Omnibus Lands Bill

[Grumpy]

Attention Access Allies:

This Alert was generated by the folks at the American Land Rights Association
and Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL) appreciates the opportunity to
modify and forward it to others.

The Boxer/McKeon Eastern Sierra Wilderness Bill (H.R. 6156-S.3069)
has likely been added to this Omnibus Bill, so we must oppose the whole thing,
and additionally insist that the bills be broken out and dealt with individually.
Bill now includes 190 different bills. It was “onlyâ€

[Grumpy]

Here's a side note with regards to the posting of the (ALERT) Ominbus Land Act 2008 on the front page of the webside.

This management act is also known as Senate Bill 3213 - it is up for consideration as early as (Monday) November 17th. Senate Majority Harry Reed (D-Nevada) has annnounced he plans on calling the Senate back in to vote on this piece of legislation - among other issues at hand.

The "package" has a combination of 160 plus separate bills tacked on to it - a multitude of "pork barrel spending" projects; not only does this bill withdraw millions of acres of public land from energy development; adds additional restrictions to federally managed lands; it will also add approximately two million acres for consideration for wilderness designation - limiting and restricting access for major recreation.

Those opposing this legislation is massive and are from varied groups; American Motorcycle Association (AMA); American Land Rights; Blue Ribbon Coalition; Multiple Use Coalitions; NW Mining Association; to the Washington State Farm Bureau - to name a few.

You can click on to the email address - "Save The Trails" organization or you can personally contact your State Senators using their email form. It is recommended to phone, fax or email our representatives now - due to the screening procedures the "snail mail" has to go through.

Senator Patty Murray <http://murray.senate.gov> (Toll free) 886-481-9186 - FAX 202-224-0238

Senator Marie Cantwell <http://cantwell.senate.gov> 202-224-3441 - FAX 220-2280514

[Grumpy]

is coming before the Senate. There are apparently 150items in this particular bill being sponsored by a Sen. Reid. The Senate Energy Committee added millions of acres of wildernessdesignations in 8 states along with 3 wild and scenic river areas, 4 national trails and authorize dozens of land exchanges and conveyances. Idaho Congrssman Mike Simpson also attempting to attach the Central Idaho Development and Recreation Act to the package.

Voting on this is planned by Sen Reid for sometime next week. This is entitled the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008. It includes approx $4B in pork barrel spending on such items as birthday celebrations for cities, tropical botanical gardens and there is even a line item to determine if Alexander Hamilton's boyhod estate is suitable to become a new National Park.

One good thing that has come out of this legislation is that the BLM is having to investigate whether members of their agency have been illegally lobbying members of Congress and worked in conjunction with environmentalists on developing the draft for the National Landscape Conservation System.

Please email, fax or call your elected officials to let them knwo that this type of spending is uncalled for in these times and that development in new wilderness areas is not inthe best interest of anyone.

[Grumpy]

The word is - " S.3213 piece of legislation (Omnibus Public Land Management Act - 2008) is likely dead for this session." It seems congress has a full plate addressing issues with the economy and the automobile industry - plus, Senator Tom Coburn (R - Oklahoma) threatened filibustering if the bill comes before the Senate for a vote - he called it "excessive spending."

Congress will be adjourning soon for the holidays - I'm pretty sure next session the bill will be back again.

Arlene Brooks, WA. State Director

[Grumpy]

We just received information from Speciality Equipment Market Association (SEMA- Washington D.C. Office) - according to Senator Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev) the Omnibus Land Management Act -2008 (S.3213) will not come up during this week's session, citing a lack of time to defeat one Senator's (Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) delaying tactics.

According to policy - if the bill was brought up there would be a requiremnet to read the bill - which would take more than 24 hours. Legislation will re-introduced in January and considered under "Rule 14" - it will be immediately placed on the Senate calendar and can be brought to the floor at anytime without the need to go through the committee process.

Stay tuned - Arlene Brooks, WA. State Director

[Grumpy]

Passed, $10 friggen billon its going to cost You and ME

2 million acres taken, And Obama will most likely sign it

Wayne

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...V_xQo&refer=us

Plan to Set Aside More Wilderness Land Advances in U.S. Senate
Email | Print | A A A

By Lorraine Woellert and Brian Faler

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate, in its first order of business this year, advanced a $10 billion conservation plan that would set aside more than 2 million acres of natural wilderness and protect 1,000 miles of scenic rivers.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, the first piece of legislation considered by the new Senate, combines about 160 individual environmental bills in nearly 1,300 pages.

