FEDERATION OF WESTERN OUTDOOR CLUBS

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SUPPORT ADDITIONS TO THE KALMIOPSIS WILDERNESS

Background:

The Kalmiopsis Wilderness, located in southwest Oregon and northern California, was established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act. It is a nationally important ecological area and a unique center of biodiversity which contains many rare and endangered plant species.

The 179,000-acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness is surrounded by approximately 285,000 acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas that are of equal biological value. The roadless areas contain five streams - Rough and Ready, Silver, Indigo, Baldface and Josephine/Canyon Creeks - that are eligible for inclusion in the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Each eligible stream has outstanding fisheries, water quality and botanical values.

These roadless areas are being threatened by logging, mining and off-road vehicle use. Parts of the area were logged in 2006. A great many federal administrative boundaries and management plans artificially fragment the Kalmiopsis roadless area and are not compatible with the ecological values that need to be respected.

Adding the unprotected Kalmiopsis roadless area lands to the National Wilderness Preservation System will protect the integrity of the whole and its conservation values.

Resolution:

The Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs urges Congress to add 285,000 acres of surrounding roadless areas to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, making them part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.




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