As many of you now know, the White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Economic De-velopment Act of 2006 was introduced in Senate as SB 3772 in early August. The bill calls for the designation of over 545,000 acres as wilderness, and we are hopeful that this can be improved through the continued efforts of our grassroots base. Letter writing and phone calls are impor-tant and vital to our efforts, but the month of September provided an excellent opportunity for us to step up our

grassroots voice by bringing back several Nevadans to the halls of Congress so our lead-ers could hear firsthand from local Nevadans from across the state. Over the course of two weeks NWP and our coa-lition partner, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, brought eight smiling and bubbly faces to Washington to speak on behalf of wilder-ness in Nevada.

Our Conservation Director Nancy Beecher made her first trip with Karen Winnfield from Las Vegas as part of the National Wilderness Week efforts put on by our coa-lition partners Campaign for America’s Wilderness and The Wilderness Society. It was the first time back to Washington for both ladies, and they did a wonderful job of walking the halls of Congress and carrying our message of thanks and to give places in White Pine County the pro-tection they deserve through wilderness designation.

The next week was our own Nevada Wilderness Week. This is a tradition that was started three years ago and has been made possible through the generous sup-port of the American Wilderness Coalition. Every Septem-ber we bring back a group of volunteers from across the state to speak on behalf of wilderness. By bringing new people back each year, we are able to show our repre-sentatives that there is wide support throughout the state for wilderness and we able to put “faces with places.” This year, Heather Fisher of Blue Diamond, Pe-ter Druschke of Las Vegas, Neil Frakes of Ely, Ross Cooper of Fernley, Pat Bruce and Andy Mitchell of Reno all made the trip. Highlights included breakfast with Congressmen Gibbons and Porter and Senators Reid and Ensign in the Capitol Building. For many, it was the first trip to Wash-ington, and we did spend some time taking in the sights

and sounds of Washington, DC. Folks toured the monuments at night, explored the Smithsonian Mu-seum, traveled to the Mormon Temple in Washing-ton and discovered the National Building Museum, a place none of the DC veterans had ever heard of.

Nine women rendezvoused in Eastern Ne-vada during the first weekend of October to camp and explore the “gem” of our White Pine County wil-derness proposal, the Schell Creek Mountains. Gals traveled from all over the state: Las Vegas, Reno and Incline Village to take in the fall colors of the large aspen groves on the west side of the Schells.

Upon setting up camp at Timber Creek the first night, the storm clouds above opened up to hail and snow. This did not dampen their spirits or the campfire, hors d’oeuvres and dinner. It was an indication of our location and elevation: 8800 feet. Continued on pg. 4

Boots on the Ground- pg. 1 Volunteer Spotlight & Director’s Corner - pg. 2 Feelings from the Field- pg. 3 Gold Butte and continued Adventures of the Tim-ber Creekettes - pg. 4 Volunteer Opps, Mormon Mountain Update & Cap-tion Contest- pg. 5 WILD Calendar - pg. 6

Nevada Wilderness Project

Boots on the Ground

In this Issue:

Fall 2006

M.Banta

T. Garrison

Adventures of the Timber Creekettes!

K. Connolly

NWP Board of Directors Bret Birdsong, President

Brian O’Donnell, Vice President

Lynn Schiek, Secretary

Chris Todd

Morlee Griswold

Tori King

NWP Staff John Wallin

Director

Kristie Connolly Associate Director

Nancy Beecher Conservation Director

Mackenzie Banta Development Director

Cameron Johnson Northern NV Outreach Director

Cynthia Scholl Membership Coordinator

Nancy Hall Gold Butte Organizer

Coalition Partners Campaign for America’s Wilderness

Friends of Nevada Wilderness

Nevada Outdoor Recreation Assoc.

Red Rock Audubon Society

Sierra Club - Toiyabe Chapter

The Wilderness Society

Page 2 www.wildnevada.org Fall 2006

Nevada Wilderness Project

Northern Office 8550 White Fir Street

Reno, NV 89523 775.746.7850

Southern Office 4220 S. Maryland Pkwy

Suite 402B Las Vegas, NV 89119

702.369.1871 www.wildnevada.org

A 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation

NWP Mission Statement:

The Nevada Wilderness Project is committed to

saving spectacular, rug-ged-and imperiled-public

lands in Nevada as Wilderness, the strongest

protection possible.

Volunteer Spotlight: Derek Bloomquist

Some years ago, I had the privilege of working for an inner-city conservation organization in Washington, D.C. called the Earth Conservation Corps. The organization’s mission is to match endangered environments with endangered youth who live there to the benefit of both, or as it says on their website: “As corps members improve their own lives, they rebuild the envi-ronmental, social, and economic health of their communi-ties.”

