In our democracy, the marketplace of ideas is open to all. Any idea I advocate to my fellow citizens, you can disagree with. We can debate our views at a public meeting or in letters to the newspaper. This exchange helps hone the issues. As others join in, their views enrich the mix of ideas, maybe helping us find common ground.In the ideal of our American democracy, good public policy comes about as elected officials consider and respond to ideas shaped and sharpened by healthy public discussion.I have such an idea. I am grateful that we are blessed with so much public land in this state, including national forests and national grasslands that produce valuable resources such as timber, livestock forage and useful minerals. But we also have another important natural resource on some areas of our public lands — wide-open spaces. Places to find silence in the natural world. Scenic places that are as close as we can get to earlier South Dakota landscapes known by Natives and later encountered by Europeans.To me, these wild remnants of our frontier landscape are extremely precious. Though only a tiny fraction of all the public lands we share, these special areas offer refuge for many of us who want quiet places for outdoor recreation, such as high quality hunting away from the motors and machines that fill our everyday lives.Wild places offer sanctuary for the human spirit. Just as we protect artifacts of our history in museums, we need to protect natural remnants of wilderness from degradation by overuse — living museums of the landscape that shaped South Dakota’s culture. It’s only fair that we protect samples of the natural resource of wilderness for those who value the quiet outdoor experience. I want our representatives in Congress to grant a small portion of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands the protection provided by the 1964 Wilderness Act.Some South Dakotans disagree. That’s fine; in fact, I respect wilderness opponents who participate in reasonable, courteous public discussion of the future status for these lands.But if we disagree, is it too much to ask that we stick to the facts? It’s troubling that some who oppose any wilderness use only tired, stubborn clichés and tales about the evils of “big government,” without even correctly understanding what wilderness means. Some seem to think we shouldn’t even have public lands, or should just throw every acre wide open to every possible use, shutting out those of us who simply want quiet places to enjoy outdoor adventuring.Let’s try to remember a few simple facts.Fact No. 1: We’re only talking about designating wilderness on a small part of our public lands — some 71,000 acres comprising 2.5 percent of federal land in South Dakota.Fact No. 2: Major portions of the proposed wilderness were already recommended by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bush administration after many positive comments from the public.Fact No. 3: Local ranchers who now graze livestock on these lands will continue that use as it is explicitly, legally protected under the Wilderness Act.Fact No. 4: Control of fires, insects, disease and invasive species is allowed in wilderness.Fact No. 5: Protecting these areas as wilderness will ensure them for the many who value quiet forms of outdoor recreation, including quality hunting experiences.More than 40 years ago, our government enacted the historic Wilderness Act, a bipartisan measure sponsored in Congress by South Dakota Republican Sen. Karl Mundt and Democratic Sen. George McGovern. They intentionally sought a form of land protection stronger than any simple, temporary administrative order, and more democratically arrived at.The point of the Wilderness Act is to protect the wild qualities of some parts of our public lands by law. Deciding which lands will be lastingly protected as wilderness is not up to agency officials, but the people we elect to represent us in Congress. The decision will ultimately be made by our own South Dakota senators and representative.The truth is, every one of us is part of our “big government” simply because we are citizens in this great democracy. I’ve been part of that government, doing my best as a state trooper to keep you safe on our highways. I’m a native South Dakotan, a landowner who welcomes hunters on my land, an avid hunter myself, and a fisherman, mountain biker and hiker. I treasure our public lands for giving me places to pursue these activities.I want some of the special places on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland kept the way they are, and wilderness designation will ensure that.
