ben
12-23-10, 01:01 PM
DENVER — The Obama administration plans to undo a Bush-era policy that barred the recommendation of new wilderness areas, making millions of undeveloped acres of land once again eligible for federal wilderness protection, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday.
Salazar said his agency will repeal 2003's so-called "No More Wilderness" policy adopted under former Interior Secretary Gale Norton. That policy stated that new areas could not be recommended for wilderness protection by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It opened millions of acres in the Rocky Mountain region to potential commercial development.
Environmental activists have been calling on the Obama administration to restore protections for potential wilderness areas. Salazar announced Thursday that the agency will resume evaluating lands that could be designated as wilderness areas.
"Americans love the wild places where they hunt, fish, hike, and get away from it all, and they expect these lands to be protected wisely on their behalf," Salazar said in a statement.
The BLM has six months to submit a plan for new wilderness evaluations.
The 2003 policy was an out-of-court deal struck between Norton and then-Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to remove protections for some 2.6 million acres of public land in that state.
The policy allowed oil and gas drilling, mining and other commercial uses on land under consideration as wilderness areas.
Salazar's reversal means that the BLM will set up new criteria to decide which lands should get federal wilderness designation. It doesn't affect lands already designated as wilderness areas.
Congress will still make final determinations of which lands receive permanent wilderness protection. The Interior Department says the new wilderness rules won't lead to more areas being designated as wilderness areas.
AND
DENVER -- The Obama administration plans to reverse a Bush-era policy and make millions of undeveloped acres of land once again eligible for federal wilderness protection, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday.
The agency will replace the 2003 policy adopted under former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Salazar said. That policy - derided by some as the "No More Wilderness" policy - stated that new areas could not be recommended for wilderness protection by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and opened millions of acres in the Rocky Mountain region to potential commercial development.
That policy "frankly never should have happened and was wrong in the first place," Salazar said Thursday.
Environmental activists have been pushing for the Obama administration to restore protections for potential wilderness areas.
Salazar said the agency will review some 220 million acres of BLM land that's not currently under wilderness protection to see which should be given a new "Wild Lands" designation - a new step for land awaiting a wilderness decision. Congress would decide whether those lands should be designated permanent wilderness areas, Salazar said.
Congressional Republicans pounced on the "Wild Lands" announcement as an attempt by the Obama administration to close land to development without congressional approval.
"This backdoor approach is intended to circumvent both the people who will be directly affected and Congress. I have to question why this announcement is being made only after Congress adjourned for the year," said Washington Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican tapped to lead to the House Natural Resources Committee when the GOP takes control of the House in January.
BLM Director Bob Abbey said it hasn't been decided how many acres are expected be designated as "Wild Lands" and whether those acres will be off-limits to motorized recreation or commercial development while under congressional review. It's also unclear whether there will be a time limit on how long acres can be managed as "Wild Lands" before a decision is made on their future.
The BLM has six months to submit a plan for those new wilderness evaluations.
These "Wild Lands" would be separate from Wilderness Study Areas that must be authorized by Congress. Wild Lands can be designated by the BLM after a public planning process and would be managed with protective measures detailed in a land use plan.
Ranchers, oil men and others have been suspicious of federal plans to lock up land in the West, worrying that taking the BLM land out of production would kill rural economies that rely on ranchers and the eastern Montana oil and gas business.
Their suspicions have been heightened since memos leaked in February revealed the Obama administration was considering 14 sites in nine states for possible presidential monument declarations.
That included 2.5 million acres of northeastern Montana prairie land proposed as a possible bison range, along with sites in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
The 2003 policy was an out-of-court deal struck between Norton and then-Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to remove protections for some 2.6 million acres of public land in that state.
The policy allowed oil and gas drilling, mining and other commercial uses on land under consideration as wilderness areas.
Salazar's reversal doesn't affect about 8.7 million acres already designated as wilderness areas.
Environmental groups praised the reversal, though there has been grumbling that it took the Obama administration nearly two years to overturn the Bush-era policy.
"Washington D.C. always takes longer than you want, but we're glad we've gotten here," said Suzanne Jones, regional director for The Wilderness Society.
