Wilderness Legislation

Back in the 18th century when Daniel Boone blazed a trail across Virginia to Kentucky, it was called the Wilderness Road. It served as the principal access route used by settlers seeking land west of the Appalachian Mountains, and it was called "wilderness" because those adventurous settlers were going to a place where few people lived.

The trails that existed back then were Indian trails and they were not suited for the wagons used by the settlers to carry their personal belongings. So, to meet the need for westward expansion, Daniel Boone was hired to build that first highway.

Almost two hundred years later, Congress approved legislation that established a new definition for "wilderness." That new definition was designed to keep the modern day Daniel Boones and other settlers from entering certain public lands. The 1964 Wilderness Act was designed to establish a National Wilderness Preservation System on federal lands "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

The Wilderness Act specifically states in Section 4 (c) that:

Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to existing private rights, there shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area designed by this Act and, except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act (including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within the area), there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area.

In laymen's language, wilderness designation means that an area is totally left to its natural state with minimal impact by man. This means no commercial operations, no motorized or mechanized vehicles, including but not limited to cars, trucks, off-road and all-terrain vehicles, bicycles, aircraft and motorboats. Some exceptions are made for dire emergencies. In some cases, the Congress has stipulated that certain types of motor vehicles can be used in a wilderness area but generally this is for maintenance purposes.

If you want to personally visit a wilderness area, your options are limited. You can enter via foot or on the back of a horse or a mule. Also, don't expect to find any restrooms or drinking fountains, either. You will find a primitive area, much like Daniel Boone found in Kentucky, but without any people or development.

It's amazing how national priorities can change over the course of a couple of centuries. The early days of our nation focused on expansion and development. Now our focus is exclusion and preservation. Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road provided access and today's Wilderness Act provides roadblocks to visiting our public lands.

This is not to say that establishing a wilderness area is a bad thing, because it isn't. There are many areas of the country that merit such designation. And since 1964, the Congress has been very busy doing just that. In fact, today the wilderness system totals more than 694 units encompassing a whopping 106.6 million acres. To put that in perspective, the total land mass of the States of California and Maryland combined (106,526,080 acres to be exact) is almost as much as has been put aside as wilderness areas. And, before this Congress concludes its business in 2008, hundreds of thousands more acres of federal land could be classified as wilderness. If you want to learn more about the wilderness legislation already introduced in this Congress, please visit ARRA's Federal Legislative Update page for more information.

We have recently seen some attempts to balance new wilderness designations with complementary designations for other types of activities. This balanced approach actually occurred in 2006, when Congress approved legislation creating the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), not only created a new wilderness area, but it also created the Cow Mountain Recreation Area recreation area consisting of approximately 51,000 acres. This new recreation area will provide opportunities for OHV recreation, mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking and camping.

Wilderness designations are an important and critical component in the management of federal lands. But with more than 106 million acres so designated, perhaps the Congress should begin spending more time designating other areas of our public lands for other recreational use, before approving more wilderness designations thereby placing more federal acreage out of bounds to most Americans. We hope that future designations will use the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act as a model. Its approach in designating a recreation area for off-road motorized recreation, mountain biking and horseback riding deserves to be replicated elsewhere in the United States.

Caswell Confirmed as BLM Director

In the August newsletter, we described the Senate procedure of placing a "hold" on presidential nominations and reported that Jim Caswell's nomination as the next Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was being held hostage over a policy dispute on whether oil and gas development should be permitted on the Roan Plateau in Colorado. Senator Salazar (D-CO) opposed such development and stood in the way of Senate action on the Caswell nomination.

Well, the Administration cried "uncle" and agreed to Salazar's demands and the Caswell nomination sailed through the Senate just prior to the August recess. Lyle Laverty, nominated to be the next Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, wasn't so lucky. His nomination is still waiting for Senate confirmation. And, unlike Caswell who started his new job in August, we presume Mr. Laverty decided to go fishing since he has a lot of time on his hands. Let's hope that come September, Senator Wyden, who has concerns about the Endangered Species Act, will decide to remove Mr. Laverty's name from the endangered nomination list and permit the Senate to proceed with a vote on the Laverty nomination.

An Earful on the Travel Management Rule

Many Members of Congress spend a portion of their August break visiting their districts to hear first hand from their constituents. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon) usually spends two weeks in August traveling throughout his district. He represents the Second Congressional district of Oregon that happens to comprise about two-thirds of the land mass of the state, approximately 71,000 square miles. Oregon has twelve national forests located in the state and 9 of those are in Mr. Walden's district, so it is not unusual for him to hear about Forest Service issues when visiting with constituents.

Congressman Walden was in La Grande, Oregon on August 8th holding one of his "listening sessions" with local government officials and constituents. The Congressman received an earful from Union County Commissioners and local citizens over the U. S. Forest Service Travel Management Rule. County Commissioner Colleen MacLeod told the Congressman that the possible closure of many roads in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest to motorized traffic had become an "emotionally charged one." "It's the closest I've ever seen to tea in the harbor," MacLeod said. "This is in-your-face stuff."

Recently, the Union County Commissioners received a petition signed by more than 5,000 people opposing the travel management plan for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Commissioner Steve McClure told Walden that this issue affects many different kinds of users, not just those who ride all-terrain vehicles through the forest. "People who are opposing it are middle-aged and older. They're people who have got their favorite places to pick mushrooms or to camp or hunt. They aren't kids with a half-rack of beer out mud-bogging," he said.

We have been discussing the ramifications of the Travel Management Rule from the very beginning when it was proposed by Dale Bosworth, the then Chief of the Forest Service. The implementation process is far from over in many national forests so it's important that you participate in getting your favorite roads/trails designated or someday you will be giving your congressman an earful about the results. But at that stage, it will be too late!

Sincerely,

Larry E. Smith
Executive Director
Americans for Responsible Recreational Access