The measure “is possibly the most significant conservation legislation passed by the Senate in the past decade,â€

[Grumpy]

The second paragraph is important!! Still 2 more hurdles to get over. Start making phone calls!!!!!
____________________________________________________________


In an unusual weekend session, the Senate cleared a procedural hurdle Sunday, January 11 toward passing an omnibus bill that would designate large tracts of new wilderness nationwide.

Senators voted 66-12 to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to the bill (S 22), with the next step another procedural vote on Wednesday, followed by a vote on passage to be held Thursday or Friday. Sponsors have been trying to pass similar legislation for the past several months. The major obstacle to passage has been Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, who used procedural tactics to block or delay votes.

The package combines more than 160 public lands bills introduced in the 110th Congress. Senator Coburn said the bill would authorize wasteful spending and block energy production on some federal lands. He also objected to what he said was a larger trend for Democrats to block the minority from offering any amendments.

Coburn said he will continue to throw up procedural hurdles every step of the way. He said that he planned to go to the floor to talk about amendments that he would like (but is not being allowed to) offer. The bill would designate more than 2 million acres of new wilderness areas, in addition to scenic rivers, historic sites and expansions of national parks. It would authorize new water projects and allow three water settlements in Western states.

Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, is backing a provision that would withdraw about 1.2 million acres in his state from oil and gas development. He said this action will be a legacy for the late Senator Craig Thomas, who occupied Barrasso’s seat until he died in 2007. “There are certain places that are so special and so pristine that they need to be protected for future generations,â€

[Grumpy]

Trial vote today...just over 2:1 in favor. We're screwed

[sams88]

You're not really surprised are you? We are going to be in for a minimum of 4 or 8 years of intense "green" stuff as that is going to be a big thing on the national level with the new administration. And that will in turn be followed by a good number of the states too. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the greenies will get their already highly efficient lawyers, lobbyists, and monetary solicitation machine running full speed ahead! Ever hear of a steamroller?

[Grumpy]

We need an icon to indicate deep, troubling depression...

[Grumpy]

BLUERIBBON COALITION EXPRESSES CONCERNS ABOUT HOUSE VOTE ON OMNIBUS LAND BILL

POCATELLO, ID (February 4) - The BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), a national trail-based recreation group, today voiced concern that the U.S. House of Representatives will "grease through" over 160 public lands bills, thereby avoiding the public review these bills deserve. In addition, BRC cautioned that recreational access tenets in some of the bills may have been intentionally removed in closed-door proceedings.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 was fast-tracked through the U.S. Senate and could see a vote in the House as early as next week. The bill (S 22) is over 1,200 pages long with over 160 different bills, designates 2.2 million acres of Wilderness, identifies three new national parks, 10 national heritage areas, and designates over 1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers.

BRC expressed concern that access protection provisions were apparently stripped from several of the bills involved. For example, new sections were added in the Washington County (Utah) Growth and Conservation Act regarding closure of roads and trails and limiting how Bureau of Land Management funds generated by the Act can be used.

"It is important that local collaborative efforts be sustained as legislation moves in Congress. Pushing these bills into law via the omnibus package allows powerful special interest groups in Washington D.C. to eliminate hard-won local consensus and ram through provisions that are contrary to the desires of those, on all sides of the issues, who actually visit these remarkable lands." said Brian Hawthorne, BRC's Public Lands Policy Director.

"This bill collectively reduces recreational opportunity, feeds millions of earmarked dollars into pet projects, will cost billions to implement, and provides very little of the protection it is touted to deliver," added Greg Mumm, the Coalition's Executive Director. "If this behemoth bill is any indication of the aggressive agenda in store for this congress, the American recreating public faces difficult challenges ahead," Mumm concluded.

Mumm said BRC will be encouraging its 600,000 members and supporters to contact their political representatives and encourage them to work to restore the locally-generated compromise provisions in these bills and oppose changes demanded by the large preservationist lobby in Washington D.C.

