Irrelevant
Well-known member
I recently participated (8 hrs pto) in a collaboration to address future management of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. This issues associated with W.A. can all be traced back to it's accessibility and proximity to the greater Seattle area that lead to overcrowding. I was shocked to hear that increased use and users is being promoted and pushed for by many groups under the guise of "diversity and inclusion". Many, if not most, don't see overcrowding as in issue, or that wilderness character isn't all that important. Wilderness, as in congressionally designated Wilderness (big W) is designed to be exclusive, it was a specific intent to not allow certain users or uses within it's boundaries.
For those not familiar below is an excerpt from the Wilderness Act (1964) that defines what a wilderness is:
(c) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works
dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its
community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who
does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an
area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence,
without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and
managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears
to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's
work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or
a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres
of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an
unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other
features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.
However, it was very apparent that the majority of users do not actually want "Wilderness" they want areas for their dues paying members to recreate... They absolutely believe the wilderness should be an adult playground with unfettered use/abuse. ....The industrial recreation complex is alive and well, and in this case, operating as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
If you like to help the cause of true wilderness then, please take the public opinion poll below and share what you think wilderness should be. Even if you don't visit or haven't visited this specific one.
forms.gle
For those not familiar below is an excerpt from the Wilderness Act (1964) that defines what a wilderness is:
(c) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works
dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its
community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who
does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an
area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence,
without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and
managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears
to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's
work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or
a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres
of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an
unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other
features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.
However, it was very apparent that the majority of users do not actually want "Wilderness" they want areas for their dues paying members to recreate... They absolutely believe the wilderness should be an adult playground with unfettered use/abuse. ....The industrial recreation complex is alive and well, and in this case, operating as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
If you like to help the cause of true wilderness then, please take the public opinion poll below and share what you think wilderness should be. Even if you don't visit or haven't visited this specific one.
Alpine Lakes Collaborative - Alpine Lakes Wilderness Visitors Survey
Thank you for taking the time to tell us a bit about your experience with the Alpine Lakes Wilderness! This survey is being administered by the Alpine Lakes Collaborative, to learn more about the Collaborative please visit the website HERE. This survey is specifically focused on your current and...
forms.gle
