Readers' View: BLM order simply reaffirms a policy

Idahoans love the wide-open spaces of the state’s high desert lands and are poorly served by Gov. Butch Otter’s rhetoric attacking the Bureau of Land Management’s wild lands policy.

While poking the feds is always popular in some Idaho circles, the governor’s recent statements run counter to the interests of thousands of Idaho hunters, hikers and river runners who use this land and care deeply about it.

From rock quarries to transmission corridors, much of Idaho’s BLM land has been developed for industrial commercial uses and is no longer pristine. Fortunately, there are still hidden canyons, wild rivers and pristine plateaus scattered across Idaho. They are home to bighorn sheep, sage grouse and countless other fish and wildlife species. These unique places are part of what makes Idaho, Idaho and they belong to all of us.

In 1976, Congress directed the BLM to maintain an inventory of these special lands. This is simple bookkeeping. Public agencies are supposed to know how much of a resource they have, whether it is minerals, timber, rangeland or wild country. Both Democrat and Republican presidents have upheld this mandate to recognize these places until Congress can consider permanent protections.

But in 2003, the Bush administration reached a backroom, out-of-court settlement with the state of Utah which prevented the BLM from formally identifying any remaining wild places in Utah and left the national policy in limbo.

This winter, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar simply reaffirmed that the BLM still has an obligation to keep an inventory of public lands that retain their backcountry character and to listen to the public when crafting land management plans. This approach simply re-establishes a level playing field between development and preservation on our public lands.

The BLM is simply continuing to do what Congress told it to do decades ago to protect public interests. Contrary to what Gov. Otter implies, the BLM cannot designate wilderness areas. That role lies with Congress and always has.

Perhaps Gov. Otter has forgotten that this framework helped Idahoans resolve this issue in Owyhee County. Our organizations participated in the Owyhee Initiative, the collaborative effort that successfully addressed what lands in the county would and wouldn’t be congressionally designated as wilderness areas. This was a groundbreaking effort that included conservationists, ranchers, sportsmen and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. The BLM had inventoried and set aside special places that served as the focus points for our discussions. By working together, we were able to protect the best of the best and release the remainder back to general management.

For our organizations, Salazar’s announcement is not a second bite at the apple. We consider wilderness area designation in the Owyhees to be resolved. But there are many other places across the West where this inventory will help keep track of the best, most pristine natural areas until other collaborative efforts can craft their own solutions. Wilderness designation is the most protective designation, and we favor it accordingly, but there are also other ways to be good stewards of the landscape. This approach simply keeps all options open.

We invite Gov. Otter to join other Idaho politicians who have brought Idahoans together in ways that protect Idaho’s way of life, rural economies and constructively shape federal land policies. While chronic fed-bashing may be fun for some, it doesn’t offer long-term solutions to these issues. Our public lands and the citizens of Idaho who treasure them deserve a more thoughtful approach.

Co-authors are John Robison, public lands director, Idaho Conservation League; Craig Gehrke, regional director, Idaho Office, The Wilderness Society; Bill Sedivy, executive director, Idaho Rivers United; and Edwina Allen, chair, Idaho Chapter, Sierra Club.