Utah Environmental Congress

2003 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2003 Results of the UEC Forest Monitoring Program

Roadless Area Survey/Wilderness Proposal
  • The UEC completed its Utah National Forest Roadless Area Survey. In total, the UEC surveyed about 250 roadless areas covering approximately six million acres of National Forest lands. Out of the 250 roadless areas surveyed, the UEC found 70 of them to be left out of the Forest Service’s RARE II inventory. These areas are all 5,000 acres or greater in size and meet the criteria for roadless designation. These units are identified as “UEC roadless areas.”  The UEC took approximately 70,000 photographs of the roadless areas documenting wilderness characteristics as well as the impacts of roads, logging, mining, and ATV trails. The UEC has now identified all roadless area boundaries from the survey results, and the information has been digitized onto GIS maps.
  • The UEC also reviewed those boundaries for wilderness consideration and found 5.2 million acres technically qualified for wilderness designation. Due to potential management conflicts, the UEC finely crafted a more reasonable proposal of 3.3 million acres, or a mere six percent of the state of Utah. Our statewide National Forest wilderness proposal was presented to the Public at UEC’s fifth Annual Conference and an open house was held on January 20, 2004 for our members, the public, press and politicians to review and comment on the proposal.
Forest Monitoring Program
  • The UEC staff provides comments on proposed timber sales and projects impacting wildlife and/or their habitat. These comments outline the potential threats that will occur if the project is implemented and provide alternatives and suggestions that are ecologically and biologically sound. The UEC tracks all projects commented on and takes further steps if adequate changes are not made. Administrative appeals are filed on projects that violate the law. Litigation is pursued if necessary to stop egregious activities on Utah’s National Forests. The UEC commented on 149 projects in 2003 and filed 10 administrative appeals. Of the 10 appeals filed, 2 were successful, 2 were lost, and 6 are pending.

  • The winning appeals have thus far resulted in stopping two Forest Service projects that would have degraded forest ecosystems, wildlife habitat, and/or threatened wildlife populations. They included a timber sale that threatened a variety of wildlife species, particularly neo-tropical migratory birds. The other project was an ATV trail expansion that would have opened up an additional 12,000 acres to motorized travel. The UEC has stopped this ill-advised project three times now!
  • The UEC’s comments have also ameliorated the impacts of countless projects. The Forest Service is monitoring more wildlife and water quality, reducing the amount of timber logged, withdrawing some projects from roadless areas, and in general analyzing and mitigating more of the impacts of its projects, due to the comprehensive and systematic comments the UEC provides on each project.
  • The UEC provides comments on timber sales, road construction, livestock grazing allotments, coal mining, oil and gas exploration, and motorized recreation. In 2003, the Forest Service in Utah sold 43.9 million board feet of timber, down from the 2002 amount of 80.6 million board feet. The Forest Service logged 70.2 million board feet of timber in 2003, which is down from the 83.8 million board feet logged in 2002.
  • There is no question that the UEC’s Forest Monitoring Program is impacting the amount of timber the Forest Service is able to sell and log. For over 95% of the projects the Forest Service proposes, the UEC is the only environmental group in the state of Utah to be actively engaged.
Litigation
  • The UEC is currently awaiting a decision at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2001 lawsuit filed against the Fishlake National Forest. We had oral arguments on November 19, 2003 and the hearing went exceptionally well. We are optimistic that we will prevail in this case. Its success will not only positively affect Utah, but the other five states in the 10th Circuit as well. We also have a second case at the 10th Circuit, but the outcome of the first case will decide the fate of the second. Both are against the Fishlake National Forest for illegally and arbitrarily redrawing several roadless area boundaries to facilitate planned logging in the area. In fact, the areas are indeed roadless and the Forest Service admitted this in documents sent to Washington, D.C. for the Clinton Roadless Rule. In addition, some of the roadless areas involved with the projects qualify for wilderness in the UEC wilderness proposal. Both timber sales also failed to monitor and provide protection for a variety of wildlife species.

