Wilderness Committee Update: Fall 2023
Hello everyone hope you had a fun summer. The Wilderness Committee has been chugging along, moving our efforts towards making the Crater Lake Wilderness a reality rather than a proposal.
We have been at the Umpqua Valley Farmers one Saturday since a month since May and have put together nearly 100 postcards signed by Douglas County citizen and mailed to our federal legislators. Saturday September 9 will be our last day at the market for 2023 so come on by. Sign a postcard or two and chat with the volunteers or other people who stop by.
This grass roots effort is one of the most significant things we do. Every time we’re there we talk to more than 100 members of our community, not just about the Wilderness proposal but about other Umpqua Watersheds activities and events as well. Some are already familiar with our conservation and restoration work, and many know nothing about us at all. People are very interested in learning about the CLWP and most think it is protected already because it is a National Park, not true; many think if it becomes wilderness people won’t be able to go there, also not true. This is our chance to talk face to face and explain why a new Oregon wilderness would be a good thing for them and the environment. Most leave, if not totally on our side at least more sympathetic to the cause.
We also gather citizens who sign up for this newsletter, join UW, donate, or sign up to say they’re interested in volunteering. I’d like to quote Thomas Paine here; “The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.”
The year we started the postcard campaign (pre-covid) we were at the market 12 Saturdays and mailed over 1000 postcards. Unfortunately, through attrition and people moving away, the committee no longer has enough volunteers to make that kind of commitment so we do what we can. Please seriously consider joining us.
The other thing we’re working on right now is getting our “Four Ladies in Tennis Shoes” display out into the community. This Spring we framed and put behind plexiglass four 38×34”. posters that tell their story. A story of how four “just regular” Douglas County citizens convinced the forest service to protect 1955 acres as a National Research Natural Area in the 1970s. A true demonstration of the power of citizen activists. So far, we have approached the Douglas County Museum and the Roseburg Public Library as possible venues for the exhibit. If anyone has suggestions for other potential locations, please let me know at Robbin@umpquawatersheds.org
Well that’s all for this time, have a great fall and keep on keep up the good fight whatever yours may be.
