Posted on 03/11/2009 11:15:35 AM PDT by jazusamo
WASHINGTON -- A popular but star-crossed public lands bill that would have extended additional protections to 200,000 acres in Oregon and millions more nationwide was defeated in the House Wednesday by a mere two votes.
The measure earned a lopsided 282-144 vote but failed nonetheless because it did meet the required two-thirds majority. Under House rules, the bill needed 284 affirmative votes to pass based on the total number of lawmakers voting.
The defeat was a bitter setback to supporters who labored for years and felt confident of victory after the Senate passed the bill in January. In the past, it was the Senate that stopped the legislation. All five House members from Oregon voted for the bill.
Majority Democrats even agreed to amend the bill to clarify that it wouldn't impose new restrictions on hunting, fishing or trapping on federal land. The amendment was sought by the National Rifle Association.
By allowing the change Democrats underscored the importance of a bill that many called the most significant public lands measure in a generation.
The sprawling legislation was actually 164 separate bills bundled together, designating more than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states. It would have created three national parks, more than 1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers --including about 90 miles in Oregon --and three national conservation areas.
It also would have enlarged the size of a dozen national parks and addresses water supply problems in California.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
Oregon ping?
Waiting to re-start the government land sales.
The 9 hikers and single canoeist are private citizens. Don't forget the legions of USDA Forest Service and BLM employees to whom we pay wages and purchase vehicles so they can determine which is the next million acres to make off limits to the next 9 hikers and single canoeist.
Good one but the one I saw all Gov. land was green and private land was light orange color. It showed the actual property not just percentages. Thank for the come back. Aloha
Got this earlier from Gun Owners of America:
“— Compromise on massive land bill does not protect Second Amendment rights
Remember the massive land bill, S. 22, that passed out of the Senate last month?
It was expected to pass quickly in the House, but your opposition to an expansion of gun control contained in the bill forced it to be pulled from the floor.
GOA has just learned that after some backroom deals, the bill is headed to the floor WEDNESDAY MORNING, without any amendments to truly protect your Second Amendment rights on National Park Service (NPS) land.
You have fought the battle over the NPS gun ban for a long time.
Unlike U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, which allow for state and local law to govern firearms possession, NPS land is subject to a complete gun ban for any citizen who does not hold a concealed carry permit.
The bill coming to the floor March 11 greatly expands NPS land, thus spreading the agency’s anti-gun regulations into more areas.
S. 22 is actually a compilation of over 190 bills, many of which were never even debated on their own merits.
Here are just a few examples of land expansions in the bill:
* Section 5204 of the bill establishes the Washington-Rochambeau Route as a Historic Trail. This dual trail begins in Rhode Island and travels 650 miles to Yorktown, Virginia. The trail includes parts of major thoroughfares on the east coast such as Interstate 95 and US Route 1,
meaning the gun ban could effect hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting gun owners each day.
* Section 5301 authorizes the federal government to buy private land adjacent to national parks and trails. Such land would be controlled by the NPS, and thus be subject to the agency’s anti-gun regulations.
* Section 7002 makes the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton a National Historic Site. Perhaps it’s fitting that the legacy of former President Clinton, who was responsible for so many anti-Second Amendment laws, will include yet another “gun free” zone.
In all, the bill designates over 2 million acres of wilderness, establishes three new national parks, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, and four new national trails.
In an effort to persuade pro-gun Congressmen to vote for the bill, the leadership apparently agreed to one backroom change — an amendment to protect hunting and recreational shooting.
The compromise measure misses the point. The founding fathers did not, in their struggle to secure essential freedoms, craft the Second Amendment with the idea that it would protect hunting and recreational shooting.
It is seemingly simple to understand, yet we have to continually remind the Congress that the Second Amendment is not about hunting!”
Very good piece, thanks for posting.
Great point, and I sometimes wonder if that's not the real motivation behind these land grabs. It seems every time they add more park/wilderness land, they shut down remote but important access roads.
How ironic that the lefty mountain bikers are upset about this bill too. Apparently they would have lost access to many roads and paths as well.
Great news that it failed. (For now...)
Thanks for the ping.
Yes, they are trying to sew up a huge chunk here in NM on the Mexican border, and no motorized vehicles will be allowed in there to track down illegals.
Nothing that is not nailed down is safe from this Kleptocracy that is running or ruining this country since Regan.
WOW.
Again, I am speechless, I thought this would pass easily, although I disagree with locking up more federal land from public use (make no mistake that is the bottom line).
Of course, these lands hold vast deposits of oil and minerals, so it is imperitive these be shut out from exploration.
Sometimes (gulp, sticking my neck out) I wonder if we aren’t fighting a war much greater here on the homefront than the ones in the middle east.
Like everything else, a lot of well meaning people support crap (like wilderness protection) and have no idea what they are supporting.
I won a National Wildlife Federation Award back in the 1990s for reporting on wildlife management issues, and used to be a member of the organization. You couldn’t FORCE me now to join them or support their agenda (I still get news releases from them and am sickened by them now).
It’s great to hear some good news for a change, thanks for this ping jaz.
I thought it was in the bag for the enviros too, this really surprised me.
This was such a monstrosity that the full impact wouldn’t have been known for several years and I’m pretty sure little of it would be good.
What slays me is these lands are already under FS and BLM management so people using the lands for various reasons are still governed by rules and can’t just go out and do whatever they feel like.
That’s not good enough for the enviros and anti-everything people, they want a Park employee looking down the neck of anyone using the lands and they also want it closed for any commercial (oil, gas, timber, mining, etc.) use.
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