first phase of the trail would be nearly two miles long and connect the towns of Sandpoint and Ponderay.

The coalition working to create this trail, Friends of Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, grew out of an ad hoc committee of boosters hoping to create a public trail and greenway offering waterfront access to the public and a safe non-motorized route between the cities of Sandpoint, Ponderay and Kootenai.

The Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail project is going public with a new website at www.pobtrail.org. The website will help with outreach efforts and raise awareness of local efforts.

While most of the trail now is on private and railroad property, Friends of Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail is hosting occasional organized walks with the blessing of the property owners.

For more information about the trail, and upcoming walks, go to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail website.

Play Ball!

By Justin Hayes, Program Director

Idaho is not exactly known as a powerhouse state when it comes to professional sports. We do not have a pro-football team, nor do we have a professional basketball team or a professional baseball team.

Sports fans can rejoice though because Idaho is now in the big leagues when it comes to sports memorabilia.

Idaho Senator Larry Craig has joined the ranks of the most elite professional athletes. Membership in this small club comes not with an award or lifetime game winning stats – but rather with an odd trophy of sorts. A truly famous athlete gets a “bobblehead doll.”

Senator Craig enters this pantheon of greats not through fantastic achievement but through spectacular error.

Senator Craig’s bobblehead is actually a “bobblefoot” doll seated in a bathroom stall. The mementos were handed out at to the first 2,500 baseball fans at a recent St. Paul (Minnesota) Saints game.

Local TV news stations are reporting that the bobblefoot dolls are showing up on ebay.

Wolf hunt or witch hunt?

By John Robison, Public Lands Director-

Buckling from pressure from anti-wolf extremists, the Fish and Game Commission voted against their biologist’s own recommendations by adding another 100 wolves to this fall’s wolf hunt, raising the total quota to 428 wolves.

The Commissioners also rejected the idea of designating a few wolf-viewing areas in low conflict areas as requested by a diverse coalition of conservationists, outfitters, and community leaders.

The Commissioners’ decision is regrettable. If we continue to let noisy minority of wolf haters call the shots instead of the professionals at Fish and Game, we face an increased risk of having the federal government step back in and take control. The Commission should keep in mind that Idaho’s wildlife belong to everyone in Idaho and Idahoans want wolves to be managed like other big game.

Building partnerships and trust between wildlife watchers and sportsmen is the only way Fish and Game is going to remain relevant and functional into the future. It’s also the path to successful management of all wildlife for all of Idaho — both those who hunt with guns and those who hunt with binoculars and cameras.

Boulder-White Clouds Bill Improves

By Rick Johnson, Executive Director-

After a few months of quiet, the Boulder-White Clouds is lively again.

At the Idaho Conservation League Wild Idaho conference at Redfish Lake on May 18, Rep. Mike Simpson announced a series of changes to his wilderness bill, the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA).

Foremost among the changes was dropping the Sawtooth NRA land conveyances that were not for “public purposes.” This means the two most controversial land transfer provisions are gone from the bill. He also dropped the “special management area” designation, which would surround the new wilderness. The designation was viewed by many critics as degrading the SNRA. These provisions were the most troublesome for many people and were concerns we raised in our testimony before both the US House and US Senate hearings on the bill.

In our statewide polling on wilderness, the land conveyances in the SNRA were the sole provision of the bill to not have majority support of the Idaho public. Editorial support from Idaho Falls and Twin Falls quickly followed Simpson’s remarks. Let’s hope these changes help move the bill forward in the US Congress.

Hold the arsenic, please

By John Robison, Public Lands Director-

Last week was a big win for the Idaho Conservation League’s community campaign to protect the Boise River from destructive mining practices. In response to letters from the Mayor and City Council of Boise, the Elmore County Commissioners and concerned citizens, the Forest Service is requiring Atlanta Gold to post a $1.3 million dollar bond before the company can continue exploring for gold.

The bond is needed to treat contaminated water from previous exploration. Atlanta Gold last explored this mine shaft in 1994 and 1998 but their settling pond was unable to prevent arsenic from reaching a nearby creek. Following a lawsuit from the Idaho Conservation League, Atlanta Gold constructed a temporary water treatment facility to reduce the arsenic levels.