 

  • The UEC filed a lawsuit in October 2003 against the BLM for approving a decision to mine coal under Forest Service lands without public review or the consent of the Forest Service. The UEC’s request for a preliminary injunction was granted for the largest coal seam and denied for the smaller coal seam. A full briefing schedule will be decided in January 2004 and we are optimistic that we will prevail. The UEC has obtained monitoring data from the Forest Service for the smaller coal seam that was mined, showing irreparable harm to an archaeological site as well as impacts to the hydrology of a perennial stream. The BLM had argued that there would not be impacts to any resources, which clearly is not true. With this monitoring data we should be able to permanently stop the remainder of the project.

 

  • The UEC is still awaiting a decision at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on a lawsuit we joined in 2002, challenging Proposition 5, which violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Proposition 5 was brought by Utah’s trophy hunters, passed in 1998 and requires a 2/3 supermajority on any vote that impacts wildlife management. The state of Utah has failed to demonstrate a compelling need to require a 2/3 supermajority on wildlife issues when all other issues require only a simple majority. Ironically, Proposition 5 itself required only 50 percent plus one vote to become law. We have great hopes of winning this case due to a recent favorable decision of a similar case.
Outreach
  • The UEC held its Fifth Annual Conference in November 2003 in Salt Lake City. Guest speakers from Montana, Idaho, and California gave presentations. George Nickas from Wilderness Watch spoke on remaining true to the intent of the Wilderness Act when proposing areas for wilderness designation; Lisa Philipps with Wildlands CPR talked about ways to combat the proliferation of motorized recreation on public lands; and Katie Fite with Western Watersheds Project presented on the devastating impacts of livestock grazing on public lands in the west. Our keynote speaker was legendary environmental activist, Martin Litton – who is also a UEC Board Member. Martin gave a rousing speech on why it is imperative that we keep up the good fight to protect the American people’s legacy of abundant wildlife populations, clear water and air, and intact forest ecosystems. Martin has engaged in many environmental battles in his long life and was an inspiration to all.
  • The UEC was invited to give a presentation to a senior political science class on environmental politics at the University of Utah. As a result, a student volunteered for the UEC for a semester through a Service Learning Course that he obtained college credit for. He learned about grassroots environmental work and how elected officials often politically influence issues, and we had the benefit of a hard working volunteer. This is the second year the UEC has participated in the University of Utah’s Service Learning Program.
  • The UEC has developed a slideshow from the photographs taken during the roadless area survey. It shows the pristine roadless areas that remain intact and the threats they continue to face, such as logging, ATV abuse, and livestock grazing. The slideshow is given at UEC’s Annual Conference and taken around the state to educate Utah’s citizens and foster support for a statewide forest wilderness bill.
  • The UEC participated in 10 additional outreach events including: a panel discussion on grassroots activism at the University of Oregon’s 2003 Public Interest Land, Air, and Water Conference in Eugene; tabling at the Avenues Street Fair, KRCL Day in the Park, the Farmer’s Market, and three different Earth Day events. We gave our National Forest Wilderness slideshow at our local R.E.I. store. We presented at the Unitarian Church’s Summer Forum, and provided public testimony to the state Wildlife Board Meeting on Cougar hunting. The UEC has an active E-mail Alert List to notify interested people when immediate comments are needed on specific projects. About 200 people are on the list. The UEC issued 15 alerts in 2003.
  • The UEC actively works to get the public involved in wildlife management issues at the state level, which is currently heavily influenced by trophy hunters. We particularly encourage participation regarding cougar, black bear, and upcoming gray wolf management. Predators are heavily persecuted in Utah due largely to ignorance and misunderstanding by the public and aggressive lobbying by trophy hunters. The UEC sends out alerts via email, postcard mailings, our web site, and the newsletter announcing when public meetings are being held, and offering rides to anyone who wants to attend and provide public input.
  • We continue to receive positive feedback on UEC’s bi-monthly newsletter, the Sylvan Sentinel. It is distributed to all individual, business and organization members, as well as numerous business outlets in Salt Lake. It has become a reliable source for recruiting new members and continues to establish more contact with our members and the public. It is also posted on our website.
  • The UEC participates in a monthly live radio show during the public affairs hour on KCPW in Park City, Utah on the second Wednesday of each month. A variety of environmental issues are discussed and we often receive phone calls from the public seeking additional information after each show.