# # #

The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national recreation group that champions responsible recreation, and encourages individual environmental stewardship.. It represents over 10,000 individual members and 1,200 organization and business members, for a combined total of over 600,000 recreationists nationwide. 1-800-258-3742. www.sharetrails.org
_________________

[Grumpy]

Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973
E-mail: alra@pacifier.com
Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington, DC 20003


Updated, S22 Omnibus House Vote Delayed Till After Feb 23rd


-----All S22 opponents must deluge their Congressman with calls opposing
this giant omnibus land grab bill. Remember, the House is using the Senate
number S 22.

-----Even if you have called before, call again and again. Keep up the
pressure.

-----You must make your Congressman responsible for his or her vote on S22.
He or she must know you and your allies will not forget and that he or she
will be held accountable. That is the only way you can compete in this new
Congress. Organize teams to call your Congressman and keep calling.



See Below How Your Senators Voted On S22 Omnibus Lands Bill


You want to make sure you give your Senators the credit they deserve.


-----If you do nothing else, please forward this message to as many people
as possible on your list.


-----House Vote On S22 Likely After February 23rd – Call Now!

-----You must deluge your Congressman with opposition to S22.

Call, fax, e-mail and visit your Congressman.

-----Every Congressman must know in advance there will be a cost to them
associated with their vote on S22.

-----If you fail to make them believe that, you will have no chance to
compete in Congress in the next two years.


-----Call your friends, neighbors, and as many others as you can.

-----S22 Includes Babbitt 26,000,000 Acre National Landscape Conservation
System.

-----150 Wilderness And Lock Up Bills Included In Omnibus Land Grab.

American Land Rights Will Send The Results Showing How Your Congressman
Voted.

You Have Little Time To Call And Make A Difference.


-----Background

Dear Land Rights Ally:

You can help stop the Omnibus Federal Lands Bill (S22) that passed the
Senate a few days ago. You now must focus on your Congressman.

It’s critical that you call, write, fax and e-mail too. You don’t have time
to use US Mail. Send your letters by fax or e-mail. Time is urgent.

The Omnibus Federal Lands bill is one of the largest land grabs in history.
Just one bill in the 150 bill package, the National Landscape Conservation
System (NLCS), covers 26 million acres and will lock you out of BLM
multiple-use, energy lands, national monuments and Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Grazing, mining, forestry and many other uses will be greatly affected.

S22 will add dozens of new National Heritage Areas and Wilderness Areas that
will eventually be a land use control network strangling hundreds of
thousands of local people and rural America.

-----You can see a map of the National Landscape Conservation System at
www.landrights.org. Go to the home page to get more information about the
National Landscape Conservation System and how much damage it will do to
you.


In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) bought votes by putting
every bill he could find in the package to buy off opposing Senators. In
other words, he looked for a bill that each Senator wanted and put it in the
bill. That way few Senators would oppose him even though this bill is
likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and do great damage in their
individual state.

An example is Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. S22 puts a road through a
Wildnerness area that she wants. So she is ignoring the National Landscape
Conservation System, also in the bill, that will do great harm to the people
of Alaska. Senator Murkowski voted yes on S22.

The House is using the Senate number S22. The vote will be soon. The
danger from an omnibus bill is that they package all the lands, Wilderness,
Wild and Scenic Rivers and any other bills of that type they can find into
one bill. It’s likely your Congressman has something in the bill.

The strategy is that by giving every Congressman something in the bill they
want, they won’t oppose the bill when it comes up for passage. They won’t
look at all the other bad stuff. And the leaders are usually right.

-----You need to insist that your Congressman ask for a vote on each
individual bill. Let your Congressman know you will hold him or her
accountable for the vote on S22.

-----
American Land Rights will send you the vote results so you can give your
Congressman proper credit.
-----

A major problem is that S22 is over 1,000 pages long including over 150
separate bills. It’s likely that not a single Congressman has read the
entire bill. So there are bills included that your Congressman would likely
oppose if they came up as a single bill.

This practice of using omnibus bills puts you in grave danger.

When you call your Congressman (every Congressman can be called at
202-225-3121) you must not only oppose the various land grab portions of the
bill, but you need to make a big deal about your
Congressman voting for an omnibus bill where he has never read the entire
bill.

You need to make an issue of the fact that he is not protecting you or doing
his job. If they have not read the bill, they should not vote for it.

Each bill should be considered on its own merits and not as a fruit salad.
Everything we have told you in the past about S22 in the Senate is the same
for S22 in the House.

Here are just a few reasons why you should oppose S22.

