Flickr; Trailsource.com
Yesterday, the Senate committee on Energy and Natural Resources marked up 16 energy, parks and public lands bills. The Sierra Club has been tracking several of these bills closely and while we applaud the advancement of some, there are others that fall regrettably short of the mark of responsible resource management and conservation.
The bright spot in yesterday's proceedings was the passage of both the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act (S.776) and the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act (S. 841). Introduced by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act permanently protects 45,000 acres in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. The area is home to black bears, elk, mountain lions, deer and the endangered Rio Grande cutthroat trout. The Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), preserves approximately 38,000 acres as wilderness, and designates nearly 70,000 acres as a special management area in the San Juan National Forest north of Durango, Colorado. This area is home to some of the largest stands of old-growth ponderosa pine remaining in the San Juan Mountains.
As submitted to the committee, these are both shining examples of the kind of legislation that the American people want Congress to enact. Sadly, before Congress broke for the election, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed an alternate version of the Hermosa Creek bill (H.R. 1839) that cynically undermines wilderness values by opening up new areas to snowmobiles, codifying road access in the special management area, and removing important conservation language. We are hopeful that Congress will pass the Senate version of this bill.
The Oregon and California Land Grant Act (S.1784) is a disappointing piece of legislation that is now one step closer to becoming law. Despite wilderness designations and other positive conservation measures contained within this bill, the bottom line is that this legislation sets aside national public forestlands – lands that are currently being used for recreation and that are crucial to preserving water quality and wildlife habitat – for intensive logging. S. 1784 also contains provisions that accelerate environmental review procedures, thus undermining the protections provided by the National Environmental Policy Act. This approach to forest conservation is unacceptable.
As we look to the new Congress, the Sierra Club is hopeful that with Rep. Rob Bishop’s chairmanship, the House will do away with dumbed-down wilderness bills like H.R. 1839 and return to crafting legislation that truly protects the lands and waters that make America so special.
-- by Marni Salmon, Our Wild America policy representative in Washington, D.C.