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Proposal Permanently Opens Critical Areas of Kenai Peninsula to Snowmobiles
At 5.5 million acres, the Chugach National Forest in south-central Alaska is the nation’s second largest. One of its best-known wonders is the Kenai Peninsula, rich in natural beauty, fish and wildlife. The U.S. Forest is developing a winter use plan for the area that could surrender 85 percent of it to snowmobile use. We need your help to prevent this from happening.
Please edit the letter below as you see fit. Then click on "Send This Message."
And thank you!
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Kenai Winter Recreation Access
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
The U.S. Forest Service has a duty to responsibly manage the natural resources of the Chugach National Forest and to provide a balance of winter recreational opportunities on the Kenai Peninsula. Natural quiet is a rapidly dwindling resource on the Kenai, and deserves careful protection. Unfortunately, your proposed action for the Kenai Winter Access Plan only threatens it further.
I urge you to select Alternative 1 and then to strengthen it with additional closures. Specifically, I ask that you permanently close the spectacular and pristine Snow River unit in its entirety and the southern half of the Ptarmigan/Grant unit, in particular the area surrounding the upper North Fork of the Snow River. These two areas should be closed to both heliskiing and to snowmobile use.
The Snow River is eligible for designation as a Wild River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In fact, the Forest Service recognized the corridor's wild and pristine nature when it recommended this protective designation to the Congress. It is crucial that the wilderness character of this very important area be protected for future generations.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
June 05, 2006
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The Chugach National Forest is part of the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. It contains some of the richest salmon spawning streams in America, tidewater glaciers, towering peaks. The Kenai Peninsula is a fabled part of it.
The Kenai is a remarkable microcosm of Alaska, boasting rainforest, glaciers, alpine tundra, coastal estuaries, bays, inlets and coves. Its wildlife is a virtual catalog of Alaskan fauna: both black and brown bears, moose, caribou, mountain goats, Dall sheep, wolves, lynx, wolverine and five species of salmon. The Kenai and Russian Rivers support the biggest recreational fishery in Alaska.
Already, the Kenai’s precious wilderness resources are under threat from helicopter skiing, intensive snowmobiling and other motorized uses. These uses damage habitats, disrupt wildlife and utterly destroy wilderness character.
Tilting the Balance
Today, over 70 percent of the Kenai planning area is open to snowmobile use. Through its Kenai Winter Access Plan, the agency is mapping out how it will manage or regulate winter use. The operative word here is “access.” Among three alternatives the agency has offered the public for comment, the one it prefers would throw open most of the area to snow machine use and only a scant 15 percent of the area would be permanently closed to snow machine use. The proposed alternative is disappointing, short-sighted and imbalanced.
A much better choice is Alternative 1. It comes closest to balancing motorized recreation with wildlife protection and natural values. It is precisely in winter that wildlife most need sanctuary from disruptive motorized intrusions, for it is in winter that wildlife species need to conserve as much energy as possible in order to survive and eventually produce young. With a few improvements, Alternative 1 could significantly reduce impacts to wildlife and wilderness character and provide much more balanced recreational opportunities.
Only by designating large areas of the Kenai as off-limits to non- motorized use can the Forest Service preserve natural quiet and wilderness quality recreational opportunities, as well as the extraordinary wildlife habitats of this exceptional place. It will also be critical for the agency to permanently close to both helicopter skiing and snow machine use the spectacular and still-pristine Snow River unit and the southern half of the Ptarmigan/Grant unit. None of that will happen unless we weigh in on the winter access plan.
Please Act Today to Help Us Defend the Kenai!
The Kenai’s magnificence belongs to all Americans and we have now a valuable opportunity to help shape its future. Please urge the Forest Service to choose balance and protection over rampant motorized use on the Kenai by sending the letter on the previous page.
We hope that you can find a few extra minutes to write your own comments. While all comments help, personalized ones mean the most. Remember, the deadline for comments is Monday, June 12, 2006!
Contact information
Chugach National Forest
Attn: Kenai Winter Access
3301 C Street, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 99503
E-mail: comments-alaska-chugach@fs.fed.us
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