AND
WASHINGTON — Much to the criticism of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and to the praise of environmentalists, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday directed the Bureau of Land Management to begin inventorying public lands with "wilderness" characteristics.
A Secretarial Order issued by Salazar is intended to fill in the policy gaps he says were created with a 2003 out-of-court settlement between then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the state of Utah, as well as others. The settlement resulted in the revocation of the BLM's wilderness management guidance.
BLM director Bob Abbey said the new order fills an "open land management need," for the public and the agency.
"We are charting a new course for balanced land management, which allows the BLM to take into account all of the resources for which it is responsible through a transparent, public land use planning process," Abbey said.
But Hatch called the move "a brazen attempt to kowtow to radical environmentalist groups by locking up more public lands in Utah and other states."
He said policy change does an end-run around the settlement agreement, which requires the federal government to get Congressional approval for wilderness designations.
"The decision to withdraw from the agreement is an insult to the people of Utah. Changing the wildlands-designation policy will destroy the balance and clarity that comes from allowing Congress to work with the public to develop and pass land-use bills," he said.
Abbey said "wild lands" designations will be designated through a public process and such a designation will require the agency to manage the lands with protections of those characteristics.
"The new Wild Lands policy affirms the BLM's authorities under the law — and our responsibility to the American people — to protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands we oversee as part of our multiple use mission," he added.
But Hatch said the policy shift is so egregious that it even outdoes the 1996 decision by then-President Bill Clinton to create the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, which locked up millions of acres.
"When the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument was created in secret, I called it the 'Mother of All Land Grabs.' This move by Secretary Salazar dwarfs that."
The Wilderness Society, however, hailed the new policy and said that ever since the settlement was reached, there has been widespread "confusion" by the BLM and National Park Service employees about how, or even whether, the BLM should be evaluating and managing public lands with wilderness values.
"This policy recognizes the BLM's statutory obligation to protect the natural qualities of lands in its stewardship, and gives stakeholders their rightful place in the process," said William H. Meadows, president of the organization.
Before the policy is finalized and a "final" order is issued, Salazar has sent a draft to state BLM offices seeking input. That process is expected to take a month.
Salazar said his agency will repeal 2003's so-called "No More Wilderness" policy adopted under former Interior Secretary Gale Norton. That policy stated that new areas could not be recommended for wilderness protection by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It opened millions of acres in the Rocky Mountain region to potential commercial development.
Environmental activists have been calling on the Obama administration to restore protections for potential wilderness areas. Salazar announced Thursday that the agency will resume evaluating lands that could be designated as wilderness areas.
"Americans love the wild places where they hunt, fish, hike, and get away from it all, and they expect these lands to be protected wisely on their behalf," Salazar said in a statement.
The BLM has six months to submit a plan for new wilderness evaluations.
The 2003 policy was an out-of-court deal struck between Norton and then-Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to remove protections for some 2.6 million acres of public land in that state.
The policy allowed oil and gas drilling, mining and other commercial uses on land under consideration as wilderness areas.
Salazar's reversal means that the BLM will set up new criteria to decide which lands should get federal wilderness designation. It doesn't affect lands already designated as wilderness areas.
Congress will still make final determinations of which lands receive permanent wilderness protection. The Interior Department says the new wilderness rules won't lead to more areas being designated as wilderness areas.
AND
DENVER -- The Obama administration plans to reverse a Bush-era policy and make millions of undeveloped acres of land once again eligible for federal wilderness protection, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday.
The agency will replace the 2003 policy adopted under former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Salazar said. That policy - derided by some as the "No More Wilderness" policy - stated that new areas could not be recommended for wilderness protection by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and opened millions of acres in the Rocky Mountain region to potential commercial development.
That policy "frankly never should have happened and was wrong in the first place," Salazar said Thursday.
Environmental activists have been pushing for the Obama administration to restore protections for potential wilderness areas.
Salazar said the agency will review some 220 million acres of BLM land that's not currently under wilderness protection to see which should be given a new "Wild Lands" designation - a new step for land awaiting a wilderness decision. Congress would decide whether those lands should be designated permanent wilderness areas, Salazar said.
