WildernessProtection - New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

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y Brooke BergerImagine a group of bird watchers,backpackers, hunters, fishermen,rock climbers, and hikersall dedicated to preserving the naturalenvironments in which theypass their time. Imagine teenagersin an urban environment whounderstand the importance of wildernessand who are working toteach others about it. The ValleyHigh School Environmental Clubconsists of a group of 25 concernedand active Albuquerquestudents sponsored by Valley’sEnvironmental Science teacherKarn Gustafson. Our Club membersare wilderness users andhave a culmination of experienceswith several organizations andgovernment agencies including theNew Mexico Wilderness Alliance,Talking Talons, The Rio GrandeNature Center, the Quivera Coalition,Albuquerque Open Space, USFish and Wildlife, the Forest Service,and BLM. These experiencesallow us to unite many perspectivesin achieving our commongoals of preservation, restoration,and stewardship.Environmental Club has had avery productive year and has participatedin several notable communityconservation and educationalevents. These includethe Middle Rio Grande Children’sWater Festival where our volunteershelped to educate fourthgraders about water conservation.One of the activities that childrenparticipated in was designedby club executive board member,Andrew Rominger, and was createdto be a hands-on methodthat helps kids learn about theBosque’s ecology. Each child wasassigned an animal, plant, or abioticelement of the ecology andwere then arranged in a largecircle. The kids thought of waysthat their animal etc. related to oneother and they would toss a ball ofyarn to a relating person eventuallyforming a web. A ball, symbolizinga healthy environment, wasplaced in the middle of the webto show that when one string isreleased, when one element of theBosque’s ecology disappears, theball will drop. This is a simple butprofound lesson that we believe isat the heart of any conservationplan.The club is also working toincrease the environmental awarenessof our fellow students andmembers of our community aswell. A recycling program is currentlybeing developed for Valleyas well as an initiative to save electricityat our school. Our groupmembers attended HablamosEnvironmental Youth Conferenceboth as presenters and organizersfor the event, thus educating ourselvesabout effective ways to instigatechange and to better connectwith our community and environmentalclubs in other high schools.Earlier this year, four club membersalso attended the Otero MesaForum to demonstrate our supportfor the grassland’s protection.Our largest undertaking thusfar is our recent adoption of anopen space site that was partiallyburned in last summer’s Bosquefire. To celebrate Arbor Day thisyear, the VHS Environmental Clubplanted cottonwood poles at thissite with funding and volunteersfrom General Electric and ValleyHigh School Academy. We are currentlyin the process of pole monitoringto assess the health of thesite and ensure the success of ourrestoration, while continuing toeducate our members about successfulrehabilitation within a riparianenvironment.If you would like to learn moreabout Valley High School EnvironmentalClub please contactAndrew Rominger at ecopiranga@cybermesa.com, or Karn GustafsonatValleyBiology2003@yahoo.com.The Father of the Wilderness Actby James BroskaAt this time of celebration andreflection of the 40th anniversaryof the Wilderness Act and itssignificance to the Wilderness andConservation movement, it seemsappropriate to recognize the authorand “Father of the Wilderness Act,”Howard Zahniser.Starting in the 1940’s andthroughout the 1950’s, Zahniserlead the movement to seek Congressionaldesignation of wilderness.Before that change in philosophy,conservationists soughtwilderness designation directlythrough federal agencies with littlesuccess. In fact, his ideas from thattime period would become thecornerstone of the way Wildernessis managed today. Those ideasincluded establishing a nationalwilderness system and the pro-hibition of incompatible uses,among others. It was in 1956 thathe wrote the fi rst draft of the WildernessAct; fully 8 years and 65revisions before being signed byPresident Lyndon Johnson onSeptember 3, 1964.Although Zahniser died in May1964 before seeing the fulfi llmentof his dream of a national wildernesssystem, his life was dedicatedto conservation. He workedfor the USDA Bureau of BiologicalSurvey and Fish and Wildlife Servicewhile simultaneously speakingand writing about conservationfor various scientifi c publications.He was executive director of theWilderness Society and acted aseditor of its journal The Living Wildernesswhile also writing a columnfor Nature magazine. In addition, atvarious stages of his career he waschairman of the Natural ResourcesCouncil of America; acted as presidentof the Thoreau Society; wasa member of the Secretary of theInterior’s Advisory Committee forNatural Resources; served as honoraryvice-president of the SierraClub, and the list goes on!On this 40th Anniversary ofthe Wilderness Act, Zahniser’swords still ring true today as theyundoubtedly will in another 40years, “we see before us…..ahope for the preservation of wildernessin perpetuity….the wildernessthat has come to us from theeternity of the past……(may) wehave the boldness to project intothe eternity of the future.Page 18 Summer 2004
NMWA WILDERNESSCONFERENCERegistration FormorderformNew Mexico Wilderness AllianceP.O. Box 25464, Albuquerque, NM 87125NMWA NEVER SHARES YOURINFORMATION WITH ANYONE!!!(including Homeland Security)Name _______________________________________________________Phone _______________________________________________________Street ________________________________________________________E-mail________________________________________________________City, State, Zip ___________________________________________________ Item Description Color Qty CostTotalMerchandise TotalNew Mexico WILD! design & art direction by:let my imaginationbecome your empowerment.Joe Adair - 505.319-3754 • eye4design@earthlink.net£ Enclosed is my check payable to New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Please charge my £ Visa or £ MastercardCard# __________________________________________Expiration Date: _______________Signature: ___________________________________YES! I want to be a member of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance!!! My contribution will gotowards the continued protection and wilderness designation of New Mexico’s natural heritage.q$25 – Individual q$100 – Contributing qOther $__________q$30 – Family q$250 – Lifetimeq$50 – Supporting q$10 – Student/SeniorName _______________________________Phone_______________________________Street ______________________________E-mail_______________________________City, State, Zip _________________________________________________________________£ Enclosed is my check payable to New Mexico Wilderness Alliance Please charge my £ Visa or £ MastercardCard# __________________________________________Expiration Date: _______________Signature: ___________________________________Join New Mexico Wilderness AllianceToday! You’ll not only help preserveNew Mexico’s Wild Places for your ownenjoyment… but you’ll help insure thatfuture generations may enjoy them too.New Mexico WILD!Mail yourTax DeductibleDonations to:New MexicoWilderness AlliancePO Box 25464Albuquerque, NM87125-0464Questions?505/843-8696Contact info.The Honorable Jeff BingamanU.S. Senate703 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510Phone: 202 224-5521Fax: 202 224-2852The Honorable Pete DomeniciU.S. Senate328 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510ABQ. Phone: 505 347-6781ABQ. Fax: 505 346-6720The Honorable Tom UdallU.S. House of Representatives502 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515Phone: 202 225-6190Fax: 202 226-1331The Honorable Heather WilsonU.S. House of Representatives318 Cannon House Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20515ABQ. Phone: 505 346-6781ABQ. Fax: 505 346-6723Page 19
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WildernessProtection - New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

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