| Show August 13 1973 Page 2 editorial comment a definition PRESERVATION I Wilderness Proposed Wilderness areas are constantly under attack by several different types of people The two greatest threats are posed by “armchair legislature” and the large livestock or land owner who have visions of taking over the entire North American land mass The “armchair legislator” considers himself an outdoorsman even though watching the American Sportsman is the closest he ever gets to enjoying the natural beauty or nature Cemented to his leather rocking chair this politician out to please everyone is constantly stabbing environmentalists in the back Double-talthat gives the environmentalist a false feeling that someone is out to help him is disillusioned by the legislators empty promises Legislation such as the Wilderness Act is a step in the right direction but it is filled with compromises One such compromise that plagues this legislation concerns the grazing of livestock animals According to the Act grazing is permitted in several Wilderness Areas: the large livestock or cattle owner applauds this action which makes the true wilderness lover cringe Proposed areas such as the Mt Naomi g region are open to grazing and in many cases by Barry Willis by Barry Willis What is Wilderness? Everyone is always willing to interject an opinion concerning the issue of wilderness areas The sad fact is however not many people ac-- J tually know what constitutes such an area Horace Greely once said a man living in the wilder-ness- s is not nearly as isolated as the person living in a big city wilderness such as New York Wilderness means different things to different people Many outdoorsman don’t consider an area real wilderness unless the sound of man has never polluted the crisp mountain air Another person might consider an area Wilderness if there isn’t a hot dog stand within 100 yards The wilderness Act almost ten years old was developed by a few brave legislators that possessed a great amount of foresight Unfortunately due to other legislatures plagued with an abundance of hindsight it was ten years before the act passed Under the Act the National Wilderness Preservation System was established Under the system 50 million acres was envisioned) be included into the wilderness system Recent studies by the Forest Service uncovered millions of acres of roadless areas now unprotected which could qualify under the terms of the Wilderness Act Unfortunately for every one enviromentalist who favors a wilderness proposal there are ten people who believe mother Nature should be taken for everything that she has to offer The “live for today” philosophy that contaminates the minds of these progress-pron- e fanatics is frightening The problem is even more disturbing when you consider many of these people occupy high public office Take for example Cache Valley’s own Marion Olsen A county commissioner by profession Olsen is convinced that a move towards a wilderness classification for Mt Naomi is a move towards the Dark Ages Unfortunately a wilderness classification does not quarantee an area permanent protection from people such as Mr Olsen It is merely temporary assurance that an area won’t be exploited by man’s tefynolMV-hungr- y k over-grazin- Anyone venturing into the White Pine region near Mt Naomi has heard the annoying clang of a cow bell tied around the neck of a sheep With nearly 10000 animals grazing in this area and a few hundred cow bells clanging the aesthetics that characterized wilderness are at least partly lost It is time for the clang of cowbells and the equally annoying empty promises of many of the nation’s legislators to be replaced by voices willing to preserve not destroy the aesthetics of wilderness ' BarryWillis Editor scheming When the act was passed in 1964 it provided for the immediate protection of 91 million acres which had been classified as wilderness An additional 54 million acres were classified as primitive areas These primitive areas are under advisement by the forest service for possible inclusion into the Wilderness Tom Lyon USU English Professor Club very l and Sierra member has been instrumental in 9 Lao mi a wilderness classification system A forest Service inventory finished this year found more than 1448 acres that could possibly qualify as potential Wilderness areas Unfortunately only 174 of the areas were recomrpended for wilderness study The Mt Naomi area located in Cache Valley’s backyard (so to speak) is the only area on the Wasatch Front presently under wilderness study by the Forest Service Like manY other Wilderness areas Mt Naomi would kenefit more than the backpacker if it was accepted into the network of wilderness areas Improved Watershed and aesthetic beauty are only two of the reasons that America’s cry for more wilderness areas such as Mt Naomi must not go unheard |
