Wild Connections Activity Report

Wild Connections Activity Report

Maki Foundation – Final Report 2014

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

For more than 20 years, Wild Connections has worked to identify, protect, and restore the lands that are needed to assure the survival of native species and the ecological richness of the upper Arkansas and South Platte watersheds of central Colorado. This work has primarily been on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. However, interspersed with the National Forest land is approximately 668,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed land. Together, the two agencies administer some 2.8 million acres of federal land in this region, including 445,600 acres of designated wilderness and, additionally, 771,000 acres of roadless area.

Most of the roadless areas and wilderness areas are on Forest Service lands, but there are four BLM Wilderness Study Areas, as well as several hundred thousand acres of mid-elevation BLM roadless areas. These low elevation lands are prime wildlife habitat for many species, and represent critical linkages as wildlife corridors to the higher Forest Service areas. Unfortunately they are under increasing pressure from motorized recreation, oil and gas development, unnecessary vegetation manipulation for wildfire prevention far from the wild-urban interface, and damage to cultural sites. It is very important that lands with wilderness qualities be identified so they can be given some protection under in BLM resource planning decisions.

In 2012, the Royal Gorge Field Office (RGFO) complied with a BLM directive to inventory its land for wilderness characteristics, prior to beginning revision of its overall Resource Management Plan (RMP) in 2015. As part of the Lands With Wilderness Characteristics (LWC) inventory, the BLM sought citizen input and information on these lands. The citizen involvement is meant to parallel and inform the agency’s own LWC inventory findings. As far as we know, Wild Connections is the only citizen organization taking on the substantial task of field inventorying and documenting the RGFO lands found to have qualifying wilderness characteristics as defined by the Wilderness Act.

2014 HIGHLIGHTS

Our initial field work started in 2013. In 2014, Wild Connections received a grant of $3000 from Maki Foundation, the majority of which was used to complete our

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LWC field work and for GIS mapping support of BLM inventory and other conservation advocacies. With the LWC work completed, Wild Connections, with additional funding from the PEW Charitable Trust, is prepared in 2015 to conduct a broad-based advocacy campaign generating public involvement to assure resource protections, such as recreation management, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and LWC designations in upcoming RMP decisions.

The 2014 highpoint of Wild Connections’ conservation advocacywas the December presidential proclamation of Browns Canyon National Monument, a conservation milestone achieved through decades of hard work shared with a number of our partner groups. Another yearlong achievement for us resulted from 12 successful outings to regional designated Wilderness and Wilderness candidate areas in celebration of the Wilderness Act 50th Anniversary. In addition,we contributed recruiting and volunteer help to the huge Badger Flats restoration project on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

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DETAILED REPORT FOR 2014

With sincere gratitude to Maki Foundation, we are pleased to present this detailed report on our work in 2014.

Background—the BLM Lands with Wilderness Characteristics Inventory

The BLM Royal Gorge Field Office has engaged in two complementary processes. First, to complete an inventory of lands under it’s administration, identifying areas containing qualifying wilderness characteristics. The BLM‘s official LWC findings identified 70,765 acres out of 668,000 acres the RGFO administers as having wilderness qualities. Second, with an initial inventory of LWC and other resources and with supplemental information from the public, BLM will revise the Royal Gorge Resource Management Plan. The RMP scoping process is now expected to begin in June 2015.

The Wild Connections Inventory Project

Continuing what was begun in 2013 with ongoing field work in 2014, our major project was to complete the mapping and description of 24 likely priority areas containing approximately 290,000 acres. (See inventory map next page.) Under the direction of our wildlands coordinator, the project utilized college interns and trained volunteers. The lands qualifying as meeting wilderness criteria were observed and described in detail. In addition to establishment of boundaries, the wilderness characteristics survey included observation of roads, trails, qualifying

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wildlife habitat and migratoryroutes, vegetation,and recreation.

To complete accurate surveys, we utilized four “iPad Minis” with GPS capability and GeoJot+ software for precise boundaries and data recording. Photos were correlated to locations with information stored in a common-use format for later use by our GIS mapping consultant. Detailed reports for each area were developed to be submitted to the BLM, as well as to be used for updating of our in-depth “Wild Connections Conservation Plan” document. The project goal is to have

Priority Areas for 2014 Field Work

science-based information available to advocate for and protect those lands, making real our vision of connected wildlands in central Colorado that intertwine with the larger natural landscape of the Southern Rockies.

