Protection and Use of the PCT
As I prepare for the start of my thru-hike on April 24th at the Mexican border, I pause to appreciate the decades of hard work by conservationists, government officials and others that have made possible the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The challenge to keep the trail accessible and to protect its natural setting continues to this day. This entry sets out some of the key issues for the PCT in 2005. As I will be hiking the PCT only in CA this year, some of the topics cover only CA and not OR and WA. Click on any of the links if you'd like to learn more or help out.
TRAIL MAINTENANCE. Volunteers are always needed to help maintain the trail. With tight budgets for government agencies these days, it is up to us in the hiking community to pitch in and contribute our time and energy to keep the PCT open. The lead group that coordinates this is the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA.) In 2004, thanks to the PCTA, more than 30,000 hours of trail maintenance were devoted to critical projects, from routine clearing of the trail, to bridge and trailway construction to trail access through areas damaged by fire and flood.
In the summer of 2004 I spent a week as a volunteer on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in the Castle Crags Wilderness in northern CA. Our crew opened up many miles of a popular section of the PCT through heavy brush. The PCTA provided us -- at no charge - a scenic campsite, delicious meals and trained supervision. It was a fun time and made me feel good about giving back to the trail community.
Check out the list of projects on the PCTA website (www.pcta.org) and consider volunteering.
WILDERNESS PRESERVATION As noted in the last entry, trail advocate Clinton Clarke envisioned the PCT as a "continuous wilderness trail" from Mexico to Canada. We are fortunate that indeed Congress has designated many areas crossed by the PCT as wilderness, permanently protected from roads, logging and other development. At present, the PCT passes through 47 separate federal wildernesses, totalling 1,010 miles, out of its entire 2,650 miles. For maps and descriptions of all federal wildernesses see www.wilderness.net. (In CA there are also a few wildernesses in state parks, like the Anza-Borrego Desert, that contain the PCT.)
To continue securing the vision of a wilderness trail, conservationists have identified significant new areas along the trail, like Meiss Meadows and Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe, and additions to existing areas, such as an expansion to the Hoover Wilderness with twelve scenic miles of the PCT north of Yosemite NP.
Following years of local consensus-building Senators Boxer and Feinstein have sponsored in the past the California Wild Heritage Act, which would designate many treasured wildernesses and wild and scenic rivers. This bill includes fourteen areas and two rivers that the PCT crosses. In addition the bill also covers twelve areas and five rivers and creeks that are less than one-and-a-half miles from the PCT, protecting important buffers and offering attractive side trips.
The CA Senators expect to introduce the bill again. The PCTA has also endorsed the measure, noting that it would protect the historic PCT and all that people enjoy about it. Please write Senators Boxer and Feinstein to thank them for their support and also urge local members, such as Representative Buck McKeon, to back it as well.
For more information about this bill, go to www.californiawild.org. For a map of the entire proposal and descriptions of the areas visit www.calwild.or/campaigns.
TRAIL ACQUISITION. Many people are surprised to learn that 300 miles of the PCT go across private land. This trailway often has limited protection, with narrow easements that are not permanent. To obtain a secure route the federal government is seeking to purchase key tracts of private land. These purchases are paid for out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which does require that Congress directly appropriate the money.
A crucial project at this time is the Sky King Cole property containing the PCT in the Siskiyou Mountains in OR. Groups like the PCTA are urging Congress to appropriate $1.5 million to purchase these 1300 acres in this vital link between the Klamath and the Cascade mountains. Contact the OR Congressional delegation to ask for their support.
There will be an ongoing need to continue to purchase lands containing the PCT. Thus it is essential that Congress maintain healthy funding under the LWCF to meet America's goals for open space.
ROADLESS AREAS. Following years of study and public hearings, the Forest Service in early 2001 in the Clinton Administration adopted a policy not to build roads into "roadless areas, that is, tracts eligible for wilderness designation. As adopted, the policy protected over 58 million acres of wildlands, including four million acres in CA's national forests. The PCT crosses many of these roadless areas and thus benefits from this protection to maintain the natural character of the trail.
Unfortunately, despite the massive public support for this policy, the Bush Administration has been seeking to overturn it. In fact, they have been proposing major timber sales and mineral development in roadless areas in Alaska, OR and CA. To learn more, go to www.wilderness.org.
SIERRA NEVADA LOGGING. After extensive study and research the Forest Service adopted in 2001 in the Clinton Administration the "Sierra Framework." A major purpose of the Framework was to restore old-growth forests to the national forests of the region, with many benefits for wildlife, fisheries, recreation and other values.
Not long after Bush was elected, however, the Forest Service decided to revise the Framework and in 2004 issued a new version. This new direction allowed for the cutting of larger trees and quadrupled the amount of timber that could be logged from the national forests of the Sierra Nevada. Fire experts roundly criticized the new plan for increasing the cutting of large trees, not an effective strategy for limiting wildlfires.