-----1. S22 puts into law the 26,000,000 acre Babbitt National Landscape
Conservation System locking up energy and access to Federal lands. It locks
you out. S22 puts National Park type land use controls over every BLM
National Monuments, Wild and Scenic River and lots of other areas.

-----2. Creates many new Wilderness Areas and Heritage Areas. Millions of
acres locked up.

-----3. S22 takes about 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 300
million barrels of oil out of production in Wyoming, according to the Bureau
of Land Management. The energy resources walled off by this bill would
equal our domestic natural gas production for 15 years.

-----4. S22 would spend $1 billion on a water project designed to save 500
salmon in Calif. At $2 million a head, each salmon would be worth far more
than its weight in gold.

-----5. S22 would spend $3.5 million to celebrate the 450th birthday of St.
Augustine Florida in 2015.

-----6. S22 spends $250,000 to help bureaucrats decide how to designate
Alexander Hamilton’s boyhood home.

-----7. S22 spends $5 million on botanical gardens in Hawaii and Florida.

----- These are only the tip of the iceberg. It goes on and on and on.
There are over 150 different bills in S22. So the total cost will be in the
billions of dollars. The regulatory and land use limitation implications of
this bill are enormous.



-- Action Items – You must call your Congressman before Feb. 23rd.

-----1. Please join other landowners, users of Federal lands, and rural
Americans to defeat the Omnibus Federal Lands Bill – S22. Remember that
this bill includes the dreaded 26,000,000 acre Babbitt National Landscape
Conservation System.

-----2. Please send a letter by fax or e-mail to your Congressman opposing
the Omnibus Federal Lands Bill – S22. You do not have time to use regular
mail.

-----3. You may call any Congressman at (202) 225-3121. Ask for the staff
person who handles Federal lands issues and in particular the Omnibus
Federal Lands Bill. Ask for their fax number and e-mail address.


There is no way to overstate how damaging S22, the Omnibus Federal Lands
Bill, is to you. It affects everyone and is the largest land grab in the
last 30 years. ALRA is sending letters, faxes and e-mails to hundreds of
thousands of people.

It must be an all out effort. This is an incredible land grab. Please do
your part. Please help build a broad based coalition nationally to stop
this incredible land grab.


Chuck Cushman
American Land Rights Association
(360) 687-3087
ccushman@pacifier.com


-----How Your Senator Voted on S 22 – Omnibus Federal Land Grab

-----Here is the vote broken down by State. Grouped by Home State

Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Alaska: Begich (D-AK), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Arizona: Kyl (R-AZ), Nay McCain (R-AZ), Nay
Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California: Boxer (D-CA), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado: Salazar (D-CO), Yea Udall (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Not Voting Carper (D-DE), Yea
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Yea Risch (R-ID), Yea
Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Nay Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Kentucky: Bunning (R-KY), Not Voting McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland: Cardin (D-MD), Yea Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Minnesota: Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Mississippi: Cochran (R-MS), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Missouri: Bond (R-MO), Yea McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Tester (D-MT), Yea
Nebraska: Johanns (R-NE), Nay Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada: Ensign (R-NV), Nay Reid (D-NV), Yea
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Udall (D-NM), Yea
New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Nay Hagan (D-NC), Yea
North Dakota: Conrad (D-ND), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Ohio: Brown (D-OH), Not Voting Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Oregon: Merkley (D-OR), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Yea
Pennsylvania: Casey (D-PA), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Reed (D-RI), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
South Carolina: DeMint (R-SC), Nay Graham (R-SC), Nay
South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Thune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee: Alexander (R-TN), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Nay Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Vermont: Leahy (D-VT), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Virginia: Warner (D-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia: Byrd (D-WV), Yea Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Enzi (R-WY), Yea

Make sure your let your Senators know in person and by letter that you know
how they voted and you will remember. They must get the credit they
deserve.


If you wish to unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the
subject line. If you know of others who would like to receive these alerts,
reply with their e-mail addresses.


-----Please forward this message as widely as possible.

-----It is incredibly important for you to forward this message. By
forwarding the message, you can help get many thousands of copies of this
e-mail as well as faxes and letters distributed. Please consider sending
American Land Rights an emergency donation to help us get this message out
to others.

-----You can donate to American Land Rights to help pay for all the
thousands of letters, faxes and e-mail we’ll be sending out about the Y to Y
Land Grab over the next few weeks at www.landrights.org or mail your check
to American Land Rights, PO Box 400, Battle Ground, WA 98604. Thank you in
advance for your support.

