Four Western states could see big chunks of new
wilderness — roughly three-quarters of a million acres –
thanks to a flurry of wilderness legislation. Three bills are now
wending their way through Congress, and a fourth, designating the
Washington State Wild Sky Wilderness, awaits President Bush’s
expected signature.
Many Northwesterners are
enthusiastic: Idaho may get its first new wilderness in nearly 30
years, and this would be Washington state’s first new
wilderness area in two decades. Oregon’s effort, while small
in acreage, has broad support. The Utah proposal, however, has
drawn some opposition from environmental groups.
Sen.
Patty Murray, D-Wash., primary sponsor of the Wild Sky Wilderness
Bill, has guided it through the legislative process four times over
the past nine years. The bill finally passed as part of a
less-controversial package of public lands bills. Wild Sky
designates 106,000 acres in the Cascade Mountains near Seattle as
wilderness and calls for a plan to develop hiking trails. The bill
bans motorized vehicles, but in the spirit of compromise, the
boundary was drawn to ensure that 4,000 acres just outside the
wilderness area can still be used by off-road vehicle enthusiasts.
In western Oregon, a bill just passed by the House would
encompass about 13,700 acres of new coastal wilderness and
designate 11 miles of the Elk River as wild and scenic. The Elk
River shelters runs of salmon, steelhead and trout.
The
Owyhee Public Land Management Act of 2008 would designate 517,000
acres as wilderness and 315 miles of rivers as wild and scenic in
southwestern Idaho. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is sponsoring the
bill, which made it smoothly through its first major Senate
committee hearing last week.
The bill grew out of an
effort launched seven years ago by the Owyhee County Commissioners
to resolve public-lands issues, says Craig Gehrke, Idaho
representative for The Wilderness Society. President Clinton spoke
of the need for an Owyhee National Monument, but did not include it
in his final monument designations. Protection for the Owyhee
seemed inevitable, Gehrke says, so the county commissioners
figured, “Why not do it ourselves?”
The
Owyhee County commissioners collaborated with environmental,
conservation, ranching and outdoor recreation groups, including the
Idaho Conservation Society, the Sierra Club, The Nature
Conservancy, the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association and the
Owyhee Cattlemen’s Association. The effort involved a lot of
compromise, says John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League, but
as a result, “There are more people happy here than
unhappy.” One of the bill’s provisions releases nearly
200,000 acres of wilderness study areas back to multiple-use
management, which pleases off-road enthusiasts and other outdoor
recreationists. Ranchers also get something from the bill. They can
sell or trade inholdings within proposed wilderness areas for
public lands closer to their home cattle operations or other
private lands.
But in Utah, the Washington County Growth
and Conservation Act hasn’t enjoyed the same level of
support. Last week, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, one of the
bill’s sponsors, introduced the latest version of the bill
(it died in committee in 2006). The revised bill is backed by some
environmental and conservation groups, but not all. It would
designate about 264,000 acres of wilderness – 124,000 in Zion
National Park and 140,000 in other areas, along with 166 miles of
wild and scenic rivers. Other changes from the 2006 version include
the removal of utility-corridor designations, including the Lake
Powell pipeline, and the development of a comprehensive travel
plan, including the High Desert OHV Trail, a nod to off-roaders.
“We’re not happy about the bill,” says
Scott Groene, executive director of the Southern Utah Wilderness
Alliance. “There are positive things in here for the park
(Zion), but as it stands, it would not benefit wilderness.”
Groene is worried about the increased ORV trails included in the
bill’s transportation plan. He’s also concerned about
how the money from public-land sales would be divvied up under the
bill.
The bill limits BLM land sales to just over 9,000
acres. Money from those sales would be divided as follows: 5
percent to schools, 10 percent to Washington County, and 85 percent
to local conservation efforts. Groene fears that the money might
end up in the hands of private entities, like land developers. But
Dave Livermore, Utah state director of The Nature Conservancy,
which supports the bill, says that the funds from land sales are
earmarked for conservation efforts and will stay local.
The Senate is considering its own version of Oregon’s Copper
Salmon wilderness proposal. The Owyhee bill could pass later this
year, given the warm reception in its first hearing, its bipartisan
support, and a Democratic Congress. The Washington County bill
awaits its first hearing.
The author is an
intern for High Country News.
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