New Hampshire Delegates Push for Wilderness Protection
WASHINGTON, March 28- Rep. Jeb Bradley, an avid hiker, said Tuesday that he and Rep. Charles Bass would introduce a bill in the House later this week to preserve thousands of acres of New Hampshire wilderness. The Senate bill was introduced Tuesday by Sen. John Sununu and is cosponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg.
“I’ve hiked all of the 48 four-thousand footers in New Hampshire and including hiking all way through the Wild River, the proposed wilderness, by going from route 16 out. to route 2 up in Maine,” Bradley said in a telephone interview. “It’s a very, very wild area.absolutely gorgeous, so I’m pleased to be able to support this proposal.”
The New Hampshire delegation is pushing for permanent wilderness designation of 34,500 acres of White Mountain National Forest land in the Wild River and Sandwich Range areas. The New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006 would designate 23,700 acres in the Wild River area and an additional 10,800 acres to the Sandwich Range Wilderness.
This legislation comes after the U.S. Forest Service recommended last November the need for additional wilderness designation in its management plan for the White Mountain National Forest. Wilderness areas are permanently closed to mining, logging, road construction, traffic and construction, and since these are federal lands, new wilderness must be approved by Congress. Bradley said that the proposal is consistent with the Forest Service plan, which he thinks is a balanced plan in terms of multi-use of the White Mountain National Forest.
“Logging interests are protected, recreation and the beauty of the White Mountain National Forest are protected, so I think it’s a well-balanced plan and I’m really thrilled to be promoting a wilderness area,” Bradley said. “In particular as somebody that has hiked through both areas, they’re very significant, they’re worthy candidates for this designation.”
Although logging may not be a concern in the Sandwich area, which consists mostly of steep slopes, the Wild River area, according to Bradley, would benefit from this status. “It’s a very remote area; however, it is accessible from the northern part-from route 2, and it has been logged in the past,” Bradley said.
Currently, four designated wilderness areas in the White Mountain National Forest are located in New Hampshire: the Presidential Range/Dry River Wilderness, the Great Gulf Wilderness, the Sandwich Range Wilderness and the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The fifth area, the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness, is located in Maine.
“Some of the nicest areas for hiking and just getting away from everything are protected by this designation, and I’ve had just a wonderful experience of hiking through all of them,” said Bradley. who has begun to climb all of the 4,000-foot peaks in the winter. “This is a great, great balanced plan, and I’m pleased to support it.”
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