FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) today commended U.S. Senators John Sununu and Judd Gregg (both R-NH) for their introduction of the New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006, designed to designate additional Wilderness in the White Mountain National Forest. U.S. Congressmen Charles Bass and Jeb Bradley (both R-NH) are expected to introduce companion bills in the House later this week.
The legislation follows the recommendations of the U.S. Forest Service management plan for the White Mountain National Forest. Wilderness designation requires Congressional approval.
“The AMC commends the New Hampshire delegation for its leadership on Wilderness Bills that will provide outstanding opportunities for backcountry recreation and, over time, restoration of unfragmented, mature forest habitat,” said Susan Arnold, director of conservation for the AMC. “The proposed new Wilderness is an important element in the balance of a multiple-use White Mountain National Forest.”
The New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006, authored by Sen. Sununu and co-sponsored by Sen. Gregg, would designate a new Wilderness area of approximately 23,700 acres in the Wild River region and expand the existing Sandwich Range Wilderness by approximately 10,800 acres.
“This bill is the result of years of effort by the Forest Service, local groups, and countless New Hampshire citizens. The proposed new Wilderness areas will be a legacy that we all can be proud of,” said Arnold. “New Wilderness designations in the White Mountain National Forest will protect these remote and irreplaceable lands forever.”
Wilderness denotes areas on public lands that have been officially designated by Congress to be managed in perpetuity for their wild character. The Wilderness Act of 1964 notes that in designated Wilderness areas, the public is afforded “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.” Non-motorized recreation such as hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, and snowshoeing are allowed in Wilderness areas.
Wilderness is relatively rare in the Eastern United States. Only three percent of the nation’s designated Wilderness lies east of the Mississippi. Across the 12 Northeastern states there are fewer than 300,000 acres of Wilderness – about three tenths of one percent of the nation’s total.
Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the United States. With 90,000 members in the Northeast and beyond, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of the mountains, rivers and trails of the Appalachian region.
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