Transcript Wilderness: An Enduring Resource - Green

Green Mountain National Forest
Wilderness : An Enduring Resource
4/8/2015
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What We Will Do :
 Lay out the locations and some of the highlights of
the six Green Mountain National Forest Wilderness
areas.
 Discover the public purposes of wilderness.
 Examine wilderness character and some of the unique
qualities found in Vermont Wildernesses.
 Explore the role of Wilderness Rangers on the Greens
and how they work to monitor and protect wilderness
from threats to an enduring resource.
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 400,000 plus acres exist on
the Green Mountain National
Forest.
 60,000 acres is designated as
Wilderness.
 15% of the Green Mountain
National Forest is Wilderness.
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Six
Wilderness
Areas
Acres
Year
Designated
Wilderness
Law
Lye Brook
15,680
1975 and
1984
Eastern and
Vermont
Bristol
Cliffs
3,738
1975 and
1976
Eastern
George
Aiken
5,060
1984
Vermont
Big Branch
6,720
1984
Vermont
Peru Peak
6,920
1984
Vermont
Breadloaf
21,480
1984
Vermont
What We Have…….
Lye Brook
26%
Bristol
Cliffs George
6%
Aiken
8%
Big Branch
11%
Peru Peak
12%
25,000
Lye Brook
20,000
Bristol Cliffs
15,000
George Aiken
Breadloaf
37%
Big Branch
10,000
Peru Peak
5,000
Breadloaf
0
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Acres
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Breadloaf
Wilderness :
Named after Bread Loaf
Mountain at 3,835 feet.
Climb Vermont's Presidential
Range: Mounts Wilson,
Roosevelt, Cleveland, and
Grant.
Moose and black bears live
here in considerable
numbers.
Contains 17.4 miles of the
Long Trail, four shelters and
major side trails.
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Big Branch Wilderness
Named after Big Branch
Stream.
Located just west of the Peru
Peak Wilderness.
Separated by snowmobile
Corridor 7.
Contains about 6 miles of the
AT/LT.
100 foot suspension bridge
crosses Big Branch Stream.
Big Branch and Lost Pond
Shelters are on AT/LT.
Lies in the White Rocks
National Recreation area.
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Peru Peak
Wilderness
Named after the highest
mountain in the area.
Contains 4 miles of the
Appalachian/ Long Trail.
Styles Peak has a view and
Peru Peak is wooded.
Pete Parent Peak, a 3,000footer that, unlike most in
Vermont, has no marked
path to the top.
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Griffith Lake and Peru
Peak shelter are located in
between Big Branch and
Peru Peak wildernesses with
a Green Mountain Club
Caretaker.
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Lye Brook
Wilderness
Ranges from 900 feet to
2900 feet above sea level.
The western section is
extremely steep, facing
west-northwest towards
U.S. Route 7 and
Manchester.
The Appalachian/Long
Trail skirts the northeast
corner for about 3 miles.
South Bourn Pond
shelter removed in 2005.
Remnants of railroad
grades and old logging
roads remain.
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George D. Aiken
Wilderness
Named after the late senator
who helped secure the Eastern
Wilderness Act of 1975.
Sits on a plateau rising as high
as 2,300 feet.
Land of ponds, meadows, hills
and brushy forest.
Popular for cross country
skiing and snow shoeing in the
winter.
Like Bristol Cliffs, is managed
without designated trails.
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Bristol Cliffs Wilderness
Named for unique
cliffs on west side.
Like the Aiken, is
managed without
designated trails.
North Pond and
Gilmore Ponds.
Plane crash on
South Mountain.
Home to bears,
moose, grouse,
peregrine falcons
and the tallest
hobblebush in the
state!
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… wilderness areas shall be devoted to
the public purposes of recreational,
scenic, scientific, educational,
conservation, and historical use.
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
Leave No Trace Puppet Show and Hands-on Activity Station
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
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…”devoted to the public purposes of
recreational, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and
historical use”
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Why Monitor Threats to Wilderness?
A loss of naturalness and wildness maybe
incremental but ultimately, in the long term, it is
dramatic.
Long term monitoring is essential to preserving what
we have today and tomorrow.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 mandates the Forest
Service to preserve wilderness character.
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Wilderness Character
..may be described as the combination of
biophysical, experiential, and symbolic ideals that
distinguish wilderness from all other lands.
These ideals form a complex set of relationships
between the land, its management, and the
meanings people associate with wilderness.”
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Ten Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Direction exists in either the Forest Plan or subsequent planning
