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Endangered wild lands The Wilderness Society names Greater Yellowstone among 15 most endangered From Gazette Staff The Wilderness Society has named the Greater Yellowstone as among the country's 15 most endangered wild lands in a report to be released today. The report, titled "15 Most Endangered Wild Land," is the organization's third annual listing of endangered national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and Bureau of Land Management lands nationwide. The report describes the risks facing each site and recommendations for protecting them. The report says the most prolific threats to the 15 areas are: over-logging; oil and gas development; off-road vehicle use; noise pollution from motorized ground and air vehicles; over-grazing; too much commercial development; noise from military training airplanes and tourist helicopters; misinterpreted land-use laws; and the lack of legal environmental protections. According to the report, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, anchored by Yellowstone National Park, is being undermined by proposed oil and gas development on the Bridger-Teton and other national forests, increased traffic by all-road vehicles and snowmobiles and logging in all seven national forests in the area. The 18-million-acre ecosystem includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, seven national forests, three national wildlife refuges and other private lands. More than half of the Greater Yellowstone remains roadless, which is one of the reasons it can support grizzlies, elk, wolves and other species that depend on wild habitat, the report said. Yellowstone also has 10,000 geysers and hot springs, the world's most extensive geothermal area. The report said that nearly seven million acres of national forest land surrounding Yellowstone Park are available for oil and gas leasing. "The number one concern is proposed leasing of 370,000 acres in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, 35 miles south of Jackson Hole," the report said. Two-thirds of this acreage is still roadless, and it is in the midst of four major wilderness areas. "I can't think of a more inappropriate place to drill for oil in this region," said Bob Ekey, Northern Rockies regional director for the organization. Another problem, the report continued, is the "proliferation of off-road vehicle traffic on public lands." One of the worst examples can be found in the Gallatin National Forest, which borders the northwest corner of the Yellowstone Park, the report said. "There, the Forest Service is failing to protect the 155,000-acre Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area from this activity," the report said. In Yellowstone Park, snowmobile use has grown to 70,000 trips each winter, the report said. "One snowmobile emits as much hydrocarbon and nitrous oxide pollution as 1,000 cars. Bad air is just one of the problems. This traffic also shatters Yellowstone's winter solitude, replacing the whisper of the wind with the whine of engines," the report added. Grizzly bears and bison continue to face serious threats, according to the report. Other problems include more than one million acres of proposed subdivisions; a failing sewage system in Yellowstone Park; declines in fish populations in the Yellowstone River because of diking and rip-rapping by upstream landowners trying to protect their property. The report said federal land managers need to resist pressure from the oil industry, off-road vehicle interests and others whose activities propose a threat to this ecosystem. Specifically, it said the Forest Service should eliminate off-road vehicle use in the Hyalite-Porcupine-buffalo Horn area and should close surrounding roadless areas to motorized use. The Park Service should prohibit snowmobiles in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks and have a mass transit with snow coaches and buses. "While the threats to each area are serious, Americans can do much to protect these national treasurers for generations to come," said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. "All of us need to become familiar with the wild lands in our local areas and how they are being managed." The 14 other areas listed as endangered wild lands are: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska; Cascade Crest, Washington; Copper River Delta in Chugach National forest, Alaska; the Everglades, Florida; Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona; Klamath Basin, California and Oregon; Main's North Woods; Medicine Bow and Routt National Forests, Wyoming and Colorado; Mojave National Preserve, California; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia and Florida; Owyhee Canyonlands, Idaho; Sierra Nevada Old-Growth Forest, California; the Sonoran Desert, Arizona; and the Utah Wilderness.
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