My boss there was Bob Nixon, a kind and energetic man whose Diet Coke fueled enthusiasm for the organization and the youth

it served was an inspiration. Bob’s conservation background was deep and varied, and as the Executive Producer of the film, Gorillas in the Mist, he came to know Dian Fossey, the legendary mountain gorilla advocate and practioner of “active conserva-tion.” To prevent poaching, Fossey gave local Rwandans the tools and the resources to start anti-poaching patrols—most notably, boots to protect their feet on long pa-trols through rugged, dense forest. Her motto: “It’s not talking about conserva-tion, its acting. Conservation begins with the boots on your feet.”

Lately, I’ve been thinking of Fossey’s quote because it embodies our approach to wil-derness work in Nevada. As we head into the final stretch of a busy 2006, we’ve got an array of “boots on the ground” in Nevada taking action. In this edition, you’ll read about coalition members walking the marble halls of Congress, learn about who’s been out sleeping in the dirt doing field inventories, plug into a gals-only wilderness values trip on the first day of hunting season, and celebrate with our version of Nancy Sinatra as Nancy Hall laces up her boots in victory and walks all over a terrible Inter-Connect Tower proposal for the Mormon Mountains.

Thanks to each and every one of you for heeding Dian Fossey’s words—with

your help, we are making sure that we’re acting, not just talking.

Director’s Corner

Fieldwork is not easy, and it is about as far removed from glamour as possible. You are at the mercy of the elements, alone and usu-ally very dirty. The days are long, and the work can be tedious and seemingly never ending. And for some reason Derek Bloom-quist keeps coming back for more. A longtime volunteer, Derek has worked for several seasons with NWP in all corners of the state. His first fieldwork trip took him to the Owyhee Desert in NE Nevada in 2002, and he will be heading out again to finish our inventory in Washoe County’s wilderness study areas. He has also spent time inventorying several areas in our current White Pine County proposal. In fact, his favorite spot is the Antelope Range, an area that features a variety of topography, relative lush vegetation and stunning limestone cliffs. As he heads out into the field again, he will have inventoried approximately

700,000 acres in 2006 alone and well over a million acres since 2002. While out there, he will be lending some of his expertise to a new fieldworker for us.

Derek has never been shy when it comes to rugged adventure. This past spring, he completed a successful trip to the summit of Denali in Alaska via the West Buttress, a serious high elevation endeavor. And most free moments, he can be found either hanging from a crag or spending time with his new fiancée, Emily. Thank you so much Derek for all that you do. Your work forms the cornerstone from which our work for wilderness designation is built.

From the field...

“Pressed into a moment in time beyond the fringe near where the real wild lands begin, the essence of my being stirs the ancestors’ calling.” These words were written by Christopher Mehne as he conducted field inventory for the Nevada Wilderness Project. By meticulously ground-truthing wild lands of Nevada, Christopher took on an important role in our conservation work. Doing field work out in the middle of nowhere is tricky work, requiring excellent driving and survival skills on difficult and largely untravelled terrain…

“Camped out on the lower slope which the quad map identifies as ‘Indefinite Boundary’, now ain’t that the truth! Actually, I could turn on the GPS unit and fix this location to what, a few yards – but then, out here, a few yards don’t mean a damn thing!” ... a healthy sense of humor and respect for wildlife…

“Finished off Bank Springs Unit, saw an antelope, and as I was exiting Big Blue [Christopher’s truck] to take one of those never-ending pictures of an-other dirt track, a small rattlesnake, about 2 foot with 6-8 buttons slith-ered under the front of the truck and coiled up by the right front tire as if to say –‘Okay, human, what are you going to do about it?’. So I backed up and left the critter to his enjoyment.” ... and a free spirit. Little did we know the truly free spirit within Christopher until he provided us with these excellent excerpts from his journal:

“Half moon brilliant above the shadowy canyon walls, it hangs overhead backlighting the northeasterly flow of clouds; the cicadas singing together with the bubble of the creek as harmony – an early September night at the southern end of the Toiyabe Range…” The Toiyabe mountain range, located in Northern Nye County/Southern Lander County, includes Arc Dome Wilderness (map inset). Thanks to Christopher and our other diligent temporary field workers, ground-truthing of the Nye County portions of the Toiyabe Range, as well as a good portion of the Shoshone Mountain Range lying just to the west, has been completed.

