Legislation against Secretarial Order 3110

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From ARRA April newsletter:
"Setting One's Sights on Wild Lands
Secretary Salazar's Secretarial Order 3310 (Wild Lands) continues to draw fire from Capitol Hill. Last month we reported on the rather contentious hearing on the subject before the House Resources Committee. Well, more hearings are being planned.

Of more immediate interest is legislation currently being drafted by the House Majority Whip, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, that would terminate Secretarial Order 3310. In addition to that provision, McCarthy's legislation would release all Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) and Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) that are NOT found to be suitable for wilderness designation by either the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service. Both agencies have identified WSAs that do not merit such wilderness designations, BLM - 6.7 million acres, Forest Service - 36.1 million. Despite these findings, the agencies have continued to manage these tracts of lands as if wilderness. The McCarthy legislation would end this overly restrictive practice and allow these lands to once again be managed for multiple use purposes, including recreation.

This is significant legislation and ARRA strongly supports it. As soon as the legislation is introduced and we have a bill number for identification purposes, we will be back in touch with you in hopes that you will once again reach out to your Member of Congress expressing support for this legislation. In the meantime, you can contact your Representative and request co-sponsorship prior to introduction by going to this page of the ARRA website"

 Use the TAKE ACTION button here: http://www.arra-access.com/site/PageServer?pagename=arra_washingtonnewsletter_apr2011

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Apparently Congress is not happy with the order. According to this ARRA special report, the Budget fix restrict the DOI from spending any money on the new Wild Lands policy.

From ARRA:

"Important Update – Big Win on Key Access Issue

Congress has avoided a government shutdown and an access crisis by crafting a Continuing Resolution (CR) that has been agreed to by House and Senate leaders.  The CR legislation for Fiscal Year 2011 includes a provision that limits the use of funds for the Department of Interior (DOI) to “implement, administer, or enforce” Secretarial Order 3310 (also known as the "Wild Lands" policy).  This means that DOI cannot implement its Wild Lands Initiative in Fiscal Year 2011, which ends on September 30th 2011.  This will give valuable time to key Congressional leaders to permanently stop Secretarial Order 3310.

As you know, the Wild Lands Initiative gives the BLM immediate authority to "designate appropriate areas with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction as 'Wild Lands' and to manage them to protect their wilderness values."  This is clearly at odds with the Wilderness Act, which provides sole authority to designate areas as wilderness to the Congress. 

Secretary Salazar unveiled the Wild Lands Initiative over the Christmas Holiday and friends of sustainable access immediately jumped in to fight back.  The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on this issue and others have weighed in as well to make sure access and multiple use is protected on BLM lands.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) have provided key leadership to advance this issue, but there will be more work to do to.

ARRA will continue to keep you apprised of developments and opportunities to weigh in."