‘Wild lands’ order irks Idaho reps
Administration’s order allows BLM to protect some areas
Snowmobilers ride through Quigley Canyon east of Hailey, where they can gain access to BLM lands. Express file photo
Federal and state lawmakers have launched several pieces of legislation to counteract a December order by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar that allows the Bureau of Land Management to grant wilderness-like protection to deserving parcels of land.
The order directs the BLM to include a new "wild lands" designation when it conducts its regular land-use inventories.
Federal legislation introduced by Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, called the Idaho Land Sovereignty Act, would nullify "wilderness" designations made by the BLM unless they are approved by Congress. Gov. Butch Otter said in testimony before the House Committee on Natural Resources on Tuesday that Salazar had overstepped his bounds by allowing an entity other than Congress to create new land-use designations.
However, "wild lands" may not be the same as "wilderness."
Wild lands" is a bureau-specific designation created by Salazar as a way for the BLM to protect land that is found to have wilderness characteristics but has not been designated as wilderness study areas. The bureau's authority to designate such areas expired in 1993.
