Aerial tours of Shoshone National Forest wilderness areas hosted in Dubois, Wyoming

(Dubois, Wyo.) – The Wyoming Wilderness Association and EcoFlight worked in partnership on Tuesday to host two flights out of Dubois Municipal Airport that afforded area residents and media representatives aerial views of three areas under consideration as “Wilderness” areas in the Shoshone National Forest Draft Management Plan.

 In attendance on the first flight were Bruce Gordon (Ecoflight pilot and President), Kim Wilbert (owner Sweetwater Garden in Riverton-longtime hunter/backcountry user of Shoshone, particularly the East Fork area), Clay Fulcher (co-owner Wind River Gear, Dubois-longtime backcountry user of Shoshone), Vic  Augustine (Dubois Frontier), June Bonasera (County 10) and Sara Domek (Shoshone Wild Lands Director, Wyoming Wilderness Association).

The flight included aerial tours over three wilderness areas in the Shoshone National Forest including the DuNoir Valley, the East Fork country, and Wood River/Franc’s Peak area. The areas viewed are subjects of the current Shoshone National Forest Plan Revision. Information on public comment regarding letters of support for conservation, development, motorized use and access, and oil and gas leasing and development within wilderness areas was distributed to those on the flight.

EcoFlight was founded in 2002 to provide aerial perspective to conservation work. Their mission is to empower citizens to learn more about the issues that affect their lives and to speak out and participate in the decision making surrounding these issues. EcoFlight flies conservation groups, policy makers, media representatives, concerned citizens and young adults over the Western landscape, so they can see for themselves the impact of man on the natural world, and inspire proactive behavior to protect those landscapes.

The Wyoming Wilderness Association works to protect Wyoming’s public wild lands.
For a link to comments from a May 2013 Shoshone National Forest Cooperator’s meeting regarding the topic and areas flown over, please click here.

Story and Photos:   http://county10.com