Bones of Contention

Revolution rages in Tehran and the world is transfixed by millions of Iranians demanding free speech. Laramie, Wyoming is light years away from the Islamic world, but amid charges of repression of free speech and totalitarian decisions, a revolt is gaining momentum against the University of Wyoming (UW) trustees -- and its emblematic martyr is Big Al, the Allosaurus.

Facing an $18.3 million budget shortfall, UW decided to close the school’s Geological Museum in response to the state of Wyoming’s mandated 10 percent budget cuts. The museum will close to the public July 1; its director and assistant are among the people who will lose their jobs as a result.

Big Al -- whose incredibly-preserved bones greet museum visitors -- will become a recluse. Some researchers may be able to see him, but not the public. The same goes for other museum prizes, including one of the only mounted skeletons of an Apatosaurus (or Brontosaurus, as it was formerly called).
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Herd Horrors

A grim future is predicted for the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge in Wyoming unless the sprawling home to elk and bison gets an infusion of new policies and resources, according to a new report from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group ranks the wildlife sanctuary -- which has one of the largest concentrations of elk in the world -- as one of America's Ten Most Imperiled Refuges.

The refuge was established in 1912 in the wilderness south of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks in an effort to resuscitate elk herds, which had faced mass starvation after bitterly cold winters and human encroachment, PEER notes. The results have not been good. [more]

I consider myself pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to contemplating energy-development issues in Wyoming. I'm certain that some of my fellow citizens would refer to me as one of those "enviros," a label I willingly accept. However, I'm not naive enough to expect that the energy industry will ever view Wyoming's sagebrush flats as anything more than an all-you-can-eat buffet. With an encouraging nod from the party once in power, these companies have been fattening their coffers over the past eight years. Now it's high time that a cooperative effort was made to assess the costs. [more]

GAME OVER, FINALLY, GUN GUYS WIN

I suppose I should let it go, but nobody else does, so why should I?

This is my third column about the now-infamous administrative rule to allow loaded, concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges (links at end of column). The rule evolved into a symbolic and high priority political battle, and both pro-gun and anti-gun groups seized on it as a way to find out who had the power.

And now we know. The gun lobby wins, easily, which is no surprise to me. [more]

WILDEST BILL ON THE HILL ADVANCES

UPDATE, May 21, 2009:

The 111th Congress will take a close look at the so-called "Wildest Bill on the Hill," the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), starting with a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House Natural Resources Committee announced today that its subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold the hearing on May 5, 2009. NREPA also had a hearing in the same subcommittee early in the 110th Congress, but the bill never made it to the floor for a vote. [more]

WHAT TO CALL IT?

Editor's note: Second in a two-part series on resolving the conflict between mountain bikers and hikers over protecting roadless lands. Click here for the first part, plus a very interesting comment thread.

Last week, I wrote about options hikers and wilderness groups had to make peace with mountain bikers so the two key constituencies could work together to protect roadless land. One option was urging Congress to pass another organic act creating a true alternative land designation. But what to call it?

In past commentaries, I'm used the words "Wilderness Lite" to refer to various land designations that provide almost as much protection as the "Big W" Wilderness Congress designates under the Wilderness Act of 1964. Basically, cutting to the chase, I can more precisely define "Wilderness Lite" as "Wilderness that allows mountain biking." [more]

TIME TO START OVER WITH SENSIBLE FEE POLICY

(Updaed 11 a.m. April 24, at end of article)

Tomorrow, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) will take another swing at the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA)--or Recreation Access Tax (RAT) to its detractors--by re-introducing their bill to repeal the law and start over with a sensible fee policy. The bill is identical to the bill that died last year at the end of the 110th Congress.

"Every tax day we pay to use our public lands, we shouldn’t be taxed twice to go fishing, hiking, or camping on OUR public lands, Baucus told NewWest.Net today. "Paying twice just doesn’t make any sense. That’s why I’m going to fight to get this bill passed." [more]

IDAHO'S FIRST WILDERNESS SINCE 1980

UPDATED 6 pm, March 30. President Barack Obama signed the public lands bill today. George Cooper, President and CEO of the Theordore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, attended the White House signing ceremony and invoked the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt in assessing the president’s actions. “Theodore Roosevelt once said, ‘We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.' With today’s events, Roosevelt’s words take on a new and deeper meaning. Ratification of this historic measure represents an important victory for sportsmen, as well as for our natural resources and activities that rely on our nation’s public lands."

After years of compromise, delay, failed votes, parliamentary games, all frequently sprinkled with vitriol from detractors, but countered with the hard work by many thousands of supporters, Congress has, finally, passed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill. The 1,300-page behemoth is actually a compilation of around 170 pieces of legislation, including Idaho's first wilderness in 29 years, protection for the Wyoming Range, and wilderness and wild river designations in nine states, not including Montana.

The Senate passed the massive bill, again (click here to read about it), last week. Yesterday, the House voted 285-140 to pass the same bill. Since the House passed an exact copy of the Senate-passed bill, it won't be stalled in a conference committee and subject to re-votes. Instead, it goes directly to the White House where everybody involved expects President Obama to sign it, probably next week. [more]

IT'S BECOME A REAL BATTLEFIELD BILL

THIRD UPDATE: March 25, 12:15 PM. The House voted 283-140 to pass public lands bill with 136 Republicans and 4 Democrats voting "nay." This would have been enough to pass for a super-majority, two-thirds vote.

SECOND UPDATE, March 25, 9:15 am.

UPDATED March 19, 11 a.m. at end of article.

Anybody interested in protecting public land knows about S.22, a massive piece of legislation, a compilation of 190 bills that Congress has been working on for years. Six days ago, it unexpectedly failed (click here), unable to get a super majority in the U.S. House of Representatives by a mere two votes, 282-144, even though the Senate had passed it 73-21.

That bad beat made political insiders scratch their heads. Why would the House leadership bring S. 22 up for a vote under suspension of rules, which requires a two-thirds majority, without the votes to pass it?

I've been calling around on to get the answer to that question and to find out what might happen next. Here's the skinny on the House vote and alas, how President Obama will have the opportunity to sign this bill into law as early as next week. You could call it "revolutionary" politics. [more]

THIS JUST IN

UPDATED at 12:55 pm. Update at end of article.
In a surprise vote this morning, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass a landmark public lands protection bill that would have ensured access and opportunity for hunters and anglers today and for generations to come.

That news just in courtesy of Trout Unlimited, one of the main backers of the massive bill that the U.S. Senate has already passed. [more]