Owyhee Public Lands Bill celebrated in Idaho

Boise, ID -- Today Senator Crapo, the Shoshone Paiute Tribe, representatives of Owyhee County, and Owyhee Initiative Work Group members gathered to celebrate the passage of the Owyhee Public Lands Management Act and to restate their commitment to work together into the future.

"The Owyhee Public Lands Act is a triumph of commonsense conservation that brought local folks together with respect, humility, and a love of Idaho, and from that we have the first Idaho wilderness bill to pass Congress in 29 years," said Rick Johnson, Executive Director of the Idaho Conservation League. "I was in the White House and watched President Barack Obama designate the first new wilderness for Idaho in 29 years. It was an extraordinary moment and an extraordinary culmination to years of work by many, many people."

As Johnson notes, it was "a bottom up process, coming from Idaho to Washington, DC, not the other way around, helping us reach Wallace Stegner's goal of a 'society to match the scenery.'"

"It has been generation since the Senate has passed an Idaho Wilderness bill," said Robison. "Senator Crapo's patience and commitment to finding collaborative solutions allowed ranchers and conservationists to come together and jointly craft this bill. Future generations of Idahoans will thank all those how came together over the years to protecting this spectacular landscape."

The Owyhee Initiative designates 517,000 acres as Wilderness and 316 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers. The bill also includes benefits for local ranching communities, including authorization to retire grazing allotments from willing sellers. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo championed the community-crafted bill through the Senate.