Senate Democrats Push N.M., Ore. Wilderness Bills

The Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee plans will meet Thursday to review bills that would put land in New Mexico and Oregon off-limits to energy developers and timber companies. S. 1689 (pdf), would designate approximately 250,000 acres in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico as federally protected wilderness and incorporate an additional 100,000 acres as national conservation areas. "The Organ Mountains are the backdrop for one of the most breathtaking scenic views in our state. Doña Ana County residents have been working for years to develop plans that would ensure these views are protected," said Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), the bill's sponsor. "I'm very glad that we now have a bill that will do just that, even while ensuring the public continues to have access to this extraordinary space." Not everyone is sure the public would continue to have enough access. Wilderness designations prohibit almost all motorized equipment and transportation on public lands, with some exceptions made to allow ranchers to use motorized vehicles to maintain grazing facilities. But some ranchers are concerned those exceptions are too narrow to get the job done, and instead want to create a new land-management designation that preserves the area from energy development but maintains their access. "Not all lands need to be completely locked up like under the Wilderness Act," said Jerry Schickedanz, chairman of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, who is scheduled to testify at the hearing. The group is also concerned that restrictions on law enforcement within a wilderness designation would complicate the U.S. Border Patrol's efforts to battle drug cartels. Under the bill, lands necessary for effective law enforcement would be exempted from the designation, according to a fact sheet on Bingaman's Web site...read more