WAG Tales
Chief’s Wilderness Advisory Group
Volume 1, Issue 2
Winter 2008
audience was receptive and enthusiastic. I was
encouraged by their grasp of the situation and by their
willingness to help.
Letter From The Chair
Mary Emerick
Hi!
I have been very lucky to serve as the Region 10 WAG
representative and now as the Chair. The WAG is
unlike any other Forest Service committee or group I
have served with because its main purpose is to be a
direct link from the field to the Forest Service Chief, her
deputy Chief and the Wilderness and Wild and Scenic
program in the Washington Office. Over the years I
have worked with incredibly talented people who are
passionate about wilderness stewardship and many of
whom have become close friends.
Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell with WAG Chair Mary Emerick
One of the highlights of my WAG tenure was to meet
with the Chief, Gail Kimbell, in March of 2008. During
that visit with her, Deputy Chief Joel Holtrup and
WWSR Director Chris Brown, we discussed our
national progress on the 10YWSC and concerns I have
heard from the field. I was able to bring forward
suggestions from the WAG on how to overcome
barriers to achieving the 10YWSC and to offer
examples of success stories from each region. The
Please take the time to visit our WAG webpage or to
talk with your regional WAG representative to find out
more about what we are doing and how you can
express your opinions. We will make sure they are
heard by people who can make a difference.
What Is The WAG?
WAG stand for Chief’s Wilderness Advisory Group. The
Chief’s Wilderness Advisory Group is a group of mostly
field-based wilderness managers. There is a
representative from each region of the Forest Service,
from a forest or district level. Additional members come
from the regional directors, Washington office, Arthur
Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, Aldo
Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, and one line
officer. Members serve for two years.
The WAG has been instrumental in developing a
number of projects. In 2002-03, the WAG developed
the idea of the “Ten Year Wilderness Stewardship
Challenge.” The group helped to develop the elements,
scoring process, and guidebook. The Chief and
National Leadership Team adopted the Ten Year
Wilderness Stewardship Challenge in October 2003.
Since then, the WAG has worked closely with fieldlevel wilderness managers to refine and improve
elements and processes for achieving successful
wilderness stewardship through the Challenge.
In this newsletter, you’ll find other projects that the
WAG is currently working on. The WAG hopes to
provide a conduit between the field and leadership at
the regional and national levels. The WAG is only as
good as its interaction with other wilderness managers.
WAG members would like to hear from you.
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Ten-Year Wilderness
Stewardship Challenge:
2008 Results
Wilderness Stewardship
Success Stories
In 2008, 33 additional Forest Service wildernesses
reached the minimum stewardship threshold.
Currently, 24.6% of wilderness areas in the Challenge
are meeting the minimum standard. That’s an increase
of over 8% from 2007. All regions made progress on
meeting the Challenge. This year, Region 1 became
the first to bring the average score of wildernesses
above 60. Regions 2, 4, and 9 are also closing in on
that substantial achievement.
Seven wildernesses in R-10 reached the minimum
stewardship level in 2008. A combination of actions
contributed to this success, including:
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Overall, we’re doing best at incorporating wildernessappropriate responses into our fire plans and
managing outfitter-guide operations in wilderness.
Many regions have also made progress on recreation
site inventory, wilderness education plans, adequate
forest plan standards, and information needs
assessment. Monitoring air quality and protecting
opportunities for solitude are lagging. The areas where
we have the furthest to go are controlling invasive
plants and reaching minimum staffing levels. For
additional graphs of 10YWSC results, go to the WAG
website at
www.fsweb.wo.fs.rhrw/wilderness/wag/index_wag.html
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A forestwide leveling call, in which wilderness
managers discussed all ten elements and
shared information on how they planned to
score each wilderness.
A Wilderness Awareness workshop—led by
Tom Carlson of the Arthur Carhart National
Wilderness Training Center—which was
attended by all district rangers and regional
office personnel. This workshop led to
cooperation and increased integration
between other resource areas.
Continued implementation of a protocol for
monitoring opportunities for solitude; this was
field tested for the second season.
Integration of other resource specialists into
the work, including shared efforts with fire,
botany, special uses and others. An
information needs assessment was completed
for two wildernesses, which allowed for
progress on Elements 9 and 8 as well as
improving communication and knowledge
sharing among resource specialists.
