Society For Wilderness Stewardship

TO CONDUCT WILDERNESS MONITORING ON BLM WILDERNESS AREAS AND WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS IN CALIFORNIA

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: L23AS00168FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS TEXT: THE PURPOSE OF THIS APPLICATION IS TO LEVERAGE THE SOCIETY FOR WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIPS MISSION AND PROGRAMMING TO WORK CLOSELY WITH BLM STAFF TO REALIZE POSITIVE PROGRESS FOR THE BLM NATIONAL WILDERNESS PROGRAM. THE MISSION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE BUILDING THE NATIONAL PROGRAM OF WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE THE STEWARDSHIP OF WILDERNESS AND WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS ON A NATIONAL LEVEL BY CREATING AND IMPLANTING NATIONAL-LEVEL TEAMS, PROGRAMS AND PROTOCOLS THAT COALESCE TECHNICAL GUIDANCE AND ASSISTANCE FOR STATE OFFICES TO CARRY OUT THE MANDATED ACTIVITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER MONITORING AND WILDERNESS STUDY AREA MONITORING. TO DATE, WILDERNESS CHARACTER MONITORING AND WILDERNESS STUDY AREA MONITORING COMPLETED BY BLM UNITS ARE INCONSISTENT IN METHODOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND DATA STEWARDSHIP. THIS MAKES IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT NOT ONLY TO TRACK AT A LOCAL LEVEL, BUT ALSO TO TRACK AND COMPARE AT A NATIONAL LEVEL. THE INABILITY TO TRACK THIS INFORMATION RENDERS THESE MANDATORY MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ESSENTIALLY USELESS YEAR ON YEAR THEY DO NOT PROVIDE NECESSARY INFORMATION, IT IS IN REVIEWING MULTI-YEAR TRENDS THAT INFORMATION IS GATHERED AND CAN BE APPLIED TO MANAGEMENT ACTIONS AND DECISIONS. FURTHERMORE, WILDERNESS CHARACTER MONITORING SPECIFICALLY IS A REQUIREMENT ACROSS ALL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES, WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE BROADSCALE HEALTH OF THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM. WITHOUT NATIONAL-LEVEL COORDINATION, PROTOCOLS, SUPPORT AND THE ABILITY TO SYNTHESIZE INFORMATION, THE BLM WILL BE UNABLE TO COMPLETE ITS PORTION OF THIS TASK IN A MEANINGFUL INTER-AGENCY WAY, HOBBLING THIS NATIONAL EFFORT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND INTER-AGENCY NATIONAL WILDERNESS HEALTH AND MANAGEMENT NEEDS. N 2010, THE BLM PUBLISHED THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYSTEM (NLCS) 15-YEAR STRATEGY TO OUTLINE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS THROUGH 2025. THE NLCS HAS FOUR THEMES THAT DIRECT WORK ON THE GROUND LEVEL: (1) ENSURING THE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF NLCS VALUES, (2) COLLABORATIVELY MANAGING THE NLCS AS PART OF THE LARGER LANDSCAPE, (3) RAISING AWARENESS OF THE VALUE AND BENEFITS OF THE BLMS NLCS, AND (4) BUILDING UPON BLMS COMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION. IN MEASURING ATTRIBUTES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE, IT STATES: THIS MONITORING EFFORT IS BASED ON THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF THE WILDERNESS ACT OF 1964. IN BOTH THE ACTS STATEMENT OF POLICY (SECTION 2(A)) AND USE OF WILDERNESS AREAS (SECTION 4(B)), MANAGERS ARE DIRECTED TO PRESERVE WILDERNESS CHARACTER. THE WILDERNESS CHARACTER BASELINE REQUIRES THAT STEPS BE MADE TO DETERMINE A BASELINE AND PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR EVALUATING TRENDS IN WILDERNESS CHARACTER FOR FUTURE LAND MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING MODELS. THESE TRENDS INDICATE THE OUTCOME OF MANAGEMENT ACTIONS AND SUCCESS AT PRESERVING WILDERNESS CHARACTER AS REQUIRED BY THE WILDERNESS ACT ACROSS THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM.

CO WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP IN COLORADO

SOCIETY FOR WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP

HQ NATIONAL WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP PROJECT

WILDERNESS CONFERENCE

50TH WILDERNESS ANNIVERSARY PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION

PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT

50TH ANNIVERSARY FOR WILDERNESSACT PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION