| Wyo. governor to speak for land protection bill |
|
|
|
|
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) will visit the Senate this week in
support of legislation that would protect more than 1.2 million acres
in his state from oil and minerals development.
The bill from Wyoming Republican Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, S. 2229, would prohibit development in part of the Bridger Teton National Forest on the Wyoming Range. Freudenthal, who will testify before the Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee on Wednesday, has been fighting along with hunting, fishing and conservation groups in Wyoming to halt oil and natural gas development in the range, where about 44,000 acres were leased in 2005 and 2006. The Interior Board of Land Appeals has issued a stay on those leases, at the request of Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups. Hoping to preserve the land for outdoor tourism and recreation, the legislation provides a buy-out process for current leaseholders and would permit the remaining leases to be voluntarily purchased by conservation groups and other entities to retire the leases. The late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) had planned to introduce the Wyoming Range bill last summer, and Barrasso previously pledged to follow through with the legislation (Land Letter, Sept. 13, 2007). Barrasso is the ranking member of the subcommittee, which will also discuss: S. 832, to provide for the sale of approximately 25 acres of public land to the Turnabout Ranch in Escalante, Utah. S. 2379, to authorize the secretary of the Interior to cancel certain grazing leases on land in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon, to provide for the exchange of certain monument land in exchange for private land, to designate certain monument land as wilderness. S. 2508 and H.R. 903, to provide for a study of options for protecting the open space characteristics of certain lands in and adjacent to the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests in Colorado. S. 2601 and H.R. 1285, to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of National Forest System land in Kittitas County, Wash., to facilitate the construction of a new fire and rescue station. H.R. 523, to require the secretary of the Interior to convey certain public land located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the Wells Hydroelectric Project of Public Utility District No. 1 of Douglas County, Wash., to the utility district. H.R. 838, to provide for the conveyance of the Bureau of Land Management parcels known as the White Acre and Gambel Oak properties and related real property to Park City, Utah. Schedule: The hearing is Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m. in 366 Dirksen. Witnesses: Wyoming Gov. Freudenthal; Melissa Simpson, deputy undersecretary, Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture Department; and Luke Johnson, deputy director, BLM.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
|
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 February 2008 ) |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Syndicate
