"Not one more new road" in roadless National Forests! That is supposedly the temporary policy of the US Forest Service. However, the loopholes in this policy are so big, logging trucks can drive through them. Thus, the Forest Service still plans to road and log critical wildlife habitat in the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states - central Idaho.
Otter-Wing and Mackay Day are two heinous timber sales planned in the same roadless area that contains Cove/Mallard, the heart of the Big Wild. We won't let these sales be logged without a fight.

What's the Deal?
Despite the Clinton administration's 18 month road building moratorium on national forest roadless areas, roads continue to be blazed through the last Big Wild in central Idaho.
Like many roadless sales, both Otter-Wing and Mackay Day are exempt from 18-month moratorium because the sales were sold prior to the moratorium (although they fit all of the other criteria ).
Wing Creek-Twenty mile Area (WCTA) is a 52,003 acre area located 15 miles southeast of Grangeville, ID. In 1978, during wilderness negotiations, conservationists short-sightedly agreed that the WCTA was a suitable timber base and offered it as a sacrificial lamb in return for wilderness designation and protection of the Gospel Hump. The 1989 Environmental Impast Statement (EIS) proposes building over 48 miles of roads and logging 52 million board-feet of timber over 2425 acres. The EIS is hopelessly out of date. Since 1989, steelhead, chinook salmon, and bull trout have been listed under the Endangered Species Act. Lynx will be proposed for listing by June 1998, Endangered gray wolves have been introduced into the area. ALL FIVE of these species are present in the sale areas or have habitat nearby which will be affected by the sales!

Why is the The Wing Creek-Twenty mile Area so important?
The WCTA is north and adjacent to the Gospel Hump wilderness area. It harbors nearly all of the same species as Cove/Mallard - bull trout, chinook salmon, steelhead, west slope cutthroat trout, fisher, marten, wolverine, gray wolf, bald and golden eagles, boreal and flamulated owls, northern goshawk, winter wren, lynx and mountain goats!
If the proposed grizzly bear reintroduction plan is implemented, then the Greater Salmon-Selway Ecosystem (GSSE) will be the only fully intact ecosystem (with all original species) left in the lower 48 states. Fragmenting this ecosystem is a tragedy beyond words.
The WCTA borders the South Fork of the Clearwater River, where bull trout, steelhead, and salmon are found. Its tributaries, Tenmile Creek and John's Creek (eligible for protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act) are critical bull trout and steelhead habitat. WingCreek contains pure strains of westslope cutthroat trout, and Twentymile and Otter Creeks contain critical fish habitat and spawning beds.

Why protest new Roads?
Roads destroy wilderness. Roads facilitate resource development. They obliterate habitat (about five acres per mile of logging road). They fragment habitat and create artificial edges, eliminating wilderness-dependent and forest interior species. They create erosion and mass slope failures that clog streams. They facilitate air and noise pollution. Road dust covers plants, reducing photosynthesis. Road cuts disrupt ground water flow patterns. Road-cuts are road shoulders are avenues for noxious weed invasions. Precipitation evaporates from road pavement instead of percolating into the ground. Roads provide access for slob hunters, poachers, off-road vehicles, and litterbugs. In short, in most situations wildness and roads are mutually exclusive. There will always be plenty of roads; there may never be enough wilderness, - Big Wild Action Report - October 1997.

How You Can Help Defend the Big Wild:
Come to the Cove/Mallard basecamp and the Otter-Wing/Mackay Day satellite camp this summer! Learn about the ecology, background, and politics of the roadless areas in the Greater Salmon-Selway Ecosystem GSSE and join the struggle to save the largest piece of wild forest we have left! Raging rivers, ancient old growth stands, mountain goats, campfires, free wood, a supportive community of activists, and defense of this remarkable place: what else do you need to make this summer a blast?

Spread the word! Tell your friends and relatives about the Big Wild! Contact the Cove/Mallard Coalition office for a video and written information, and organize an event in your area to present the video and information.

Write to Coy Jemmet and ask him to immediately buy back sales.
Coy Jemmet, Forest Supervisor
Supervisor's Office, Rte 2, Box 475
Grangeville, ID 83530

Write to Mike Dombeck and ask him to call off all roadless area timber sales.
Mike Domeck, USFS Chief
POB 96090, Washington, DC 20090

Write to your Representative and Senators!
Ask them to sponsor and vote for the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, and the Bill to Save America's Forests.

Representative ______, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
Senator ______, US Senate, Washington DC 20510.

Help defend the Greater Salmon-Selway Ecosystem - 'the Last Big Wild', by coming to Idaho to protect the Otter-Wing and Mackay Day timber sales.
The Cove/Mallard Coalition continues its six year battle to save wildlands in the GSSE and is fully committed to non-violent, direct defense of the WCTA roadless area in the summer of 1998.
The Cove/Mallard basecamp will serve as a training center for stream sediment surveying, timber sale monitoring, non-violent workshops, climbing courses, navigation and wilderness skills, and the history and future of forest defense in Idaho.
Seeds of Peace will provide a communal kitchen for all passionate souls committed to forest defense/support.

For more information and directions, please contact:
The Cove/Mallard Coalition
POB 8968, Moscow Idaho 83843
tel: (208) 882-9755
email: cove@moscow.com
(directions to the Big Wild at Cove/Mallard can be found here)

The Native Forest Network
POB 8251, Missoula, Montana 57807
tel: (406) 542-7343
email: nfn@wildrockies.org

The Northern Rockies Preservation Project
POB 625, Boise, Idaho 83701
tel: (208) 345-8077
email: nrpp@lesbois.com