Wilderness News

Although the conservation challenges facing others across Montana vary, the fact remains that grassroots efforts have sprung up where folks have chosen to set aside their differences and work together. They say all politics is local and that's certainly the level where the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act originated. The compromises and agreements forged by the many folks involved were done so in an open fashion, through years of hard work, lengthy debate, and input from many different types of people.

The economy is still slumping. Elections are coming. It's time to talk about jobs.

That is the impetus for House Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to host a hearing Thursday to discuss how public lands can be used to create jobs in rural communities.

It has been five years since the debate about wilderness in Doña Ana County began in earnest. These discussions have taken many twists and turns over the years but, thankfully, have resulted in the development of a sound and widely-supported proposal for protecting sensitive wildands in our community. As a wilderness supporter, I have been proud to participate in a diverse coalition of organizations and citizens who have fought for the central vision of protecting the Organ Mountains and nearby public lands.

My 10th-grade biology teacher at Central High School in Memphis opened up a magical world to me decades ago -- encouraging our class to get out and experience nature. The field trips we took gave me my first real introduction to nature.

So does U.S. Sen. Jim Risch still support his colleague Rep. Mike Simpson's Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act bill?

Risch remains a co-sponsor of the legislation that would preserve 332,775 acres as wilderness in Custer and Blaine counties, but the Idaho Statesman reported this week that the first-term Idaho Republican has backed off his support for CIEDRA.

That support is critical if Simpson's epic 10-year-long effort at a central Idaho wilderness compromise is to become law.

Supporters of designating 342,000 acres as federal wilderness in western Colorado are urging Rep. Jared Polis to introduce a bill to start the process.

Proponents say more than 3,000 voters and residents have signed a letter of support for the Hidden Gems Wilderness proposal in Eagle and Summit counties. The proposal includes public land in Pitkin and Gunnison counties, too.

Supporters of designating 342,000 acres as federal wilderness in western Colorado are urging Rep. Jared Polis to introduce a bill to start the process.

Proponents say more than 3,000 voters and residents have signed a letter of support for the Hidden Gems Wilderness proposal in Eagle and Summit counties. The proposal includes public land in Pitkin and Gunnison counties, too.

Businesses, including the Aspen Skiing Co., have endorsed the Hidden Gems plan. The Eagle County commissioners and the town of Breckenridge are among the local governments supporting it.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, will propose additional language to the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act currently being reviewed in the U.S. Senate.

The language, according to a letter drafted by the congressman on July 2, would preserve the state of Idaho's right to land helicopters and use motorized vehicles in the bill's three proposed wilderness areas, so long as the purpose is to manage wildlife.

Aldo Leopold once wrote, "Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

A bill that would create the nation's first national grasslands wilderness in southwestern South Dakota may hinge on the support of a handful of ranchers who are concerned with how such a designation would impact their rights to graze on public lands.

Sen. Tim Johnson's (D-S.D.) proposal to give 48,000 acres of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland the highest level of federal protections enjoys strong support from the Forest Service, American Indian tribes, and hunting and environmental groups who recreate in the area's sweeping prairie landscapes and rugged buttes.