Don’t forget that Fed land is YOUR land . And MINE too. Don’t fuck it up
The Feds don’t, WE do
Generally agree but sometimes the Feds screw it up.
For example, In recent decades the Feds wanted more wilderness land designated in the East. Apparently someone in a position of authority decided we needed more wilderness land in the East because most of the wilderness lands are in the West. I guess the fact that Europeans first settled in the East and worked those lands for centuries was somehow forgotten. The Feds had their eyes on some National Forest land they wanted to designate as a new wilderness area. The problem was, the land had been clear cut 2 times in the last 100 years, a railroad and spurs had been built through the middle of the land, several railroad trestles, some roads, some logging camps, private hunting camps and skid trails everywhere.
Since the government's definition of "wilderness" included phrases like "pristine land largely untouched or unaltered by humans": the Feds had a problem. The proposed land did not meet the government's own definition for "wilderness land". So, after a prolonged period of meetings, discussions and public comments, the government did the only thing they could do.... They simply changed the definition of "wilderness", and voila, now we have a new wilderness area. The Feds did their best to remove as much of the evidence of human manipulation of the land as they reasonably could. The rest they figured that time would do for them.
There are only a few designated trails through the land. Due to the difficult terrain it is hard to access many of the trails unless you are prepared for at least a 2 day hiking trip. Evidently, there are only a small number of people who are willing or able to do that type of trip. About 10 years ago I decided I was going to attempt to cross through the wilderness area on an East/West trail. The North/South trail was heavily used in the summer months but the East/West trail was not used much. I discovered the trail to be so poorly marked and unused it was impossible to follow even with a good topographic map and a good GPS. The moose trails were better than the Forest Service trail. That hike was the beginning of many hikes I made into the wilderness area. Ultimately, I covered more than 1,000 miles in and around this wilderness area. I mostly bushwacked because the trails were poor and quite boring. The Forest Service eventually heard about my hiking trips and began asking for my feedback about what I found. I discovered through their questions they had not even been on the East/West trail in a very long time. If they had not been on that trail then it would also be safe to assume the entire area around that trail was also ignored because the trail was the only access.
For those who may not know, wilderness land designation means there can be no motorized activities on the land. No vehicles, roads, snowmachines, ATVs, drones, or even chainsaws to clear trails. The trails are not heavily maintained but should be marked well enough to follow (but don't count on it). You will probably not find any shelters either. Hunting usually occurs only on the edges of the wilderness where it is easier to retrieve big game animals.
The Forest Service created this wilderness area with the stroke of a pen. In doing so, they took an area that was used by many for recreation, sport and for timber harvest and created an area that is largely unused by humans and can no longer be productively used for timber. But what about the benefit to wildlife? Surely the animals must thrive in such a large area devoid of human interference, right? Well... mostly no. The deer are very few and quite small relative to the other deer in the region. Why? There is a lack of good food for the deer. Without deer there are not many large preditors like coyotes and foxes. Wild turkeys? almost none existant but very common outside of the wilderness area. Partridge/grouse? A few widely scatered. Bear? They do pretty well, I think because they naturally cover so much ground they use the area to overwinter and get away from people but they probably find most of their food elsewhere. Moose? Some scattered but mostly small and unhealthy due to excessive ticks and poor food. Rabbit/Hare? Almost non-existant. Lynx? A very few, probably coming down from Canada. Wolf? I did find 1 wolf track, probably a lone male that came down from Canada. Birds? very few. You can sit and listen for a long time and there is almost no bird noise. You will see Chickadees and the occasional preditory bird. Squirels, chipmonks rodents? very few. Mice are the most common but still not a lot.
Since logging is not allowed, the forest has matured and there is mile after mile of mature trees with no clearings which allows sun to penetrate to the forest floor creating "edge" and food for wildlife. Edge is where mature forest meets more open meadow land. Edge is what many animals need to thrive. The plan is to let nature do it's thing without human interference. The problem is that man has already interefered. The forest is nothing like it was prior to the first clear cut. The regeneration of tree species was badly altered because modern forestry techniques were not used and did not exist at the time (early 1900s). Without human intervention the forest will take centuries or longer to reach some sort of natural equilibrium. If the Forest Service was willing to allow the land to be properly managed the past mistakes could be fixed much more rapidly. The forest would be healthier and the wildlife would benefit as well.
So, sorry for the long winded response but, no the Feds do not always get it right.
