Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 04/21/2007 10:34:50 AM PDT by rwh
WASHINGTON - Two East Coast lawmakers introduced a bill Friday with 73 co-sponsors that would designate as wilderness 23 million public acres in five Northern Rocky Mountain states, including Montana and Wyoming.
Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., wrote the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. It would give the government's strongest protections to areas of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. They announced the measure along with songstress Carole King.
Three co-sponsors are from Washington and three from Oregon. Both Montana and Wyoming's representatives condemned the bill and vowed to fight it.
Similar measures have been introduced in several previous Congresses. But this time, the chairmen of the House Natural Resources Committee and the relevant subcommittee have both signed on as sponsors of the bill.
A panel spokeswoman said the committee is reviewing the legislation now and may hold hearings on it, although there are no immediate plans for one.
The bill would designate as wilderness all 20 million acres of inventoried roadless lands in the states and another 3 million acres in Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. It includes 7 million acres in Montana and 5 million in Wyoming.
A wilderness designation generally prohibits timber harvesting and permanent roads, structures and facilities. Hunting, fishing and other recreational activities generally are allowed.
Maloney and Shays said the bill would protect some of the country's most beautiful and ecologically important lands. They said it would save taxpayers $245 million over 10 years by managing the land as wilderness and eliminating "subsidized development" there. They said more than 2,300 jobs would be created through the bill's program to rip out old logging roads and restore the areas to their natural state.
"(The act) has always been ahead of its time by drawing wilderness boundaries according to science, not politics," Maloney said in a statement. "(The act) would also help mitigate the effects of global warming by protecting the corridors through which vulnerable wildlife can migrate to cooler areas."
Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said all legislation on public lands must take into consideration the opinions of local communities and people who depend on the resources for both work and recreation.
"I oppose this legislation because it's a top-down approach that doesn't properly take into account the impacts on the local economy nor does it adequately protect access for hunting, fishing and other forms of recreation," Rehberg said in a statement. "I'll continue to work to implement responsible policies to protect Montana's natural resources."
Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., called the bill a "147-page assault on our Western way of life" and said local input and control would be slipping away.
"This is an absolutely offensive attempt by East Coast liberals to create sweeping, over-reaching laws for Western public lands without any public input from the folks living in Wyoming who would be heavily impacted by this legislation," Cubin said in a statement. "I have always supported a carefully balanced multiple-use policy when it comes to public lands, and this bill would essentially do away with that type of sensible evaluation."
Cubin said the wilderness designation on Wyoming public lands could lead to "tremendously negative impacts" on local economies.
"Legislation this bad does not warrant committee attention, but if that happens, Wyoming citizens need to know that I will be fighting this bill tooth and nail," she said.
In the Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, the core of which is Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the bill would place about 2.2 million acres under wilderness designation.
In the greater Yellowstone region, about 6.5 million acres would be designated wilderness.
About 2.7 million acres of mountain ranges separated by prairies, including the Bighorn, Big Snowy, Pryor, Elkhorn, and Caribou mountains, would become wilderness.
About 129,000 acres within the Lewis and Clark National Forest and known as the Badger-Two Medicine Area would be designated the Blackfeet Wilderness.
About 6.2 million acres in the Greater Salmon/Selway region, about 1.1 million acres in the Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem, and about 525,000 acres in the Greater Hells Canyon ecosystem would become wilderness.
And about 8.5 million acres would be designated as biological connecting corridors in the Bitterroot, Sapphire, Lost River, Lemhi, and Bridger mountain ranges.
Another 1 million acres would be wildland recovery areas, meaning work would be done to return the areas to their natural state after development activities.
Hundreds of miles of rivers and creeks in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho would receive the designation of wild and scenic rivers.
Nuts....
It would be interesting if they could actually increase wilderness areas by passing a piece of ordinance. Like stopping Global Warming through Carbon Credits.
Congress is a joke.
Why not have a wilderness area in the Catskills...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They need to designate Washington D.C. a wilderness area.
I don’t understand what this “wilderness designation” really means. Can someone explain it please? I did a google search but couldn’t really find a good description of exactly what it is.
Sure they can. I live in the Adirondack Park and the state is considering the purchase of even more lands. The Upstate economy is horrible.
"They said more than 2,300 temporary jobs would be created through the bill's program to rip out old logging roads and restore the areas to their natural state. (bold is my edit)
Other than that, humans will have to move out because no businesses will be allowed."
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a designated “Wilderness Area”.
The same rules apply. No roads or humans allowed.
“Wilderness” means the land is officially off-limits to logging, mining, road-building and just about any other development activities. The theory is that it preserves conditions found before the evil white man turned up.
In reality, as recent research shows, to duplicate those conditions we’d have to set a great many fires every year, as that is what the Indians did.
Hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, grazing, etc. are generally allowed, but with more restrictions and with no use of mechanical vehicles permitted.
One of the odder anomalies of wilderness designation is that horseback riding is allowed but mountain biking is usually not, despite the fact that by any definition horses have much greater impact on the environment than bicycles.
"(The act) has always been ahead of its time by drawing wilderness boundaries according to science, not politics,"
Yup. Sounds like an entirely scientific process. Just designate everything.
These east coast liberals need to watch their own back yard and keep their noses out of ours!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
But yet these globalist congresscreeps say nothing about Mexican Drug cartels growing thousands of acres of dope in our national forests and parks....many of them designated ‘wilderness’ areas where US citizens are not allowed and it is absolutely destroying the habitat.
Photos and article:
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2006/09/mexican-border-has-moved-800-miles.html
Maloney represents Manhattan's Upper East Side, probably the most affluent district in the US if not the entire world. You peons have to understand that limo libs from Manhattan need their pristine wilderness to visit without being bothered by the the sight of local gun-toting, domestic-beer drinking peasants.
Thank you.
Are there businesses or houses or any other devolepments (other than some roads) in these proposed areas right now? If so, would they be forced to leave?
They have the bit in their teeth and they are trying to control the world.
Hang ‘em High!!
By definition, wilderness areas are generally roadless and therefore have very few if any houses. In some cases existing homes are “cherry-stemmed” with the home and the road to it excluded from the designation.
In other cases there are private property enclaves within the wilderness area, but road access is closed. They still own the property, but can only access it by foot or horseback.
With the exception of (generally inactive) mining claims there are seldom any businesses in wilderness areas when designated.
Guiding businesses and grazers generally continue to operate.
It won't matter. Anyone who lives or has private property in these designated areas will be forced out. Got to keep those areas open for Mexican Drug Cartels and MS13 to grow their dope. Every time the politicians start this 'protected area' crappola they make it easier for the drug cartels. They are bothered less by growing dope in our parks and forests than if they are in Mexico. Local small town sheriffs don't have the resources to fight them. Homeland security says it isn't their problem.
Photos and article:
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2006/09/mexican-border-has-moved-800-miles.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.