Idaho senators support Snake bill Both senators from Idaho will support a package of public lands bills that includes protection for the Snake River system and the Wyoming Range. Previously Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Larry Craig of Idaho had said they did not support the bill because they feared it would affect rights to Snake River water held by farmers in their state. Craig had gone so far as to threaten to put a hold on the bill, essentially blocking its passage, if his worries were not assuaged. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act – S. 3213 – is a bipartisan collection of bills that have passed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during this Congress. It includes the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act, which would protect 387 miles of rivers and streams in the Snake River drainage under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. It also includes the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which would prohibit further energy leasing in the Wyoming Range south of Jackson Hole and would allow conservation groups to buy and retire existing energy leases. Both measures were championed by the late Sen. Craig Thomas and are now sponsored by his successor Sen. John Barrasso. Sen. Craig “worked with Sens. Barrasso and Crapo for several months this summer to solve a major issue related to Idaho water rights and water delivery,” said Craig’s spokeswoman Susan Irby in an e-mail response to questions. “All parties have agreed upon language that protects Idaho’s water without undermining the objectives of Sen. Barrasso’s Wild and Scenic bill.”....