In the past, taxpayers have been burned when mining companies have been unable to pay for cleanup costs, leaving the public to clean up the mess or put up with contaminated water.

The Forest Service only has a $35,000 bond in place at the present time, but the permanent water treatment facility will cost an estimated $8.6 million dollars, so the Forest Service will require an additional $7.3 million before Atlanta Gold can actually start mining.

Earth to Idaho’s newest Congressional Candidate…

By Justin Hayes, Program Director-

Flash Gordon’s got nothing on Gregory Nemitz. Nemitz, who is hoping to unseat Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson in the upcoming Republican Primary, has some ideas that he’d like to pursue.
The Times News reports that Nemitz would like the federal government to build a $1 billion dollar colony on the planet Mars. (I swear I’m not making this up)

Nemitz’s website outlines his plan for the economy. A key component of his plan is to “reestablish competing currencies in America,” suggesting that Idaho could issue its own currency. (I swear I’m not making this up)

On the environmental front, Nemitz offers a nod to Congressman Simpson’s efforts to protect the Boulder White Clouds as wilderness saying Simpson’s Bill is “a good compromise for all involved parties.” However, Nemitz is an advocate of the forest service divesting itself of all public lands.

The Idaho Conservation League, as a 501c3 non-profit does not endorse one candidate over another. We have known Congressman Simpson for a long time and have enjoyed working with his office on numerous issues of mutual interest. But if he loses the primary, I gotta tell you, I’m looking forward to going down in my basement and printing a pile of money and then working with Nemitz to designate Mar’s first Wilderness area.

Roads in our Forests

By Jonathan Oppenheimer, Senior Conservation Associate-

For years, the Forest Service reported 34,000 miles of roads in Idaho’s national forests. Many of these roads were built decades ago to access timber sales, and have since fallen into disrepair. As a result, streams are polluted with silt, reducing habitat for fish. Roads have also been proven to damage elk and deer habitat, reducing opportunities for hunting.

Now, according to new information obtained from the Forest Service, Idaho’s National Forests actually have 59,345 miles of road, A 75% INCREASE!

As a result of all these roads, the Forest Service is in a real bind. National estimates of a $10 billion maintenance backlog have been reported, with a $650 million backlog in Idaho alone.

According to an unpublished Forest Service report, obtained by the Idaho Conservation League, funding to maintain existing roads would have to immediately increase by $300 million to maintain current access levels. Under the “most likely scenario” roads open to passenger cars would decrease by 83%.

So what’s the answer:

• The Forest Service should stop building new roads,

• Congress needs to provide sufficient funds to decommission unneeded roads,

• Idahoans, and Americans, need to engage in travel planning to identify which roads and trails are really needed.

It’s the Little Things in Life …

By Sara Cohn, Community Conservation Associate-

Good news for all of us who try to make everyday decisions with a little more global awareness. Fred Meyer, in today’s Statesman, announced that they had saved 18 tons of plastic bags in the first year of their reusable bag program. Yes, those black canvass-like bags are saving the company money, and saving our landfills pounds and pounds of plastic bags. The company announced that customers used reusable bags 2.5 times more in 2007 than in 2006. This allowed Fred Meyer stores to order 3.5 million (36,000 pounds) fewer plastic bags in 2007.

This is absolutely wonderful news for all of us who can’t afford a Prius, aren’t off the grid, and who really enjoy a nice cool room on a hot summer day. There are plenty of small things each of us can do that fits nicely into our daily routine – like bring reusable bags to the grocery store for example.

A word of advice for all of you who desperately want to bring reusable bags to the store but find yourself often forgetting them at the door: I find it really helpful to just leave the bags in my trunk, at the ready. I still forget sometimes. It is inevitable. But, next time I find myself in the grocery store sans reusable bags, I will remember that somewhere out there (possibly at Fred Meyer) there is a good citizen who did remember her bags. Between the two of us, we are making a difference.

For more info on other ways to make small changed that have a big impact check out Planet Green.