The June 17 editorial, “Group’s lawsuit threatens Wilderness Act it seeks to protect” misses the point. By law, man-made structures have no business in wilderness areas and despoil their natural, pristine character. The editorial conflates the Oso slide with the Green Mountain Lookout; yet one had nothing to do with the other.
Judge Coughenour ruled in 2012 that the lookout was illegally constructed by the USFS, violated the Wilderness Act, and ordered its removal. The law that Congress passed after the Oso Slide exempting the lookout was a hollow platitude that did not benefit the slide victims, but was something a Republican-controlled Congress could pass at no cost without dealing with the root causes of the Oso tragedy.
The editorial seems to imply that because Wilderness Watch is based in Montana that it has no business sticking its nose into Washington’s wilderness areas. Yet wilderness areas are federally protected land of national significance and WW is a nationwide organization with local members and has standing to sue when these laws are violated.
When I first backpacked into the Glacier Peak Wilderness in 1979, I slept in yurts that had been constructed in the upper Suiattle. The yurts were dirty, they leaked; our sleeping bags and gear got wet on the muddy floor. We found that the yurts were magnets for rodents that chew their way through backpacks, sleeping bags, and clothing — even when there was no food present. Furthermore, deer mice droppings can carry hanta virus, so it is much safer for backpackers to disperse their campsite impacts rather than concentrating them in rodent-attracting yurt or cabins.
After that, I always packed a rainfly and tent to avoid camping anywhere near a yurt.
Due to back, knee, and age I no longer backpack. But I feel deeply that wilderness areas should remain unspoiled for future generations to enjoy the mild-altering exhilaration of the wilderness experience.
William Lider
Lynnwood
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