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IPWA gearing up for 2002
By Gordy Blair
The Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance is preparing for another great season of service. With just over 90 days remaining before the annual Wilderness Volunteer training day, IPWA Board members are busy meeting once a month to organize the agenda for this year’s recruitment and summer schedule.
IPWA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Indian Peaks Wilderness area. Working closely with the US Forest Service we specialize in educating the general public on backcountry travel, “Leave No Trace” ethics and rules and regulations of the wilderness area. We also provide trail maintenance, conduct surveys and other various tasks for the Forest Service.
Approximately thirty (50 percent) of last year’s volunteers will return this season. Several new people are needed to meet our goal of 60. You don’t have to be an experienced hiker or backpacker either. We look for men and women who are willing to dedicate a few days out of their summer and in return, teach them the appropriate skills to serve as a Wilderness Volunteer. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering this season, please contact Jeff Charlebois at 303-443-4543 or
visit our web site for more information.
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Some interesting statistics from the 2001 member’s Field Reports:
•
People contacted in IPW: 4602
• Day hikers: 4012
• Backpackers: 403
• Dogs seen: 574
• Dogs off leash: 193
• Fire rings dismantled: 39
• Camping with permit: 20
• Illegal camping: 18 (up 100% from 2000)
• Illegal campfire: 9
• Mountain Lions with a cold, wet nose: 1
Additionally, the Forest Service issued a total of 1402 “overnight” permits last season. Group permits totaled only 253, as compared to 479 in 2000, and 416 in 1999.
Did
you know:
John Heasleys' book
"Colorado’s
Indian Peaks Wilderness" is available for purchase
through the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance? This is a "must have
"for anyone interested in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. No
hiker/backpacker entering this wilderness area should be without it! The
best part is that a
portion of the purchase price goes toward funding our efforts in the
Indian Peaks, so please order one or more copies of this fabulous
book today! Watch for excerpts from Johns' book in upcoming issues.
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February IPWA Meeting
by Gordy Blair
During last month’s meeting we were honored to have Ralph Swain, USFS Region 2 Wilderness Program Manager speak to us on the creation of the Wilderness Act of 1964.
The following is the first two sections of the Act as is written in it’s final draft:
The Wilderness Act
Sec. 2. (a) In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as ‘’wilderness areas’’, and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no Federal lands shall be designated as ‘’wilderness areas’’ except as provided for in this chapter or by a subsequent Act.
(See Preservation on page 2)
IPWA Welcomes New Board Member and Treasurer
Kristl Dolbear!
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