Guiding hunting expeditions and rafting trips is a
risky business, but some commercial outfitters think that some
challenges shouldn’t be part of the job: They say the changing
policies of federal agencies make it difficult to get guiding
permits. They’re hoping a new bill, sponsored by Sens. Larry Craig,
R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will be the answer to their
problems. Some environmental groups, however, say the bill gives
commercial interests too much power over public
lands.
Outfitters now obtain special-use permits
to operate on federal lands, which can be revoked by the agencies
if rules are not followed. The Outfitter Policy Act (S. 1489) would
turn these permits into contracts that could be held for 10 years,
transferred to third parties and renewed indefinitely if minimum
standards are met.
“There needs to be some sort
of reasonable, consistent regulation that will allow companies to
provide these services and plan for the future,” says David Brown
of America Outdoors, a national organization of outfitters. The
bill is supported by many other outfitting groups, including
Outward Bound.
“The bill guarantees a place for
outfitters on public lands,” says Michael Frandsen, a spokesman for
Sen. Craig’s office. “Previously, that place was dependent on the
good graces of land management agencies.”
But a
boatload of wilderness and private recreation groups are fighting
the bill, arguing that agencies should be protecting the
environment instead of private enterprise.
“This
is part of a larger effort toward industrial-strength recreation,”
says Scott Silver of the Eugene, Ore.-based Wild Wilderness. “This
bill takes the privilege of special-use permits and turns it into a
private property right.”
The bill has been
introduced into the Senate, and is now being rewritten to address
the concerns of its many critics. But, says Silver, “I don’t think
they’re going to be coming up with any legislation that will make
us want to support it. There’s no benefit to wilderness or the
environment here. The only benefits are to private outfitters.”
The text of S. 1489 can be found on the Library
of Congress Web page at http://thomas.loc.gov, or by writing the
Senate Document Room, Hart Office Building Room B04, Washington, DC
20510. – Michelle Nijhuis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Outfitter bill may be missing the boat.
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