March 22, 2006 Before She Steps Down, Interior Sec. Norton Rushes Out Damaging Highway Policy Today Road construction policy could impact National Parks and other premier public lands   March 16, 2006 WILDALERT: Proposed Road Would Damage Great Smoky Mountains National Park Permanently Despite its own research to the contrary, the National Park Service is proposing to construct a new road in the Great Smoky Mountains that would impair park resources and be a massive boondoggle. The road, to be constructed along the North Shore of Fontana Lake, would cost around $590 million and require $14 million in annual maintenance costs, this at a time when the entire park's annual operating budget typically falls over $11 million short of actual need.   March 02, 2006 Over 250,000 Petition Forest Service to Reinstate Forest Protections More than 250,000 Americans formally petitioned the Bush administration to reinstate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.   January 26, 2006 New Wilderness Designated The 109th Congress has approved legislation adding significant wilderness areas in several states to the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Society and our state partners fought hard for the designation of these areas. These victories prove that we can continue to obtain positive, preservation-minded victories even in the current political climate. These victories certainly are worth celebrating!   January 23, 2006 Report Celebrates the Wyoming Range -- One of State's Unsung Gems Range has long tradition of excellent hunting, recreation, clean water and wildlife, but new energy development proposals leave range’s future uncertain.   January 12, 2006 Analysis of “Time Sensitive” Plans Shows BLM Shifted Policies to Facilitate Dramatically Expanded Drilling in New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah An analysis of 11 pending and completed oil and gas plans for key Western areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management shows that BLM has increasingly overridden its own policies to facilitate dramatically expanded drilling on public lands.   December 20, 2005 Mining Provisions to Sell-Off Public Lands Dropped by Congress Congressional leaders announced that they would drop mining provisions from budget reconciliation bill negotiations that would have put millions of acres of public lands -including protected wildlands in parks, wildlife refuges, national monuments, and even wilderness areas - up for sale.   November 10, 2005 House Drops Arctic Refuge Drilling From Its Budget Reconciliation Bill Statement of William H. Meadows, President, The Wilderness Society.   November 03, 2005 Senate Passes Budget Reconciliation Bill with Provision to Drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Statement of William H. Meadows, President of The Wilderness Society.   October 31, 2005 Top 10 Halloween Horribles It’s been a scary year for the environment—a lot of heavy-handed tricks and not a whole lot of treats. Some of the ghoulishness gets dressed up in hurricane relief; others parts masquerade as energy solutions. But the fact remains that behind the mask and the rhetoric there has been a dangerous erosion in the laws that protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and our right to participate in decision making.   October 11, 2005 Citizen Petition Drive Launched to Reinstate Forest Protections Seventy-five environmental groups around the country announced today that they will mount a petition campaign to reinstate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule overturned by the Bush administration in one of its most controversial environmental decisions.   October 06, 2005 Western Citizens Seek To Reinstate Roadless Area Protections: Roadless Repeal Challenged Joining the States of California, Oregon, and New Mexico, 20 conservation groups today added their voices to the call for protection of the last wild places in North America. The conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal district court in San Francisco seeking to invalidate a Bush administration decision targeting the last, large untouched tracts of our national forests for industrial development. The suit asks the court to reinstate a prior rule that protected these key areas.   September 20, 2005 Thousands of Citizens Converge on Washington, D.C. for Arctic Refuge Action Day Thousands of Americans from across the country gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol this morning to voice their opposition to plans to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.   July 26, 2005 Senate Unanimously Passes Four Wilderness Bills Legislation protects almost a half-million acres in California, New Mexico, Washington, and Puerto Rico.   July 03, 2005 Gaylord Nelson, Father of Earth Day, Passes Away The world has lost a great citizen and an uncommon leader. Anyone who cares about the quality of our air, water, and land should be grateful for the life of Gaylord Nelson.   June 02, 2005 National Landscape Conservation System Named One of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places The National Landscape Conservation System, a diverse collection of Western conservation areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), was today named one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.   May 05, 2005 Administration Announces Reversal of Protection for America’s Pristine, Roadless Forests The Administration revealed their final plans to overturn the popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This announcement puts the country’s last remaining untouched forests at grave risk to new development and disregards the wishes of millions of Americans who have repeatedly said they want these special places preserved.   April 29, 2005 Statement on passage of the Budget Resolution Conference Report The passage of this budget resolution means that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is still at risk. A budget conference report need not say the words "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" to pave the way for Arctic Refuge drilling.   February 04, 2005 New BLM Management Plans Would Open 8 million acres to Oil and Gas Development in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah As Congress prepares energy legislation with an emphasis on opening sensitive Western lands, newly released plans open more than 8 million acres of environmentally important areas in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah to oil and gas development.   