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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Ashlander recalls, regrets presence at nuclear bomb test Personal stories build community Police Reports Fun, fundraising and art at Helman Elementary School Rite Aid cub well, could come back to southern Oregon Education Fun, fundraising and art at Helman Elementary School Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida Goal not reached, but don't count out 'Count Me In' yet Student says free speech issue overblown Interim president leads in a different direction Environment Rite Aid cub well, could come back to southern Oregon Report: Smaller streams need further protection Bear cub wanders into Rite Aid Kalmiopsis' future at stake if mining goes forward Fires and forests evolved together, but now people are in the mix Business Blue Toba erupts onto dining scene Interim president leads in a different direction Silvio Calabi: Acura’s 2015 TLX is two cars in one Carpe Noctem Cultivating, nourishing and honoring community resources Politics and elections Richardson accuses Kitzhaber of 'corruption' in final debate Stricker steps down from Talent council Merkley-Wehby to debate in Medford Ashland land use rule review continues Council backs bump in tax to support buses State News Nation - World Obituaries Ronald J. 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Grizzlies drop-kick Eagles Grizzlies row to raise money for regatta Grizzlies run out of magic in loss to No. 3 Springfield Ashland hopes soft shells can reduce head injuries Southern Oregon University No. 11 SOU volleyball team returns home for two key matches Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida SOU football team falls to No. 7 in NAIA rankings No. 4 SOU, No. 3 Carroll to square off in Frontier Conference showdown Third-ranked Concordia strikes quick, topples SOU Opinion Latest Stories Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Kitzhaber is the better choice Granlund cartoon: McDonald’s profits drop Guest Opinion: Media are part of the pot prohibition problem Editorial Kitzhaber is the better choice Our View: Merkley, with a nudge Our view: Positive about Bates Our View: Fostering e-success Our View: Elect Talbert and Moro Letters Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the editor Letters to the editor Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Media are part of the pot prohibition problem Wilderness successes could be lost if funding not restored Religion and politics in America City should revise its rules for murals Into the heart of darkness Revels Latest Stories Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Repertory singers prepare 'powerful' opening concert Griffin heads to Historic Ashland Armory Best Bets Oct. 23-30 'Fury' shows the grim toll of war Theater New plays debut at ANPF Camelot Theatre presents 'Spotlight on Johnny Mercer' Music Repertory singers prepare 'powerful' opening concert Q&A: Broken Down Guitars The Farr Side: Bryan Adams releases album of influential hits Tutunov Piano Series begins at SOU Q&A: Becky Alter Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk Movies Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'Fury' shows the grim toll of war Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Cast makes 'The Judge' worth watching Movie review: ‘The Judge’ doesn’t know when to end Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Ashlander recalls, regrets presence at nuclear bomb test Personal stories build community Marketta Gregory: Pass along a compliment How to live and work in a tiny home Joan Endyke: The importance of a healthy diet when pregnant Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack ... Kitzhaber is the better choice ... Calendar: Thursday, Oct. 23 ... Granlund cartoon: Canadian terrorist attack ... Kitzhaber is the better choice ... Calendar: Thursday, Oct. 23 ... ANOTHER VIEW Wilderness successes could be lost if funding not restored By Gabe Howe DailyTidings.com By Gabe Howe Posted Oct. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Gabe Howe Posted Oct. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 am » RELATED CONTENT • Kalmiopsis' future at stake if mining goes forward » Social News The 1964 Wilderness Act turned 50 this year, a reason to celebrate. Around the country events popped up to commemorate the anniversary. A national conference formed. Resolutions were passed, wilderness expansions pushed. Flags were raised, glasses lifted. And not without cause. The landmark, bi-partisan bill took more than eight years in the making. It preserved our greatest treasures, providing a wild legacy for the future. For the millennials, a generation economically paralyzed by college debt, wilderness may be one of their greatest inheritances. Over the years wilderness areas became my life. It started as a Boy Scout on my first venture into the Mark Hatfield Wilderness Area. About 10 years later I stepped into the Kalmiopsis Wilderness for the first time. That started a slippery slope and I've been working in southwest Oregon's wilderness ever since. And unfortunately the trends I have observed in management of wilderness are nothing to celebrate. I have watched wilderness programs be almost completely dismantled in southwest Oregon's forests. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest alone has over 300,000-acres of wilderness to manage and not a single wilderness ranger. No permanent wilderness coordinator. No permanent trail crew. And a fading number of field personnel altogether. I watch field staff retire and their positions go unfilled, their indispensable knowledge left in dusted over file folders. I've watched ranger stations close and their hours reduced. What I've found in the field is worse. On my treks I find an increasing number of dump sites in federal wilderness, more illegal mining sites, more illegal squatters, and more trails left to fade and disappear under the longest maintenance deferments in the history of the Forest Service. But it's not all doom and gloom in the America's wilderness areas. My crews and hundreds of others throughout the U.S. are out battling blank line items with our boots on the ground. Armed with crosscut saws, pulaskis, axes and other hand tools we are doing our best to take wilderness back and create a positive presence there. Corps programs all over the U.S. are putting young people to work, giving them a little grace from the oppressive cost of secondary education, and preserving our natural treasures. But those programs have to compete for funding with big headlines: air strikes, sweetheart interest rates for leveraged banks, Ebola. And they don't compete well. So I encourage our policy makers to please do more than raise their glasses for wilderness. Please spend time to make sure our federal wilderness areas in southwest Oregon receive some relief. Allocate funding for a single wilderness ranger. Make sure some resources make it beyond the cubicles and into the hands to the next generation to restore their crumbling wilderness. And if that's too much, I extend yet another whole-hearted invitation for you to come pull one end of a crosscut saw with my crew. Gabe Howe of Ashand is executive director of the Siskiyou Mountain Club. 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