The most notable accomplishment of the inventory project was fielding 48 volunteers and 4 interns who ultimately identified approximately 250,000 acres of BLM land that had significant wilderness qualities, more than three times that identified by BLM in its surveys. (An overview of these areas along the Arkansas River is shown the map below.) This demonstrates the power of trained citizen-scientists in providing hard data which will be used to hold BLM accountable to its mandate to protect lands with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction.

Summary—Wild Connections Completed Activities2014

Inventory Project Administration, Volunteers and Staff Activities:

- Coordinated all activities including planning field trips, recruiting and train-

ing interns and volunteers, working with our GIS mapping contractor,

maintaining regular contact with the Royal Gorge Field Office staff, and

compiling data and writing reports

- Engaged four college interns for training and deployment in multiple trips

to the more remote areas and assisting other volunteers on field trips

- Maintained a recruitment list of 85 potential volunteer mappers

- Trained and deployed 48 volunteers, in addition to the four interns, during

seven volunteer mapping trips, primarily in more accessible areas

- In all a total of 51 field trips were taken, including volunteer field trips,

intern trips, wildlands coordinator trips, and reconnaissance trips to scout

area access prior to mapping

- Maintained a mapping resources page on our website with manuals, best

practices, technology, and area reports

Inventory Results

- Inventoried for wilderness characteristics 160,000 acres of BLM lands unmapped or from 2013 and identified an additional 140,000 acres with significant wilderness qualities. This added to the 2013 acreage for a total acreage with wilderness characteristics of 250,000 acres– well in excess of the BLM LWC findings of 70,765 acres

- Used iPad Minis and Geo-Jot + technology to accurately record boundaries, characteristics, and coordinate photos which were integrated into accurate maps documenting wilderness characteristics

- Produced GIS analysis and area maps with updated boundaries and 15 area maps of over 160,000 acres that were inventoried in the 2014 season

Inventory ProjectDocumentation Activities

- The wildlands coordinator compiled documents and wrote reports for all the areas mapped in 2013 and 2014, with assistance from Wild Connections volunteers. A sample report for Reinecker Ridge is available at All reports will be available to the public once they are provided to RGFO. Report information includes:

- Map

- Summary of the geography, natural history, and review of Wild

Connection’s inventories

- Justification of minimum size requirement and description of

boundaries

- Discussion of how the area is primarily affected by forces of nature

- Description of outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive

recreation

- Summary of supplemental values which describes biodiversity, wildlife,

scenicviews, geology, historical or cultural resources

- Completion of 24 detailed reports. These reports will be submitted to

BLM inMay after review by our other partners.

InventoryProjectEvaluation

- The Wild Connections Board formed an ad hoc mapping team that worked with the Wildlands Coordinator on a regular basis, evaluated progress, par- ticipated in field mapping, and reviewed the area reports. For 2015, the team is preparing a review and refinement of practices.

Conservation Advocacy Activities

- President Obama’s proclamation of Browns Canyon National Monument in

December 2014, formed from both a BLM WSA and USFS roadless area,

marked aconservation milestone for central Colorado. Throughout the

decades-longcampaign to protect Browns Canyon, Wild Connections has

consistentlycollaborated with other wildland advocates on organization,

publicity, and educational field trips, culminating in the creation of the

national monument.

- As Wild Connections anticipated for summer 2014, we were able to partner

with the South Park Ranger District, Colorado Mountain Club, and Great Old

Broads for Wilderness on the first phases of a large number of linked

restorationsin the Badger Flats area. We will continue organizing for this

project in 2015.

Public Engagement Activities

-Conducted a total of 54 day-long or multi-day field trips with 141 participants and six leaders to wilderness lands in order to help inventory these wildlands and engage trip members in the land management process. Twelve of these trips, with 92 participants in all, comprised the Wilderness 50th hike series, cosponsored with Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition and Pikes Peak Group Sierra Club.

Finances

Wild Connections’ 2014 activities were underwritten by Maki Foundation, Patagonia, New-Land Foundation, Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Fund for Wild Nature, Pew Charitable Trust Western Lands Initiative and individual contributions. Total expenses were approximately $46,000 for 2014. Maki Foundation funds were spent as follows:

MAKIWILDLANDS AND WILDWAYS / Jan 1, '14 - Apr 11, 15
Income
Contributed support
Maki Foundation / 3,000.00
Total Contributed support / 3,000.00
Total Income / 3,000.00
Expense
Personnel
Agency Researcher - comments agency projects / 200.00
Mapping Coordinator / 1,909.65
Total Personnel / 2,109.65
Contract Service
GIS Mapping - maps for BLM reports / 890.35
Total Contract Service / 890.35
Total Expense / 3,000.00

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