Whew. The last couple
of weeks have been a
whirlwind of activity on
the national policy
front and we decided it
would be helpful to take
a moment and fill you in
on how Winter Wildlands
Alliance is working to
fulfill our mission and
share some important
ways for you to get
involved and help us
defend our public lands
and winter
backcountry.
Last week we joined
over a thousand people -
including tons of skiers
- to
rally
for public lands in
Montana. And,
like many of you we've
been on the phone with
various Congressional
offices almost every
day. Not only that,
we've been continuing to
meet with Forest Service
decision makers,
grassroots activists,
and other winter
recreation stakeholders
to talk about specific
projects and planning
efforts.
We know that our
members and supporters
are eager to speak out
in defense of public
lands so we've created a
web
portal that
allows you to easily
email your senators and
representatives. This
way you can let them
know what you value as a
constituent and what
your thoughts are on the
bills they are
considering. You can
also call the Capitol
Switchboard at
202-224-3121 to get
connected to your
political reps.
With so much at
stake, we're going start
sending out a regular
synthesis of the various
bills being considered
by Congress that would
impact public lands and
backcountry recreation.
So, without further ado,
here's the past week in
review:
Public
Lands Heist Bills: On
their first day of
work this year our
representatives
Congress passed a
rules package intended
to pave the way for
transferring or
selling public lands
by making these
transactions budget
neutral. Then, Utah
Congressman Jason
Chaffetz introduced
two bills intended to
further chip away at
our public land
system. The first, HR
621, would have
"disposed of" 3.3
million acres of
public land. However,
after thousands of
people called and
emailed their
representatives,
attended rallies, and
otherwise pushed back
Congressman Chaffetz
withdrew HR 621. This
was a huge win for
public lands advocates
and this success shows
that your voice can
make a difference. But
there is more work to
do.
Chaffetz's
second bill, HR 622,
proposes to eliminate
the Forest Service and
BLM's law enforcement
ability and instead
put local sheriffs in
charge of protecting
public lands. Local
sheriff's departments
are already maxed out
and there's no
guarantee that they
will be familiar with,
or choose to enforce,
the rules and
regulations that have
been put in place to
protect our public
lands. Without the
ability to enforce
their own rules the
Forest Service and BLM
will have to stand by
and watch as illegal
roads proliferate,
priceless artifacts
are looted, and the
safety of everybody
seeking to enjoy our
public lands is
compromised. Winter
Wildlands Alliance
focuses a lot of
attention on winter
travel planning but
these plans are
meaningless if the
Forest Service can't
enforce them.
Action: Tell
your reps that HR 622 would jeopardize the places and
experiences you care
about.
Expansion
of Oil and Gas
Drilling in National
Parks: Last
week Arizona
Congressman Paul Gosar
introduced a
resolution (
H.J.Res.46)
to roll back the
National Park
Service's authority
to regulate private
oil and gas drilling
within National
Parks. The Park
Service predicts that
if this bill were to
become law new oil and
gas operations could
occur in up to 30 Park
units, including Grand
Teton.
Action: Let
your reps know that
oil and gas drilling
has no place in our
National Parks and
that they should work
to strengthen, not
weaken, protections
for parks.
Planning
Rule for BLM Lands:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM)
manages a lot of land
in the West, including
some really great ski
terrain near
Silverton, CO as well
as a ton of land in
Alaska. Under the
Obama administration
the BLM updated how
they write their long
term management plans.
This "Planning 2.0"
rule modernized BLM
planning and does a
much better job of
recognizing the value
of recreation.
Unfortunately, some
members of Congress
are proposing to
overturn the Planning
2.0 rule using the
Congressional Review
Act, taking us
backward instead of
forward. This sounds
wonky but it will have
real impacts on public
lands and recreation.
At Winter
Wildlands Alliance we
work to protect public
lands, wild winter
landscapes, and
opportunities for
human powered winter
recreation. These are
non-partisan issues
and we work with
members of Congress on
both sides of the
aisle and, through our
partners at Outdoor
Alliance, the broader
outdoor recreation
community. Your
personal outreach to
your political
representatives is
super important and
has already made a
difference for public
lands this year. Keep
it up and we will
continue to advocate
for the public lands
and backcountry
experiences we all
love.
