As urban sprawl pushes developments farther into untouched areas of Wisconsin, environmentalists advocate designating areas of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as a federally protected national wilderness.
The project got a boost last week with endorsements from Gov. Jim Doyle and former governor and Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson. But the process has been ongoing for several years, according to Jim Nepstad, chief of planning and resource management for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The public review portion of the project lasts until Oct. 17. Citizens can download the environmental impact statement at http://www.nps.gov/apis/wstudy.htm and register their input there.
Designating the park as national wilderness under the 1964 Wilderness Act would prevent future development on the land and limit amenities to hiking trails and outhouses, Nepstad said. The park has been managed as if it were national wilderness for 14 years, and visitors have said they want that to continue, according to Nepstad.
\They like to either look at the islands from their boat and see a completely undeveloped shoreline land or hike off into the woods and not be bothered by lots of park service buildings all over the place,"" he said.
National wilderness designations must be approved by a congressional bill and signed by the president. Since President Bush has supported oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, some are not optimistic for the Apostle Islands' chances.
But UW-Madison environmental history Professor William Cronon said the area's current park status gives it extra protection.
""Designating a wilderness in a national park is not as big a deal from the point of view of someone who cares about development ... as designating a wild or national forest or bureau of land management which could be developed for oil or timber or what have you,"" Cronon said.
Wildlife ecology Professor Stanley Temple conducted research on birds in the Apostle Islands during the late '70s and early '80s. Since that time, he has noticed more people coming from the Twin Cities and other areas to vacation on the Islands.
The extra traffic taxes the wildlife in the area, Temple said.
""There's a tremendous increase that's going to continue I'm sure, so there will be more and more pressure placed on the area,"" he said.
While some want to keep the islands absolutely pristine, they have not always been untouched, Cronon said. They were completely logged over in the late 19 and early 20 centuries and populated at various rates through the decades.
""We need to be careful that as we designate the Apostles as wild, which I'm certainly in favor of doing, that we also don't foster an illusion that there is no human history in those islands,"" he said.