January 27, 2005 Analysis: Otero Mesa Drilling Plan Inadequate BLM drilling plan fails to protect america’s wildest grassland, New Mexico’s largest store of clean drinking water.   October 27, 2004 Analysis Shows Interior Department Overstated Roan Plateau’s Gas Potential By More Than 3,000% A new analysis shows that The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) dramatically exaggerated the potential for gas production from the Roan Plateau Planning Area, a prized Colorado recreation area that has been controversially targeted for increased drilling. The Wilderness Society found that the BLM's gas projection for the Roan Plateau Planning Area was 38 times larger than an estimate based on the federal government's most recent data.   October 05, 2004 Montanans Praise Decision to Stop Proposed Drilling Along Rocky Mountain Front Citing overwhelming public support & long tradition of protecting Front, Montanans call on Congress to swap or buy-out leases.   July 12, 2004 Bush Administration Plans to Overturn Popular Roadless Protection for Forests The Bush Administration announced a plan that would overturn the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the landmark conservation initiative enacted in 2001 to protect 58.5 million acres of National Forest roadless areas from additional road-building and logging.   June 03, 2004 Drilling Not the Solution to U.S. Energy Challenges A compendium of links to reports that demonstrate the flaws in the Administration's "drill first" policies.   May 26, 2004 New Information Documents Bush Administration's Land-Management Shift Secret policy changes made oil and gas development the dominant use of federal lands.   May 12, 2004 Report Shows Public Overwhelmingly Opposes Plan to Log in Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area Ninety-five percent of comments on timber sale oppose the Bush administration preferred alternative for massive logging in the region.   May 05, 2004 Blackleaf Area of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front Contains Less Than a Day's Worth of Energy A study released today uses federal government data to demonstrate that the Blackleaf area of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, which is now being studied for possible new drilling by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), contains less than a day’s worth of natural gas and 15 minutes of oil for the nation. The analysis also found that the entire Front (federal lands) contains less than a week’s worth of natural gas and 20 minutes of oil.   April 29, 2004 Colorado Public Lands Latest Victim of Bush Administration Anti-Wilderness Policies Oil and gas lease sale threatens proposed wilderness and National Forest roadless lands.   March 18, 2004 Back-Door Arctic Drilling Plans Fail Arctic Refuge drilling provision not included in House and Senate budgets; conservationists remain vigilant.   February 19, 2004 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Action Center Bureau of Land Management Action Center provides information and tools for citizens to engage in the BLM land management planning process.   January 28, 2004 Snowmobile Phaseout Benefits Yellowstone Professional guides who make their living escorting visitors into Yellowstone National Park say the phaseout of snowmobiles underway in the park this winter is improving condition and delighting customers and that both trends bode well for repeat business in future seasons.   January 15, 2004 Study Shows Need for Permanent Protection of Roadless Areas Study shows need for permanent protection of roadless areas.   January 13, 2004 Higher Court Leaves Snowmobile Phaseout in Place in Yellowstone A panel of federal judges today ruled that a phaseout of snowmobile use under way in Yellowstone National Park must continue.   December 09, 2003 Immense Salvage Timber Sale Proposed in Oregon A Forest Service proposal for a huge salvage logging sale would severely damage one of America's premiere natural landscapes, the Siskiyou National Forest, and would be the first major logging in an roadless area in the lower 48 states since the Roadless Rule was promulgated three years ago.   November 14, 2003 House and Senate Compromise on Energy Bill - Statement of William H. Meadows At a press conference this morning, Senator Pete Domenici (R, NM) confirmed that that House and Senate negotiators have decided to abandon attempts to include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the final Energy Bill conference report.   October 20, 2003 Conservation Community Mourns Mardy Murie Wilderness has lost a matchless champion with the death of Mardy Murie on October 19, 2003.   September 30, 2003 Earthshare and Other Workplace Giving Support The Wilderness Society through workplace giving! It's easy and cost-efficient.   September 29, 2003 Administration Formalizes Wilderness Giveaway Directive sets national policy to halt future Wilderness consideration.   September 24, 2003 Upcoming Gas Reports Will Exaggerate West's Energy Potential The Bush Administration and its allies in the oil and gas industry hope to significantly influence America's natural gas debate through the release of two new reports, both of which are expected to exaggerate natural gas potential in the West.   September 08, 2003 Senate to Vote on Wildfire Legislation Will the Senate fall for rhetoric or choose a solution that will protect communities and forests? Learn more and take action.   Keep Snowmobiles out of Yellowstone Despite overwhelming public opposition to continued snowmobile use, the Park Service has announced it will increase the number of snowmobiles allowed within America's first national park. Take action today to stop it.   August 28, 2003 Lawsuit Seeks Undisclosed Documents in Utah Wilderness Agreement   August 19, 2003 Bush Tour Nears End; Citizens Demand Action This week marks the end of President Bush's August 'environmental tour' as he travels to Oregon and Washington, Thursday and Friday. Environmental politics clearly are a top priority during August for the White House, and the President's travel schedule over the past three weeks reflects a growing concern over public opinion of his conservation record.   June 05, 2003 Visit Your National Monuments The National Landscape Conservation System contains the crown jewels of lands within the Bureau of Land Management. Get to know them.