Wilderness Update
Wilderness Committee Update… Robbin Schindele
The Wilderness Committee has been busy as usual. In April, we sponsored a benefit concert for Umpqua Watersheds’ radio station, KQUA 99.7, The River. Kim Angelis, a world-renowned musician headlined the concert. Known for her elegant skills as a composer and flamboyant and energetic performance of gypsy influenced music, she had the audience enthralled. She was accompanied by Jennifer Gooddenberger, a pianist and composer in her own right. Each played original compositions solo and paired for some incredible duets.
In May, we started planning our summer hiking schedule. March’s “Snowmegedden” storm had a catastrophic effect on the trails in our proposed wilderness areas affecting plans. The Forest Service (FS) has been working to try and ameliorate the damage but there is much to do and limited resources. FS officials plan to clean up the campgrounds first, then the backcountry roads and then the trails. We have done some scouting and believe we’ll be able to get out starting in June. The only hike on the schedule is a joint hike with Oregon Wild to Twin Lakes on August 17. If you like hiking in the pristine high country please join us this summer. Please watch the Umpqua Watersheds (www.umpquawatersheds.org) website for announcements of when and where on the event calendar.
Also in May, we started a new grassroots effort. We have had a booth at the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market in May and June. We spread the word about the Crater Lake Wilderness Campaign and Umpqua Watersheds activities to visitors to the market, and we have created a series of picture postcards featuring images of Crater Lake and addressed to four federal legislators; Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer.
All of whom are known for their efforts to protect some of Oregon’s most beautiful and pristine environments. When visitors stop by, we ask them to sign a card and we pay the postage. A shout out to Susan Applegate and Alysia Gaye who have donated money for the postage and special card stock we use to make the cards. The campaign has been more successful than we anticipated. So far we have mailed about 120 postcards and on May 25 a group of Wilderness Committee members (Robbin Schindele, M A Hanson, Rick Kreofsky and Connie Page) were able to present Senator Wyden 60 postcards personally.
Look for us at the market and sign a card, or better yet send them on your own. We were told by a member of the Oregon Wild staff, “60 cards from Roseburg supporting conservation is equivalent to 500 cards from Portland.” So stop by and let your support be known.
