City of Sultan

SULTAN, WASHINGTON

RESOLUTION 05-06

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE WILD SKY LEGISLATION

The citizens of Sultan and the surrounding area have experienced an ever increasing allotment of legislation, bureaucratic policies, and court decrees that restrict land use and access under the guise of preservation.  To “preserve”, although noble in concept, in and of itself, does not increase the economic and recreational opportunities of the citizenry.

All wealth has its beginnings from the ground.  Policies concerning the use of Public and Private land that contribute nothing to the wealth or safety of the people should not be the focus of our lawmakers, and,

WHEREAS The City of Sultan is located approximately ten (10) miles west of the proposed Wild Sky Wilderness Area, on SR 2, the only access to this area; and

WHEREAS The National Wilderness Preservation System contains over 600 wilderness areas, covering more than 105 million acres, and are in aggregate larger than the State of California, and

WHEREAS these wilderness lands represent one seventh (1/7) of all lands managed by the Federal Government, and which are nearly half of the lands contained in our National Parks System; and

WHEREAS this proposal would reduce the National Forest Area I our Country used for general multi use, recreational, to less than thirty five percent (35%) of land currently available to our citizens; and

WHEREAS the 1964 Wilderness Act defines the management of these areas as “where only the forces of nature are allowed to work” as, for example, fire and flood; and

WHEREAS these areas will not remain recreational in the traditional sense, in that observation of nature will be the only use.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Sultan is opposed to the Wild Sky Wilderness Proposal or any proposal that would further restrict or deny the recreational and economic opportunities or access to the citizens of our community

PASSED AND ADOPTED this _______ day of _____________, 2005

                                                                                    Benjamin R. Tolson, Mayor

ATTEST:

Laura J. Koenig, City Clerk/Treasurer