Conservation groups have challenged damaging timber sales under the new Framework. See www.sierracampaign.org. For updates also see www.earthjustice.org. The state Attorney General has also sued the Forest Service.
TRAIL MAINTENANCE. Volunteers are always needed to help maintain the trail. With tight budgets for government agencies these days, it is up to us in the hiking community to pitch in and contribute our time and energy to keep the PCT open. The lead group that coordinates this is the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA.) In 2004, thanks to the PCTA, more than 30,000 hours of trail maintenance were devoted to critical projects, from routine clearing of the trail, to bridge and trailway construction to trail access through areas damaged by fire and flood.
In the summer of 2004 I spent a week as a volunteer on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in the Castle Crags Wilderness in northern CA. Our crew opened up many miles of a popular section of the PCT through heavy brush. The PCTA provided us -- at no charge - a scenic campsite, delicious meals and trained supervision. It was a fun time and made me feel good about giving back to the trail community.
Check out the list of projects on the PCTA website (www.pcta.org) and consider volunteering.
WILDERNESS PRESERVATION As noted in the last entry, trail advocate Clinton Clarke envisioned the PCT as a "continuous wilderness trail" from Mexico to Canada. We are fortunate that indeed Congress has designated many areas crossed by the PCT as wilderness, permanently protected from roads, logging and other development. At present, the PCT passes through 47 separate federal wildernesses, totalling 1,010 miles, out of its entire 2,650 miles. For maps and descriptions of all federal wildernesses see www.wilderness.net. (In CA there are also a few wildernesses in state parks, like the Anza-Borrego Desert, that contain the PCT.)
To continue securing the vision of a wilderness trail, conservationists have identified significant new areas along the trail, like Meiss Meadows and Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe, and additions to existing areas, such as an expansion to the Hoover Wilderness with twelve scenic miles of the PCT north of Yosemite NP.
Following years of local consensus-building Senators Boxer and Feinstein have sponsored in the past the California Wild Heritage Act, which would designate many treasured wildernesses and wild and scenic rivers. This bill includes fourteen areas and two rivers that the PCT crosses. In addition the bill also covers twelve areas and five rivers and creeks that are less than one-and-a-half miles from the PCT, protecting important buffers and offering attractive side trips.
The CA Senators expect to introduce the bill again. The PCTA has also endorsed the measure, noting that it would protect the historic PCT and all that people enjoy about it. Please write Senators Boxer and Feinstein to thank them for their support and also urge local members, such as Representative Buck McKeon, to back it as well.
For more information about this bill, go to www.californiawild.org. For a map of the entire proposal and descriptions of the areas visit www.calwild.or/campaigns.
TRAIL ACQUISITION. Many people are surprised to learn that 300 miles of the PCT go across private land. This trailway often has limited protection, with narrow easements that are not permanent. To obtain a secure route the federal government is seeking to purchase key tracts of private land. These purchases are paid for out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which does require that Congress directly appropriate the money.
A crucial project at this time is the Sky King Cole property containing the PCT in the Siskiyou Mountains in OR. Groups like the PCTA are urging Congress to appropriate $1.5 million to purchase these 1300 acres in this vital link between the Klamath and the Cascade mountains. Contact the OR Congressional delegation to ask for their support.
There will be an ongoing need to continue to purchase lands containing the PCT. Thus it is essential that Congress maintain healthy funding under the LWCF to meet America's goals for open space.
ROADLESS AREAS. Following years of study and public hearings, the Forest Service in early 2001 in the Clinton Administration adopted a policy not to build roads into "roadless areas, that is, tracts eligible for wilderness designation. As adopted, the policy protected over 58 million acres of wildlands, including four million acres in CA's national forests. The PCT crosses many of these roadless areas and thus benefits from this protection to maintain the natural character of the trail.
Unfortunately, despite the massive public support for this policy, the Bush Administration has been seeking to overturn it. In fact, they have been proposing major timber sales and mineral development in roadless areas in Alaska, OR and CA. To learn more, go to www.wilderness.org.
SIERRA NEVADA LOGGING. After extensive study and research the Forest Service adopted in 2001 in the Clinton Administration the "Sierra Framework." A major purpose of the Framework was to restore old-growth forests to the national forests of the region, with many benefits for wildlife, fisheries, recreation and other values.
Not long after Bush was elected, however, the Forest Service decided to revise the Framework and in 2004 issued a new version. This new direction allowed for the cutting of larger trees and quadrupled the amount of timber that could be logged from the national forests of the Sierra Nevada. Fire experts roundly criticized the new plan for increasing the cutting of large trees, not an effective strategy for limiting wildlfires.
Conservation groups have challenged damaging timber sales under the new Framework. See www.sierracampaign.org. For updates also see www.earthjustice.org. The state Attorney General has also sued the Forest Service.
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