Washington Newsletter

January 2013

Happy New Year! All of us at ARRA wish you and yours the very best in 2013. Our hope is that the general state of our national economy improves throughout the course of the year and our fear is that it won't. The Fiscal Cliff negotiations in Washington during the last days of 2012 were nothing to be proud of in terms of improving the outlook for 2013. We should expect more of our political leaders in both parties. It isn't as though they didn't know when the deadline would occur since they were the very ones who established it in the first place!

This is really living on the edge. (photo courtesy nps.gov)

We hope is the 113th Congress will begin to deal with the pending issues sooner rather than later. Whether they like it or not, contentious issues are the first items up on legislative agenda: the debt ceiling and the sequester issue. Resolution of these items will give us an idea of what to expect throughout the first session of this Congress. Living on the edge has got to stop!

2013 Agenda

Despite our hand wringing about the state of play in terms of the Fiscal Cliff negotiations, ARRA is focusing on a legislative agenda for the 113th Congress. Here is the list thus far:

Recreational Trails Program (RTP):

The reauthorization of the Recreational Trails Program is item #1. We almost lost this program during the last reauthorization of federal transportation programs, but due to the hard work of many organizations and individuals, including ARRA members, RTP was saved at the end of the day. The last go around was a serious wake-up call that we can't assume that RTP renewal is a slam dunk.

For the 113th Congress, 90 new members are taking their oath of office for the first time. The lineup of leaders for the two transportation committees has changed somewhat with Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA.) becoming the new Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senator David Vitter (R-LA.) becoming the Ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Both committees will also welcome new members. In other words, we have a big job ahead of us in educating an entirely new congressional audience about the value and importance of the Recreational Trails Program. Expect to hear more from us throughout 2013 and 2014 on how you can play an important role in again gaining congressional approval of RTP.

National Monument Designations:

Another issue that could pose a threat in 2013 is the possibility that President Obama will seek to create new National Monument areas by presidential decree. In the December newsletter, we focused on a proposal to create a new National Monument area in the State of Utah in what is commonly referred to as the Greater Canyonlands area.

A new threat suddenly emerged on December 15th when Secretary Salazar participated in a public meeting in Taos, New Mexico. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss the creation of a new National Monument for an area known as the Rio Grande del Norte. There was very little publicity beforehand about the fact that the meeting was taking place, but plenty followed regarding the sentiment expressed in the meeting with the Secretary.

According to the Taos News, "notice of Salazar's visit was announced about 24 hours before the meeting began (Salazar's staff said they were watching the weather to make sure they could make it), but word spread quickly and a standing-room-only audience of nearly 200 people showed up Saturday morning." It appears that the word of mouth notice of the meeting was given to a select few and the sentiment in the room was decidedly in one camp in terms of the Monument designation idea. Our take away from this surprise meeting is that we should expect more of this type of thing as a way to build political support for Presidential designations. We have a decidedly different view about how to create new National Monument areas. We prefer such designations be congressionally mandated where a true, transparent process can shape the size and scope of those areas deserving of Monument status. But even Congress should not proceed unless it has first heard and carefully considered what all interested parties have to say about such a designation.

Fiscal issues affecting public lands:

Continuing discussions about budget reductions could eventually place some severe limits on the management of our public lands and such limits could affect recreational access. We need to wait two months before we know the scope of the legislatively mandated budget sequester and whether the federal land agencies will face immediate budget reductions for this fiscal year. The President's FY 2014 budget submission to the Congress is also expected sometime in February. In other words, we face a number of unknowns about federal funding levels that could threaten recreational access. Once we get a clearer picture of what to expect, we will share this news with you.

Yellowstone National Park

Snowmobiles tour Yellowstone National Park. Once again the "One-Year Rule" permits 318 guided snowmobiles in the park each day. (photo courtesy nps.gov)

We start the New Year on a bright note by recognizing the opening of the winter snowmobiling season has opened at Yellowstone National Park. Every year there is a struggle over how many snowmobiles should be given access to the park and the controversy always poses a severe economic threat to those gateway communities dependent on winter tourism. Snowmobiling is an important economic contributor to these communities during the harsh winter months. We are pleased that the National Park Service decided to extend for another year the "One-Year Rule" that permits on a daily basis access to the park of 318 commercially guided snowmobiles as well as 78 commercially guided snow-coaches.

No doubt, winter access will be an issue that the Park Service and the recreation community will continue to grapple with in the coming years. In the meantime, if you are in the vicinity of this spectacular national park, stop by and hitch a ride. It will be an invigorating experience. Nothing is better than seeing Old Faithful surrounded by a mound of snow!

Sincerely,

Larry E. Smith
Executive Director
Americans for Responsible Recreational Access

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