CONSERVATION CORNER

DESERT PROTECTION COMMITTEE AT WORK - Ben Romero No doubt most people who read this newsletter also read the articles in the various newspapers which are published locally and nation-wide which refer to the recreation impact on wilderness areas to limit the number of persons who will be admitted into specific areas. This has recently happened in the Sierra Nevada and other national forests in the country. Our desert areas, too, are now being heavily used and the impact there is tremendous. Desert visitors no longer limit their visits to the cooler winter months, but, due to the advent of new and better camping equipment, our deserts are hosts to over 100,000 visitor days in the summer months. Last summer Death Valley had over 20,000 visitors in each month of July and August. The U.S. Recreation Vehicle Institute reports nearly 3 million recreation vehicles are currently in use in the country. More than 400,000 campers, motor homes, and other recreation vehicles were produced in 1969 including the new STV, all-terrain vehicles that far surpass the motorcycle and jeep in their ability to "go anywhere" off the road. Predictions by the industry are that 7 million recreation vehicles will be on the U.S. highways and by-ways by 1980. The BLM in California is planning recreational developments that will handle 50 million visitor days a year by the turn of the century. More of our desert areas are at this time being developed and expanded to accomodate these people. Desert areas which at one time we thought were too remote for us to worry about are now under scrutiny for near-future recreational development. Several bills have been introduced in Congress which would provide access to our public lands by mining interests and developers. As Desert Peak Section members who enjoy hiking and climbing in the desert, we can help preserve some of the areas we now enjoy. Several areas earmarked for recreational development, such as the Turtle Mountains, should instead be classified as wilderness areas. On April 13 of this year, John Vitz recieved a letter from Francis Walcott, chairman of the Wilderness Classification Committee, Sierra Club, San Francisco, in which he stated,"... that the DPSers would be in a very good position to carry out studies on many of the desert areas…" However, although the physical, intellectual, and professional abilities are within our capabilities as a group, more than that is needed. We must have the will and desire to commit ourselves to preserve certain areas of the desert. We will need more than just lip service. Several concerned members of the Chapter see the hand-writing on the wall in certain desert areas unless action is taken soon. A number of months ago under the capable leadership of Bill Holden the Desert Protection subcommittee began conducting an evaluation of the recent BLM Desert Study. Monthly meetings are being held at Club headquarters the 4th Tuesday of every month. Three field trip investigating areas in question have been held and more are planned. A letter was sent out to 135 Chapter members whom we felt were interested, or should be interested, in desert protection. A total of 18 members either answered by mail or talked to us about it. We'd like to thank the following people for taking the time and interest to help: Bud & Bep Bingham, Bill Banks, Rob Dear, Bob Smith, Russ Hubbard, Bob Greenawalt, Dave McGlone, Barrie & Lu Petijean, Bruce Colier, John Nienhaus, Roger Mitchell, Ken Croker, Grace Marshall, Ken ?, ? & ? Siemens, John & Jean Sully, Monroe Levy, DeLain Whitman, Wendy & Todd Taylor, Paul Nelson. We hope more DPSers will join us in our trips and meetings. Contact Bill Holden or Ben Romero if interested, For our desert areas--it's later than you think!

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