document, that updated or amended the Forest Plan, that addresses the
natural role of fire in wilderness and considers the full range of
management responses.
The wilderness was successfully treated for non-native, invasive plants.
Monitoring of wilderness air quality values is conducted and a baseline is
established for the wilderness.
Priority actions identified in a wilderness education plan are
implemented.
This wilderness has adequate direction, monitoring, and management
programs to protect opportunities for solitude or primitive and
unconfined recreation.
The wilderness has a completed recreation site inventory.
Existing outfitter & guide operating plans for the wilderness direct
outfitters to model appropriate wilderness practices and incorporate
appreciation for wilderness values in their interaction with clients and
others. Needs assessments are completed for new operations or for major
changes to existing outfitter programs.
The wilderness has adequate direction in the Forest Plan to prevent
degradation of the wilderness resource.
The priority information needs for the wilderness have been addressed
through field data collection, storage and analysis.
The wilderness has a baseline workforce in place.
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Some Wilderness Ranger Activities to Protect
Wilderness as an Enduring Resource
 Abandoned Property , Human-made Structures
and Trash Removal.
 Campsite Condition Inventory and Monitoring.
 Wilderness Boundary Monitoring and Signing.
 Monitoring Motorized and Mechanical Equipment
Trespass.
 Advanced Technology : Following Geocaching.
 Monitoring Pre-existing Special Use
Authorizations, Recreation and Non-recreation
Special Use Permits.
 Finding and Documenting Illegal Trail Cutting.
 Invasive Species Inventory and Removal.
 Reports, Records and Data Entry.
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Abandoned Property , Human-made Structures
and Trash Removal
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Campsite Condition
Inventory and
Monitoring
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Digital Pictures
• GPS Locations
• Site Mapping,
Measuring and
Reference Points
• Inventory of Area
Damages
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Wilderness Boundary Monitoring and Signing
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Monitoring Motorized and Mechanical Equipment
Trespass
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Advanced Technology :
Following Geocaching
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Monitoring Preexisting Special
Use
Authorizations
Non- Recreation Special
Use Permits
Recreation Special Use
Permits
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Invasive Species Identification and Removal
Japanese
Barberry
Garlic Mustard
Bush
Honey Suckle
Japanese Knotweed
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Honey Suckle Popper
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Finding and Documenting Illegal Trail Cutting
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Where does all this information go???
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Where does all this information go???
A.
B.
C.
OR
Click to the next slide
please…and quick ->
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Where does all this information go???
INFRA WILD : National Reporting
Wilderness Regulations Report
Wilderness Management Records
Special Uses Summary Report
Wilderness.net Web Links Summary
Wilderness.net Public Contact
Summary
Accomplishment Report Summary
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Wilderness Character Monitoring Tools
It consists of developing two items :
1) Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to
Wilderness Character: A National Framework for
Monitoring” to improve wilderness stewardship .
2) A “Technical Guide for Monitoring with Selected
Conditions Related to Wilderness Character” is
being piloted this year in 2006 and being put into
national implementation in 2007.
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What We Have Done :
 Laid out the locations and some of the highlights of
the six Green Mountain National Forest Wilderness
areas.
 Discovered the public purposes of wilderness.
 Examined wilderness character and some of the
unique qualities found in Vermont Wildernesses.
 Explored the role of Wilderness Rangers on the
Greens and how they work to monitor and protect
wilderness from threats to an enduring resource.
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Time for Reflection
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Where to Get More Information
www.wilderness.net

Middlebury Ranger District, 1007 Route 7, Middlebury, Vermont
05753-8999. (802) 388-4362.

Rochester Ranger District, 99 Ranger Road, Rochester,
Vermont 05767-9431. (802) 767-4261.

Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests
Supervisors Office, 231 North Main Street, Rutland, Vermont
05701-2417. (802) 747-6700.

Manchester Ranger District, 2538 Depot Street, Manchester
Center, Vermont 05255-9419. (802) 362-2307.
Ken Norden
Scott Haas
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