Let's give wilderness bill a chance to be improved
Casper Star Tribune - April 29, 2007
Liz Howell - Perspective
 

 New wilderness after 23 years? Could we possibly have already protected all the lands in Wyoming that were wild, quiet and teeming with wildlife? Did Dick, Malcolm and Al love wilderness and seek to protect all available, suitable and capable lands for designation?

Of course not.

Talk about a flesh and blood process of living wilderness designations in Wyoming...The 1930s brought primitive area status to the Bridger, North Absaroka, South Absaroka (changed to Washakie Wilderness in 1972, Teton and Cloud Peak areas. The 1964 Wilderness Act designated about 1.8 million acres in Wyoming. Between 1972 and 1978, Wyoming gained another 100,000 acres. The Wyoming Wilderness Act in 1984, which Dick, Malcolm and al, at first fought then through compromise and advocacy, supported 1.1 million acres. The total of protected wilderness in Wyoming today is about 3 million acres, only about 5 percent of the state.

Now we see the introduction and interest in the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), which isn't new, but has been floating around congress since 1992. It had not budged into a hearing room due to the wild-eyed vision in a Republican-controlled Congress and the attitude of the country in the last 15 years.

Wyoming is comprised of 62,664,960 acres. This bill only includes 5 million acres of public lands in the northwestern portion of Wyoming. Nearly half of that includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton wilderness proposals, which are pretty well defended with policy and action.

Although NREPA leaves out half of Wyoming's wildlands, like the Red Desert, the Medicine Bow and other places, the Wyoming Wilderness Association does not discount the bill because of its absences. Our concern lies in that this bill includes Wyoming and it should be accurate and inclusive of updated information and data about our unprotected wild landscapes.

The current form of the bill needs work and local involvement to update and provide good information about what areas should be protected and what areas have been developed in the last 23 years. The committee that put the bill forward had no one from Wyoming on tits current advisory council. That needs to change. We welcome the dialogue and will advocate for strong education of what the bill should included based on good research and Wyoming input.

Meanwhile, Wyoming's lone representative, Barbara Cubin, instead of taking an articulate and curious stance, came out sounding shrill, shooting from the hip without a thorough and honest investigation of what is actually in the NREPA bill.

First, we should understand that the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act designated "Rocks and Ice" - only the high peaks of Wyoming - for wilderness protection. Five years of advocacy efforts developed many versions of the Wyoming Wilderness bill as it went through Congress, only to die many deaths. Many hearings were conducted in the East, Wyoming and the region, because public lands belong to all Americans. Finally, compromises were made, boundaries redrawn, while some areas disappeared from the bill - it passed with the blessing of our Republican delegation. Bill-making, like sausage-making, is a messy, political work-in-progress. But, mostly, it's about finding solutions. Shooting a bill down from the moment of its appearance will not make it go away or make Wyoming a better place, nor does it provide good leadership.

What does NREPA contain for Wyoming? There are some roadless areas in the Bighorn Basin and the Bighorn National Forest, but not all. There are some areas in the Shoshone and Bridger-Teton National Forests, but not all and certainly not some of the most important. The original Yellowstone and Teton national parks' wilderness proposals are included. And two BLM Wilderness Study Areas near the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

It is not up-to-date, nor is it inclusive. But as noted, what starts in this bill can and will change with hearings, meetings, education and local understanding of the places and issues.

It is important to note that dialogue is occurring, which brings new light on our landscapes.

We know from wilderness history that wide sweeping bills like NREPA start the bar high. There is not doubt, wilderness requires vision.

The timeliness in the introduction of this bill begs the question: How long can we continue to develop Wyoming without losing the very reason we choose to live here. Wyoming has put big bucks into advertising our state as a wild place. We could lose it, or acknowledge wilderness as a finite resource.

Increasing and accelerated development scenarios are actually harming those attributes along with important wildlife habitat areas. We are witnessing how oil and gas on the Wyoming Range will impact hunting and fishing.

Roads harm elk security cover and kill fisheries. Shoshone roadless areas provide 85 percent of the critical habitat for bighorn sheep. Wolverine, grizzlies, wolves and lynx are in need of big chunks of wild habitat to survive.

This bill in an updated and accurate format would solve those problems wile forever allowing important and valued landscapes to be wild. It's the time to give it a chance.