GOP House Candidate Opposes Grasslands Wilderness

Republican congressional candidate Kristi Noem said Wednesday she opposes a bill that would designate a part of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in southwestern South Dakota as a wilderness area. The designation could reduce or eliminate cattle grazing by ranchers who lease the land, and it could interfere with control of forest fires, prairie dogs and noxious weeds in the area, Noem said. "I believe this federal land grab is a solution in search of a problem," Noem said in a written statement. "Multiple use management of these lands has been successful. We should continue what has worked in order to preserve and protect these lands and to ensure these lands are available to be enjoyed by the public." South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, who sponsored the bill to designate the land as a wilderness area, said Noem is spreading false information about his proposal. The Democrat said his proposal would provide stronger protection of grazing and give the U.S. Forest Service, which already manages the land, tools to deal with fire, invasive weeds and prairie dogs. Noem's opponent, Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, has not taken a public position on the wilderness bill...more