Laura Paskus’ article on the Ojito Wilderness
mentions the proposal for the Boulder-White Clouds in Idaho, an
omnibus lands bill that includes some wilderness designation (HCN,
11/28/05: The little wilderness that could). Paskus states that
this legislation has “bipartisan support,” when in fact its only
sponsors are Mike Simpson of Idaho and Jim Saxton of New Jersey,
both Republicans, and there is a huge amount of controversy over
the bill.
At a House hearing for the legislation in late
October, the Resources Committee’s ranking Democrat, Nick
Rahall, spoke passionately in favor of wilderness and against the
Boulder-White Clouds bill. Also testifying against the bill were
wilderness activist Carole King, the BLM, the Forest Service, a
cattleman’s spokesperson, and an ORV promoter. Simpson and
Idaho Conservation League (ICL) director Rick Johnson were the only
witnesses speaking in favor of the bill.
Finally, 37
conservation groups, including 13 in Idaho, have gone on the record
against the Simpson bill because of its numerous unacceptable
provisions — including land giveaways, erosion of protections
in the Sawtooth NRA, and the establishment of a huge ORV-dedicated
management area. Only three groups — ICL, The Wilderness
Society, and Pew’s Campaign for America’s Wilderness
— are supporting the legislation.
The Boulder-White
Clouds proposal not only lacks “bipartisan support,” it is the
center of an intense discussion among conservationists about the
future of wilderness and public lands.
Janine
Blaeloch, Director
Western Lands
Project
Seattle, Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline No bipartisan support for Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness.
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