Nevada Backroaders

BRC Utah Wilderness Update

SUWA's Massive Wilderness Bill Introduced in Congress... again

Action Requested

Today, Eric Bontrager from E&E News http://www.eenews.net reported on the re-offering of a massive Wilderness proposal pushed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). Bontrager's report stated that the bill, sponsored by New York Representative Maurice Hinchey and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, would designate 9.4 million acres of Bureau of Management Lands in Utah as Wilderness.

BRC notes that it is not clear whether the 9.4 million acre figure includes lands owned by the state of Utah. If state lands are included, the figure may well be over 10 million acres'.

The announcement will not be news to BRC's members. SUWA has been able to convince New York Congressmen to introduce Wilderness in Utah for twenty years now.

What will be of interest to our members is Bontrager's reporting of comments made by Utah Representative Rob Bishop and Jim Matheson:

"The fact that not one member of the Utah congressional delegation or political leader in Utah supports this shows how off-base and ridiculous this proposal is," Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah.) said in an e-mail. "This is not the way Congress should make designations like this."

Rep. Jim Matheson, the Utah delegation's lone Democrat whose district includes the proposed wilderness area, declined the opportunity to be a co-sponsor on the legislation because he felt other stakeholders such as the energy industry and OHV users were not included in the creation of the bill. "He understands that this does represent a lot of places that deserve designation, but this a very long-running, contentious debate," said Matheson spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend. "He just feels strongly that, in order to get consensus, this has to be an inclusive process."

BRC applauds Matheson and Bishop for their approach to SUWA's unwise proposal. But we do not believe SUWA, or the Wilderness lobby in D.C., is interested in an "inclusive process." This is why they must rely on Congressmen from New York to push their Utah Wilderness bill.

Our position is that any discussion of Utah Wilderness must include careful consideration of important strategic national interests (oil, natural gas and minerals) as well as popular recreational uses, such as OHV use and mountain biking, which are banned in Wilderness. BRC and other recreation groups support Wilderness where it is appropriate, but we insist that other "recreation friendly" designations, such as National Recreation Areas, be considered where it isn't.

Our suggested Action Item is for our members and supporters to call Bishop and Matheson and thank them for their approach to SUWA's bill.

Speaking honestly, I am beginning to wonder if the Utah Congressional Delegation knows we are here, and in what numbers. The treatment the Utah OHV community received via the recently passed Washington County Wilderness bill is disgraceful. We must never let that happen again.

So when our political representatives do the right thing, we need to thank them.

Congressman Matheson: Salt Lake City Office - (801) 486-1236
Washington DC Office - (202) 225-3011

Go to http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/ enter your zip code and click go. Select Jim Matheson from the list of Representatives, then click on the Contact tab. Click on the Web Form link, and follow the instructions.

Congressman Bishop: Ogden Office - (801) 625-0107
Washington DC Office - (202) 225-0453

Go to http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/ enter your zip code and click go. Select Rob Bishop from the list of Representatives, then click on the Contact tab. Click on the Web Form link, and follow the instructions.

Congressman Chaffetz: Provo Office - (801) - 851-2500
Washington DC Office - (202) 225-7751

Go to http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/ enter your zip code and click go. Select Jason Chaffetz from the list of Representatives, then click on the Contact tab. Click on the Web Form link, and follow the instructions.

As always, please call or email if you have questions or need help.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer

not to be too political here, but I really like that people from the east coast dare to push legislation designed to grab land from a district other their own.

_________________



ɹǝʌo ǝɯ ןןoɹ sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı

It is all to common

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Todd Ockert
E-mail: landuse@ufwda.org
Tulare, Ca. 11 May 2009

S. 799 America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009 will close the doors on Utah recreation!

The wilderness bills keep rolling along in Washington DC.

They are after 9.5 million acres in Utah and the Red Rock area this time. The Omnibus bill was not enough, so now they want to surround Moab Utah with Wilderness!

Here are the areas they are attempting to make into wilderness in this bill.

Great Basin wilderness area – 2,239,700 acres
Zion and Mojave desert Wilderness area – 375,500 acres
Grand Staircase-Escalante Wilderness area – 1,729,540 acres
Moab-LA Sal Canyons Wilderness area – 296,800 acres
Henry Mountains Wilderness area – 434,300 acres
Glen Canyon Wilderness area – 902,000 acres
San Juan-Anasazi Wilderness area – 531,300 acres
Canyonlands Basin Wilderness area – 725,700 acres
San Rafael Swell Wilderness area – 1,106,900 acres
Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin Wilderness area – 1,168,800 acres

This bill was introduced by Sen Durbin of Illinois.

Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 4/2/2009
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] - 4/2/2009
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] - 4/2/2009
Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 4/2/2009
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 4/2/2009
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA] - 4/2/2009
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 4/2/2009
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 4/2/2009
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 4/2/2009
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] - 4/2/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 4/2/2009
Sen Reed, Jack [RI] - 4/2/2009
Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] - 4/2/2009
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [MI] - 4/2/2009
Sen Udall, Mark [CO] - 5/6/2009
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 4/2/2009

Please take the time to write to your elected representatives, and tell them enough is enough! Most of these lands do not meet the original intent of the Wilderness Act of 1964 “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
If we want to have anyplace left in Utah to recreate, we need to stop this land grab again NOW!


****

United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) is the leading representative for four wheel drive enthusiasts. UFWDA is a group of individuals, clubs, state, regional, provincial and national associations and businesses in the United States and around the world; our members span the globe from the U.S. and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, England, Japan, South Africa, and Iceland. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of this effort contact United Four Wheel Drive Associations today at 14525 SW Millikan Way #22622, Beaverton, OR 97005-2343, 1-800-448-3932 or visit United Four Wheel Drive Associations Official Site - United Online - An International Organization.



____________________
Dedicated to Promoting the Great Outdoors!
Support UFWDA and BRC.
UFWDA - United Four Wheel Drive Associations Official Site - United Online - An International Organization
BRC - BlueRibbon Coalition: Preserving your recreational access to public lands.

_________________
Access Army - Joint Chiefs of Staff
Blue Ribbon Coalition - Life Member
BRC Kickin’ Access Technology (KAT) Team - Charter Member
Graduate of Del Albright's RLTC course
Just Good Trails - Trail Boss
Tread Lightly - Tread Trainer

Noticed AGAIN that none of the Sen's are from the affected states. Think the Gov of each state should have veto power over congress. Hmmmmm, 10th amend?

_________________
WS7BR
2019 Cherokee Trailhawk 2.0T
Rescue Ranger & Training Dummy
I'm not stuck, I'm providing recovery training opportunities!