WTE: Cheney’s bill to release WSA lands is something we can all get behind

The commissioners of Big Horn, Lincoln and Sweetwater counties have asked Wyoming’s congressional delegation to address a 40-year-old problem. They want Congress to remove over 386,000 acres of land from a limbo created by the Federal Land Policy & Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. Congresswoman Liz Cheney responded on September 27 by introducing the “Restoring Local Input and Access to Public Lands Act” (H.R. 6939).

The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation Service (NWPS) and gave Congress the authority to designate acres from the National Park Service and the National Forest Service as “Wilderness Areas.” In general, wilderness designation restricts logging, mining, vehicles (including bicycles) and road maintenance—any form of human development.

Congress then designated 15 wilderness areas in Wyoming totaling 3,111,975 acres. These offer some of the best packing and snowshoeing in the United States.

As a young man, I fell in love with Wyoming in the Washakie Wilderness near Dubois. There is no better way to experience her rugged beauty. There is, however, a price to pay for the privilege of walking in undisturbed wilderness.

First, the ability to enjoy them is limited to those fit enough to hike rugged trails and camp in primitive conditions. Many Wyoming citizens, and an even larger percentage of Americans will never see these preserves.

Second, lands that once contributed to the local economy through multiple uses are now restricted to the single use of hiking. As loggers and miners were pushed off the land, towns lost jobs and counties lost taxes.

Third, by restricting mechanized equipment, trails fall into disrepair and undergrowth accumulates. As a result, a wilderness area becomes a tinderbox ripe for the annual wildfire season. These threatens not only wildlife, but also property on the non-restricted lands nearby.

Despite such costs, wilderness areas are beautiful and important parts of Wyoming’s total land management. Most Wyomingites are willing to pay the price. But because wilderness designations are always a balance between costs and benefits, the Wilderness Act of 1964 was careful to keep the authority for creating them in the hands of elected officials.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 changed all that. The new law instructed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to suggest some of its holdings for Wilderness designation. But it also added a twist. The FLPMA instructed the Secretary of the Interior to designate these areas as Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) and to apply wilderness area restrictions to these lands for up to 15-years while they were studied.

This end run around the Wilderness Act of 1964 gave temporary restrictive authority to an unelected official, bypassing our elected representatives. Thus, with the stroke of a pen the BLM restricted Wyoming citizens from mining, logging and even mountain biking on over 700,000 acres that historically had been accessible.

The story gets worse. When the 15-year temporary period was over, Congress neither acted to designate or to release these areas. The temporary restrictions just rolled into a perpetual status lasting 40 years and counting.

During these years there have been many attempts to negotiate a resolution to the impasse. But through countless hours of negotiation, heartbreaking compromises and herculean efforts the results inevitably end up in federal court.

Groups favoring the unilateral restriction of wilderness areas have no reason to negotiate. They cynically sit back and watch the process knowing that no matter what is decided, an army of lawyers can undo the deal and make the personal opinion of some unelected federal judge to be the only opinion that matters.

It’s no wonder that so many people are feeling disenfranchised and marginalized. The American ideal of self-governance offers the promise of good-hearted people dealing face to face to solve complex problems. It was designed to be both transparent to public scrutiny and responsive to the voting public. Its success depends entirely on elected people, not faceless appointees, writing the laws.

That is why three Wyoming counties have decided to go to the root of the problem. They are not challenging Congress’ creation of 15 wilderness areas in Wyoming--nobody is. But they are challenging the BLM’s authority to unilaterally and perpetually restrict an additional 42 wilderness areas without congressional action.

Years of fruitless negotiation have proven that unless congress acts directly, the people of Wyoming will never be given the chance to work together. Passage Cheney’s bill would enable these counties to negotiate in good faith and with final authority.

By introducing the “Restoring Local Input and Access to Public Lands Act,” Cheney is not undermining local control of public lands but giving it back. Since local control and elected representation was taken away by a bad act of congress in 1976, only congress has the power to restore it again.