Washington Wilderness Coalition

New Conservation Voices

Preserving Wild Forests: Common Ground for Bike & Wilderness Advocates

by Justin Vander Pol, Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club

December 2007

I love our forests and mountains, and deeply value a “small w” wilderness riding experience. At times mountain bikers like me have a complicated relationship with what we call designated Wilderness proposals, as mountain bikers are excluded from using Federally designated Wilderness. It is with smart planning and an open dialogue, that mountain bikers can support Wilderness bills that protect our land and preserve our human-powered recreation opportunities.

Join WWC at The Mountaineers OutdoorsFest

The Mountaineers and Eddie Bauer will be sharing their passion for the outdoors when they host OutdoorsFest on Saturday September 18th. The event will be filled with hands-on experiences, free workshops, music and entertainment. READ MORE

Legacy Roads Funds Give Boost to Watershed Restoration

Three years of hard work by a Washington state coalition of conservation and recreation groups, including Washington Wilderness Coalition, is paying off - literally. With the leadership of Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA06) in Congress, the coalition has successfully advocated for more than $180 million in new federal funding to deal with impacts from old and decaying national forest logging roads left behind from decades of timber harvesting. More than $6 million of the national funding has been put to work on the Olympic National Forest’s Skokomish watershed. READ MORE

A Great Week For Roadless Forests

OLYMPIA, WA (08/07/10) – During a single week in August, WWC put the spotlight on our roadless forests with the help of Governor Gregoire and a number of local news outlets. WWC worked with Governor Gregoire to proclaim August 7-15, 2010 as Roadless Recreation Week to highlight the importance of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects nearly 60 million acres of pristine forests across the country. WWC was also able to generate press coverage on King 5 Nightly News, Bellingham Herald, Tacoma News Tribune, The Seattle Times and several radio outlets around the state.

Wild Olympics Campaign Launched

Quilcene, WA (07/20/10) – The Wild Olympics Coalition, a local coalition focused on the Olympic Peninsula’s iconic forests, rivers and watersheds for future generations, launched a public website to share and gain feedback from local stakeholders about a draft proposal.

Washington Wilderness Coalition is a founding member of the Wild Olympics Campaign. For the past two years, the Wild Olympics Campaign has been working with local citizens and community leaders to identify new Wilderness, Wild and Scenic river designations, and willing seller National Park additions on the Olympic Peninsula. READ MORE

More...