Protecting areas that surround Arc Dome Wilderness is a smart way to do conservation. Not only would we protect these new individual tracts of land, but we would also protect a larger, connected landscape. Setting aside large con-nected wilderness areas is important for many reasons, one of which is to provide habitat for large roaming animals that require room to migrate, disperse, set up territories and exist:

“Seeing a full grown adult mountain lion at Little Meadows was the highlight of my field work. How about the big horned sheep, right there above Peavine Ranch? In my sixty years of being, a first wildlife sighting of both species outside a zoo. And ante-lope. On the western flanks of the Shoshone, numerous animals. A running herd of six. A grazing couple. An unknown number disappearing into a ravine by a catch ba-sin watering hole near Merritt Canyon. Coyote songs filled several nights, but not as often as I thought I would hear. Bat seen foraging at nightfall at Antelope Canyon, Peavine Canyon and Little Meadows. At Antelope [Canyon], a noticeable number of large dragonflies, working the area around me for sunset dinner.”

Lest we forget, no animals would be here on earth if it weren’t for plants, and there exist amazing species and communi-ties of vegetation on our Nevada lands. For example, at higher altitudes you can find aspen groves, their white trunks and circular leaves are dead give-aways. An aspen tree grows and spreads its roots, and from that root system all of the other trees in the grove sprout up from the ground. One tree becomes a grove, and the grove is one organism. In just three weeks, Christopher ground-truthed approximately 180,000 acres of land. That’s a tremendous amount of work, from which he brought back wonderful data that we’re excited to analyze. After all of this hard work, we’re sure that Christopher was very sleepy… “Light is fading fast, dragonflies flitting about, bats swirl in and out amongst the pinyon. At about 6500 feet, facing east, night descends quickly. A cool chill pours down the canyon, as the sparkles of stars emerge overhead.”

Sleep tight, Christopher. And Thank You!

Page 3 www.wildnevada.org Fall 2006

Gold Butte Update Nevada’s Piece of the Grand Canyon Puzzle

Page 4 www.wildnevada.org Fall 2006

Calling on all wild Nevadans!

Now is time to help shape the future of Gold Butte. The Nevada Wilderness Project is looking for volun-teers for comments on the Interim Roads Designation and various service projects. No, the Bureau of Land Management has not yet released the Envi-ronmental Assessment for the area. As I reported before, it should be out for comment anytime. Meanwhile, there is plenty of work to be done. The Southern Nevada weather is superb this time of year, so plan on coming out. I am arranging campouts and hikes to see a few of the most controversial roads. If you are unavailable on the scheduled dates, I will be happy to work around your schedule.

The committee, Friends of Gold Butte, meets every third Tues-day of the month in Las Vegas or Mesquite. The meetings fea-ture a presentation connected to the area and is followed up with a service project. Anyone interested in attending, please let me know; I will send a schedule.

While we savor the victory protecting Moapa Peaks’ vista, re-member it is all of us coming together that makes this happen. The rewards are tremendous! Fall flowers, glimpses of wild-life, vibrant sunsets and knowing through participation that making a difference is possible. As our Director, John Wallin, says, “if you don’t, who will?”

Check out our website, www.wildnevada.org, for more information on the Gold Butte area, photos and opportunities to get involved. Please feel free to contact me at nancy.hall@wildnevada.org or 702-277-3337.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Adventures of the Timber Creekettes continued...

N. Hall

N. Hall

Also camped at Timber Creek were hunters from the Las Vegas area tak-ing advantage of opening deer-hunting season – not fall aspen colors! Saturday’s hike up to the north fork ridge gave the ladies the opportunity to meet the ten men and twelve horses. Upon the question of, “What are you girls doing here on opening weekend?” Sue replied, “We are on a mission with www.wildnevada.org. Have you heard of them?!” Obviously the men had not heard of the Nevada Wilderness Project and were not wanting to engage with a gaggle of women enjoying the scenery. After taking in the view of Duck Creek Valley and the Egan Range to the west with group pictures, the gals turned back toward camp for an afternoon rest and a glass of wine. As the hunters made their way down toward their camp, the ladies asked, “Where are you camped?” To which a man replied through clenched teeth, “Right next to you girls.”

Three of the gals had split off from the group to explore Duck Creek valley from a different vantage point. As they were driving back from Success Summit to camp, they passed three ATV’s laden with hunters headed out to look for deer. Directly after them, a 5-point bull elk and cow pranced across the road toward the east. After crossing 30 feet in front of the ladies, they paused for a photo and then made their way into the trees. The women were excited to share their viewing with the rest of the gals back at camp over dinner.

