Wilderness News

On June 18, Rep. Steve Pearce introduced Bill HR-6300 in Congress. The bill will eliminate wilderness protection throughout Doña Ana County, including protection of the Organ Mountains. It also will open up for sale tens of thousands of acres of public land in Doña Ana County and will thwart the processes in place for public land disposal by creating a hand-picked special interest committee.

The U.S. Senate is expected to take up legislation sometime in July to protect more than 517,000 acres of the Owyhee Canyonlands as wilderness.

The bill was bundled with 90 other land-use proposals into one bill. Such a move makes it more difficult for an individual senator to object to the package, since so many people have an interest in separate pieces of the legislation.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has worked for six years to hold together the coalition of ranchers and environmentalists who back his Owyhees bill.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) introduced an omnibus public lands package yesterday that he hopes will allow the Senate to approve more than 90 wilderness, national forest, National Park Service and water bills with one vote.

The 759-page measure (S. 3213) includes eight wilderness measures, 17 new heritage areas, 25 different National Park Service proposals and 12 water bills, all of which the committee has favorably reported.

‘Tis the perfect summer for camping. The Great American Backyard Campout, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, is coming up Saturday night.

Last year more than 42,000 people participated in this low-key introduction to camping. Recipes, packing lists, nighttime wildlife guides and more are available at www.backyardcampout.org.

Another fun event is Kid's Kamp, featuring hikes, science demonstrations, and an overnight at the Placerita Nature Center. This event is held in August. To reserve a spot, call Frank Hoffman at Placerita.

A group of San Joaquin County and foothill residents are trying to preserve land for animal habitat, and that includes possibly acquiring 4.5 acres they would like to see added to the Woodbridge Wilderness Area.

"This is thing we need to do, and we need to do it now," said Stockton resident Jane Humes, a member of the seven-member board of directors for the group, called the Waldo Holt Conservancy.

A House committee passed a land-swap bill Wednesday that aims to provide federal protection to Utah's nationally recognized wilderness while giving the state potentially valuable mineral lands.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is backed by a wide range of environmental and business groups - not to mention every member of Utah's federal delegation.

"It is a plus for everyone around," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, a cosponsor of the land swap.

Deputy Chief of Staff for Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Bob Haueter, has been working with the Congressman for several years regarding the issues surrounding the Hoover Wilderness and the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act. Haueter talked with the Mammoth Times with the intention of squelching some of the rumors and put at ease some of the concerns people have regarding water rights, trails access and boundary lines.

MT: What do you see as the major concerns of the citizens of Inyo and Mono counties?

The State Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water passed a bill authored by Assembly member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) that directs the state to assess the suitability of specific state roadless lands in Northern California for wilderness designation.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2923 passed 5-3 and awaits further review in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

"The Legislature hasn´t designated new wilderness in decades," said Evans. "We are long overdue to do our part to protect wildlife, watersheds, and wild lands for future generations to enjoy."

Two months after Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, introduced a revised version of the Washington County Growth & Conservation Act to a Senate committee, a local citizens group wants to tweak the legislation.

"It is our position that the 2008 bill satisfies citizen priorities in some cases but not others," wrote Paul Van Dam, executive director of Citizens for Dixie's Future, in a letter addressed to Bennett and the bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah.

For many years, Congress took the comparatively easy way out in preserving wild, natural areas of our country. It did so by designating tens of millions of acres of land in the West for protection. That was comparatively easy because nearly all of the land involved already belonged to the federal government.

Meanwhile, not much was done in the East. A growing population in this region had to make do with a relatively stagnant list of wild places kept that way through government protection.