Ogden Sierra Club: Conservation Issues

In furthering the purposes of the Sierra Club within the Ogden area, the Ogden Group is a local voice of environmental advocacy. Our work falls under the following categories:

ATV abuse in Willard Basin.

Public lands management

Much of the land near Ogden lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, while other public lands are managed by the State of Utah or its counties and municipalities. The Ogden Group Sierra Club works with public officials to preserve the natural character of these lands, protect the native flora and fauna, and promote nonmotorized, minimal-impact recreation.

• Our Adopt a Roadless Area program gives volunteers a chance to help protect our local National Forest lands.
• The proposed Shoshone motorized trail system is a serious threat to the ecology of northern Utah.
• The Middle Fork Wildlife Management Area is threatened by proposed developments on adjacent private land including Powder Mountain.
• The Wasatch-Cache National Forest is currently revising its management plan. Here are the comments that we submitted on the draft plan, and our accompanying map of recommended wilderness areas.
• Snow Basin and the Olympic Lie is an illustrated article on the Snowbasin land exchange and related developments.
• Nordic Valley expansion plans (scary!).
• Wheeler Creek trail proposal Environmental Assessment, our response, and the final outcome.
• Our press release on frivolous highway right-of-way claims in Weber County. (We've recently been told that the County is dropping the vast majority of these claims, though it is still pursuing several of them.)
• Other good organizations:
  Save Our Canyons has worked closely with us on the Snow Basin issue;
  Ski Area Citizens Coalition gives environmental ratings to ski areas;
  Utah Rivers Council works to protect Utah's rivers;
  Bear River Watershed Council focuses on the important lands northeast of Ogden;
  Friends of Great Salt Lake helps us all realize what a treasure we have to our west.

Ogden's historic 25th Street.

Improving our urban environment

Current patterns of sprawl development along the Wasatch Front are threatening our air, water, and overall quality of life. Rather than designing our communities around the single-occupant motor vehicle, the Ogden Sierra Club is an advocate of compact, pedestrian-friendly communities with sidewalks, bike paths, and regional rail transit.

• Utah Transit Authority operates our region's bus and light rail systems.
• Utahns for Better Transportation (UBeT) is our strong ally in promoting "Transit First".
• Envision Utah is a public/private partnership that has done much to educate Utahns about the benefits of smart growth.
• The Legacy Highway is the biggest immediate threat to Utah's urban environment. After years of work in opposition to this project, the Sierra Club and UBeT filed a lawsuit in January 2001. In September 2002, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals stopped construction indefinitely, finding that the construction permits were in violation of federal environmental laws. For further information, see:
  • The injunction order issued in November 2001 by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Utahns for Better Transportation (UBeT) web site
  • The Utah Sierra Club's Stop the Legacy Highway web site
  • The EPA's comments on the Legacy Draft EIS and Final EIS
  • The Ogden Group's comments on the Legacy Final EIS
  • An opinion column and letter to the editor that we sent to the Standard-Examiner
• Here's an editorial from the Standard-Examiner full of lies about the Sierra Club, provoked by our announcement of a probable lawsuit over the Legacy Highway. At least it's better than being ignored! (A few weeks later, Jim Wright disagreed with his bosses in this very nice column about us.)
• 1000 Friends of Oregon has set an example for us by promoting better development patterns in the Portland area.
• The Orion Society's web site features some excellent, provocative essays on our urban environment. "We are never going to save the rural places or the agricultural places or the wild and scenic places (or the wild species that dwell there) unless we identify the human habitat and then strive to make it so good that humans will voluntarily inhabit it."
• Here's a good speech by Al Gore on sprawl.

Promoting sustainable living

• Please visit the Grassroots campaign for wind power site and sign up for clean, wind-generated electricity.
• Ogden City recently launched a new curbside recycling program as well as an option of a smaller trash barrel (at a lower cost). We encourage all residents to reduce consumption, reuse what you can, and recycle the rest.
• The Airhead emissions calculator helps you estimate your personal contribution to air pollution and greenhouse gases.
• For good consumer information on energy efficiency, see EPA fuel economy ratings for cars, the Sierra Club MPG calculator, Energy-star products for the home, and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
• Conserve water! Plant drought-tolerant and native plants in your yard. For more information, visit the following web sites: Red Butte Garden; the Utah Native Plant Society; Willard Bay Gardens (a local retail nursery); Wildland Nursery (carries many native trees and shrubs); High Country Gardens (a mail-order supplier).
• Want to save electricity during the summer? One of the best ways is to use your air conditioner less.
• The national Sierra Club has just posted some excellent web pages on sustainable consumption.
• The Rocky Mountain Institute is a Colorado think tank with a vision of a more sustainable future.

Last modified on 26 November 2002.