Sunday morning found us taking down our camp and writing letters to our Senators regarding their full week-end and appreciation of the area. Driving out of Duck Creek Valley, the peaks of the Schell’s were dusted in white and the foothills were ablaze in gold and orange with a brilliant blue sky above. Many thanks to the Timber Creekettes for their adventurous spirits: Mary Lou Banta, Debra Bookout, Kristie Connolly, Sue DiGrazia, Tory Garrison, Lynn Schiek, Cynthia Scholl and Maria Tiscareno.

Page 5 www.wildnevada.org Fall 2006

The Nevada Wilderness Project will be visiting homes of our members this holiday season in Southern and North-ern Nevada to “celebrate the spirit of Nevada.”

We will be dropping by with beautiful slides and a raffle of free outdoor gear already wrapped and generously do-nated by outdoor industry companies. This is a chance for your friends and family to see another side of Nevada and learn more about our work – as well as take home a holiday gift.

We are happy to swing by for a brief time to share our mission.

If you are interested in opening up your home to us, please contact Mackenzie at 775-746-7851.

Want to have a party and see all those friends of yours who disappeared over the summer? Want to do something to help keep Nevada wild? The Nevada Wilderness Project is looking for a few good hosts! Host a party, and let us give a slide show and quick update about the Congressional Bill for White Pine County. Slide shows last about 20 minutes and are a fun way to help us get our message out by making your party special. If you’re interested, please contact Cameron Johnson at 775.746.7850.

The Bureau of Land Management has announced their Record of Deci-sion on the Mesquite Tower proposed at the base of Moapa Peak. Inter-Connect Towers proposal was rejected! The area known as Jack’s Pocket at the base of Moapa Peak is just outside the Mormon Mountain Wilderness. It is designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) for the threatened desert tortoise, and it’s a popular primitive camp spot and staging area to climb the peak. Thanks to sixty letters to the BLM in opposition that point out flaws in this project, the hike to the top of Moapa Peak will continue to be an awe-inspiring experience. For more information on climbing the peak, check out www.summitpost.org , or contact Nancy Hall for more information.

Caption Contest

“Easy DOEs it” Tim Bercrik—Ely, NV

Volunteer Opportunity — Celebrate the Spirit of Nevada

Your caption here!

Mormon Mountain Wilderness Victory

N. Hall

Volunteer Opportunity — Host a Slide Show

In an effort to inject a little more humor into our

daily lives, we’re asking people to submit captions for our photos. To the right, you’ll find a photo. Submit the winning caption, and receive a prize, as well as your name and caption in print in the

following newsletter. Please email submissions to

cameron.johnson@wildnevada.org.

Enjoy!

HELP US PROTECT YOUR WILDERNESS

Join NWP staff and volunteers on trips to potential wilderness areas! You can see beautiful places and help protect them at the same time by writing letters and plugging in to our ef-

forts in a way that’s interesting and fun. All outings are weather permitting. Please log on to www.wildnevada.org for more information.

NEVADA WILDERNESS CALENDAR WILDERNESS VALUES TRIPS & EVENTS

It’s easy to help… Cut out this form and mail it to: NV Wilderness Project, 8550 White Fir St; Reno, NV 89523

Enclosed is my donation of: I would like to make a recurring donation:

Monthly

Every 3 months

Annually

$35.00

$50.00

$100.00

$250.00

$500.00

Other Amount: ____________

Comments:

Name Phone Number

Address

Email address

City State Zip

Please include check or money order payable to: Nevada Wilderness Project.

For secure credit card transactions, please visit

http://www.wildnevada.org

Please join us for our monthly volunteer night at

Reno’s Great Basin Brewery

(www.greatbasinbrewingco.com)

Oct 17, 6-8pm

Nov 21, 6-8pm

Dec12, 6-8pm

Northern Nevada Events October 25—Wilderness Slide Show at Shady Grove Coffee Shop in Gardnerville October 27-30—Schell Creek Trip—wood cutting and hiking

November 18— Smoke Creek Desert - explore the other playa

December 2—Winter Snowshoe/Ski/Hike in Bald Mountain - weather permitting

Please contact Cameron Johnson at cameron.johnson@wildnevada.org for more information.

Southern Nevada Events

October 21, Gold Butte Campout This is a great time of year to get out in the desert for sunset and good company. Dinner will be provided for Saturday night. So, all you need is a couple lunches and a breakfast. The coffee is covered.

November 18, Roads Survey Join BLM staff and Friends of Gold Butte to review the most controversial roads in the Interim Roads Des-ignation. December 2, Hike This is the time to catch one more hike in the desert before the holidays. Plan on bringing your camera for great shots of red rocks and Lake Mead.

Please contact Nancy Hall at nancy.hall@wildnevada.org for more information.

Photo © Kristie Connolly

Cover Photo by Howard Booth

Printed on recycled paper