Congressional Republicans pounced on the "Wild Lands" announcement as an attempt by the Obama administration to close land to development without congressional approval.
"This backdoor approach is intended to circumvent both the people who will be directly affected and Congress. I have to question why this announcement is being made only after Congress adjourned for the year," said Washington Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican tapped to lead to the House Natural Resources Committee when the GOP takes control of the House in January.
BLM Director Bob Abbey said it hasn't been decided how many acres are expected be designated as "Wild Lands" and whether those acres will be off-limits to motorized recreation or commercial development while under congressional review. It's also unclear whether there will be a time limit on how long acres can be managed as "Wild Lands" before a decision is made on their future.
The BLM has six months to submit a plan for those new wilderness evaluations.
These "Wild Lands" would be separate from Wilderness Study Areas that must be authorized by Congress. Wild Lands can be designated by the BLM after a public planning process and would be managed with protective measures detailed in a land use plan.
Ranchers, oil men and others have been suspicious of federal plans to lock up land in the West, worrying that taking the BLM land out of production would kill rural economies that rely on ranchers and the eastern Montana oil and gas business.
Their suspicions have been heightened since memos leaked in February revealed the Obama administration was considering 14 sites in nine states for possible presidential monument declarations.
That included 2.5 million acres of northeastern Montana prairie land proposed as a possible bison range, along with sites in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
The 2003 policy was an out-of-court deal struck between Norton and then-Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt to remove protections for some 2.6 million acres of public land in that state.
The policy allowed oil and gas drilling, mining and other commercial uses on land under consideration as wilderness areas.
Salazar's reversal doesn't affect about 8.7 million acres already designated as wilderness areas.
Environmental groups praised the reversal, though there has been grumbling that it took the Obama administration nearly two years to overturn the Bush-era policy.
"Washington D.C. always takes longer than you want, but we're glad we've gotten here," said Suzanne Jones, regional director for The Wilderness Society.
AND
WASHINGTON — Much to the criticism of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and to the praise of environmentalists, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday directed the Bureau of Land Management to begin inventorying public lands with "wilderness" characteristics.
A Secretarial Order issued by Salazar is intended to fill in the policy gaps he says were created with a 2003 out-of-court settlement between then-Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the state of Utah, as well as others. The settlement resulted in the revocation of the BLM's wilderness management guidance.
BLM director Bob Abbey said the new order fills an "open land management need," for the public and the agency.
"We are charting a new course for balanced land management, which allows the BLM to take into account all of the resources for which it is responsible through a transparent, public land use planning process," Abbey said.
But Hatch called the move "a brazen attempt to kowtow to radical environmentalist groups by locking up more public lands in Utah and other states."
He said policy change does an end-run around the settlement agreement, which requires the federal government to get Congressional approval for wilderness designations.
"The decision to withdraw from the agreement is an insult to the people of Utah. Changing the wildlands-designation policy will destroy the balance and clarity that comes from allowing Congress to work with the public to develop and pass land-use bills," he said.
Abbey said "wild lands" designations will be designated through a public process and such a designation will require the agency to manage the lands with protections of those characteristics.
"The new Wild Lands policy affirms the BLM's authorities under the law — and our responsibility to the American people — to protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands we oversee as part of our multiple use mission," he added.
But Hatch said the policy shift is so egregious that it even outdoes the 1996 decision by then-President Bill Clinton to create the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, which locked up millions of acres.
"When the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument was created in secret, I called it the 'Mother of All Land Grabs.' This move by Secretary Salazar dwarfs that."
The Wilderness Society, however, hailed the new policy and said that ever since the settlement was reached, there has been widespread "confusion" by the BLM and National Park Service employees about how, or even whether, the BLM should be evaluating and managing public lands with wilderness values.
"This policy recognizes the BLM's statutory obligation to protect the natural qualities of lands in its stewardship, and gives stakeholders their rightful place in the process," said William H. Meadows, president of the organization.
Before the policy is finalized and a "final" order is issued, Salazar has sent a draft to state BLM offices seeking input. That process is expected to take a month.