Talk celebrates Wilderness Act?s 40th
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ray Rasker
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When it comes to the prosperity of Western communities, there is a clear link to protected public lands.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, a number of local organizations are teaming up to sponsor a presentation by the Sonoran Institute about its latest report, ?Prosperity in the 21st Century West: the Role of Protected Public Lands.?
According to the Sonoran Institute, the report changes the debate on protected lands and the economy of the West.
?This report verifies a clear connection between the prosperity of Western communities and the vast, publicly-owned open spaces that surround them,? the Tucson, Ariz.-based organization asserted. ?Prosperity in the 21st century West dispels the notion that public lands hurt local economies by preventing the development of natural resources.?
Sonoran Institute Socio-Economics Program Director Ray Rasker will present the report?s findings at the meeting on Monday, Sept. 27, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Clarion Inn conference room in Ketchum. The doors will open at 6 p.m., and the event, along with refreshments, will be free of charge.
With the potential for wilderness designation in the back yard of the Wood River Valley in the Boulder and White Cloud mountain ranges, the report features a number of local photographs, and several interviews with local wilderness and business advocates.
?The economic health of Blaine County depends on wilderness and roadless areas that provide for high-quality recreation opportunities,? Blaine County Commissioner Sarah Michael is quoted as saying.
The Ketchum-based Environmental Resource Center is one of the local entities sponsoring the event.
?From a place to explore for weeks at a time to simply an idea connected with the intrinsic value associated with the existence of wild places, wilderness means different things to different people,? said ERC Programs Director Ben Mackay. ?At the ERC, we strive to deepen understanding of the natural world from which people are often driven to become better stewards of our local and global environment.
?Personally, spending extended periods in the wilderness provides a healthy perspective on the community in which I live and the things that are truly important to me.?
Blaine County Citizens for Smart Growth, the Idaho Conservation league, The Wilderness Society, Blaine County, Wood River Land Trust, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Environmental Resource Center and the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau teamed up to make the event happen.