Photo by David Cole
Photo by Brian McNitt
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Wilderness Snapshot:
Nordhouse Dunes
Wilderness Stewardship
Resources
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, Huron-Manistee
National Forest, Region 9
Looking for help with managing grazing, inholding access,
mining, or other special provisions in wilderness? Four new
toolboxes are now available at www.wilderness.net. Having
trouble with recreational stock impacts? Learn from the
approach used in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. Inholder
access keeping you awake at night? Learn how the courts
have ruled in previous disputes in the case law summary
section of the inholding access toolbox. This website is the
best on-line resource available for wilderness managers.
Check it out!
Designated: 1987
Size: 3,450 acres
Location: The east shore of Lake Michigan (north of
Ludington, Michigan)
Typical Visitor Activities: Day hiking, backpacking,
basking on the beach
The Nordhouse Dunes is one of the few wilderness
areas in the U.S. with an extensive lake shore dunes
ecosystem. Most of the dunes are 3500 to 4000 years
old and some stand about 140 feet higher than the
lake. Unlike other dune systems, the Nordhouse
Dunes are interspersed with woody vegetation such as
juniper, jack pine and hemlock. There are many small
water holes and marshes dotting the landscape and
dune grass covers many of the dunes. The beach is
wide and sandy, excellent for solitary walks and sunset
viewing.
As a small eastern wilderness, the Nordhouse Dunes
deals with many complex issues in meeting the
10YWSC, as the WAG found out during our work day
in October. In addition to the more ‘typical’ challenges
to wilderness everywhere, this area faces the
development of wind energy facilities adjacent to its
boundary, threats from invasive weeds washing up
from far away shores, the use of the beach by
motorized watercraft, and the challenge of trying to
provide a wilderness experience in a setting only
recently added into the NWPS and where visitors often
haul large quantities of picnic supplies several miles to
the beach using toboggans!
WAG Program of Work for
FY09
Each year, the WAG meets as a group to develop an
annual program of work, assign tasks to the members,
and to get started on projects for the new fiscal year.
The projects usually focus on supporting the Chief’s
Ten-Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge due to
the importance of this initiative in preserving
wilderness character. The WAG members also discuss
other ideas for projects drawn from the perceived
needs of their respective regions. For FY09, the group
chose eight tasks:
1. Prepare desktop video for the Chief
This short digital video will include the Chief
emphasizing the importance of the 10YWSC and the
need for integration of resource areas on each forest
to meet the challenge.
2. WAG Newsletter
You’re reading it! The WAG will try to produce a semiannual newsletter as a means of sharing information
about wilderness stewardship throughout the Forest
Service.
3. 10YWSC Guidebook update
WAG members will review the current 10YWSC
Guidebook to clarify instructions and revise scoring
criteria if necessary.
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness
4. Connecting the Chief’s three
emphasis areas to wilderness
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Climate change, water resources, and getting kids into
the woods are all connected to wilderness
stewardship. The WAG has developed white papers
explaining these linkages. The current task will add
more factual detail and continue to get this information
inserted in formal remarks and talking points of FS
leadership
5. Update on 10YWSC to the Chief
This task includes developing a briefing paper on the
current status of the 10YWSC and a presentation to
the Chief.
6. Beyond the toolbox: 10YWSC
support to the field
Team members will follow up on ideas to provide direct
support to wilderness managers in their efforts to
improve wilderness stewardship. Have some good
ones? Let your regional representative know!
7. 10YWSC Successes
WAG Representatives
Washington Office: Terry Knupp
Region 1: Wendi Urie (Livingston RD, Gallatin NF)
Region 2: Martha Moran (Aspen-Sopris RD, White
River NF)
Region 3: Diane Taliaferro (Santa Fe NF)
Region 4: Jeff Weise (Bridgeport RD, HumboldtToiyabe NF) (Vice Chair)
Region 5: Adam Barnett (Stanislaus NF)
Region 6: Ryan Brown (Middle Fork RD, Willamette
NF)
Region 8: Terry Hope (Big Piney RD, Ozark-St.
Francis NF)
Region 9: Joel “Harv” Skjerven (Eagle River RD,
Chequamegon-Nicolet NF)
Region 10: Mary Emerick (Sitka RD, Tongass NF)
(Chair)
Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center:
Tom Carlson
Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute: David
Cole
Further WAG Information
Continue to identify and publicize individual successes
in improving wilderness stewardship. Again, let your
WAG rep. know if you have something you want to
share.
WAG website:
www.fsweb.wo.fs.rhrw/wilderness/wag/index_wag.html
8. Partnership challenges and
solutions for wilderness stewardship
At the request of the Washington Office, members will
develop recommendations for improving the ability of
wilderness managers to benefit from partnerships.
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