The Wildlands Project [Slide Show] Page 12

The Conservation Alliance is a group of companies in the outdoor recreation business. They gave Heartwood a $35,000 grant last fall to work on a Wildlands Project for Ohio and West Virginia.

Heartwood

Northern Appalachia Restoration Project

Southern Appalachia Biodiversity Project

Virginians For Wilderness

Superior Wilderness Action Network

Greater Gila Biodiversity Project

Schools and children unwittingly support the Wildlands Project. Human-i-Tees, an environmental fundraising company claims to donate 20% of their pre-tax profits to environmental groups. Their Web site indicates they are giving to six Wildlands Project affiliates.

Evidence continues to surface that SAFC is still actively promoting the Wildlands Project. At the Fall 1996, conference of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere (SAMAB), SAFC presented a progress report on the Wildlands Project. It is safe to assume that their effort, with this kind of strong financial support will have an impact in public policy formation.

One can fairly ask, "Is this a good thing for our country, or our environment? Are we as a nation willing to go this far, or does a better, more equitable solution to our environmental problems exist? Is the Wildlands Project the answer?"

Conclusion
The Wildlands Project exist within legal boundaries, however that should not prevent us from being concerned. At the very least, it advocates an extreme manifestation of environmental and public policy. Therefore, any claim the Wildlands Project makes toward public policy must be debated, and ultimately decided, in the public arena. Yet to date it has existed almost anonymously; beyond the knowledge of the wider public. It must be examined out from behind the cover of more general environmental concerns, held up for public scrutiny, and either accepted or rejected by a public fully aware of its implications. Failing to do so could have dire consequences, for as John Adams once wrote, "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge by the people."