-----Other organizations that wish to forward this message are free to
modify this e-mail to suit their needs.
__________________

[Grumpy]

Gregg Mumm, BBC's Executive Director, just called me from Washington D.C. He told me that the infamous Omnibus Public Lands bill, commonly known as "S.22," failed by 1 vote in the House.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 had been fast-tracked through the U.S. Senate and had been expected to pass the House earlier today. Tell me one vote doesn't count! The bill is over 1,200 pages long with over 160 different bills, designates 2.2 milllion acres of Wilderness, identifies three new national parks, 10 national heritage areas, and designates over 1000 miles of wild scenic rivers.

We'll have details later. Thanks to all who made calls and emailed on this bill.

Brian Hawthorne, Blue Ribbon Coalition

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to all who took time to address this bill - I am sure it will be back - maybe in the same format - or - each proposal on its own merit as it should be - time will tell.

It was a bitter sweet bill for us here in the Pacific Northwest - Oregon facing added wilderness in there state - and a bill that was included (Rep. "Doc" Hastings) with the possibility of financing a legal access road for the Juniper Dunes in Franklin County.

[tobyw]

[Grumpy]

Stay tuned. It ain't going to go away...

[Grumpy]

I hate to be an "I told you so", but...

Omnibus Public Lands Bill is still alive and to be voted on Monday March 16!


Thursday 12 March was a sad day for Americans who enjoy traveling the great outdoors and for international observers of the US law making process.

One of the biggest land use Bills, the once named Omnibus Bill, now tacked onto H.R. 146, has been engineered in Congress to allow minimal discussion despite its complexity and huge implications to 4x4 recreation, energy resources etc..

It is vital that you call or email your Senators and representatives immediately, to demand that they vote NO to the passage of H.R. 146 in its present form. The House votes on Monday afternoon.

To find your Officials, the AMA have a useful system on www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp

The irony is that H.R. 146 is the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act Bill, to recognise those sites in US history where citizens died for their beliefs.

http://rpc.senate.gov/public/_files/hotline0.html

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h146/show

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...6&position=all
__________________

[Grumpy]

RPC
Senate Schedule
Monday, March 16, 2009
Main Page

Pending:

The Senate will next convene at 2:00 p.m. Monday, March 16, after standing in adjournment at 6:58 p.m. Thursday, March 12.

At 2:00 p.m., the Senate will be in Morning Business until 3:00 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:00 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 146, the Battlefields bill (vehicle for the Public Lands bill).

At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will VOTE on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 146. NOTE: If cloture is invoked, the post-cloture time will be counted as if cloture had been invoked at 10:00 a.m. Monday.

[Grumpy]

Sent to both of our Senators today. Will follow with phone calls.



I would like to express my great displeasure with this attempt to sneak bad legislation through with good! S22 has no place being connected to HB146. I urge to vote against this back door shot at passing the Omnibus Lands Bill by default. S22 is nothing more than another attempt to block the public's access to it's own land, and I very much resent that!

Best Regards,

Dave Walters
Tri Cities Peak Putters
Land Use Coordinator

[Grumpy]

CLOTURE - The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.

[Grumpy]

Dear Mr. Walters:



Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. It is good to hear your thoughts on this important piece of legislation.



As you may know, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act is a compilation of many individual bills within the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture. These programs will help to conserve our nation's wilderness areas and expand access to these natural treasures for generations to come.



You may be interested to know that Omnibus Public Land Management Act contains several provisions that will directly benefit the State of Washington. Along with establishing funding for wildfire prevention and firefighter safety, this bill allows for a land transfer to facilitate the construction of a new fire and rescue station at Snoqualmie Pass. The current structure, built in the 1930's, is inadequate to meet the needs of one of the most travelled mountain passes in the country.



This bill also adds two extensive trail systems within the State of Washington to our national trails system - the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail and the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. These trails will allow Washingtonians even more access to the natural beauty we are so fortunate to have in our state.



The Senate passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 on January 16, 2009 and the bill is now being considered by the House of Representatives. Be assured, I will continue to be a strong advocate for the protection of our nation's public lands and should related legislation come before the Senate I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind. If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate please sign up for my weekly updates at http://murray.senate.gov/updates.



I hope all is well in Kennewick.

[Grumpy]

My thoughts on this subject were it's off base and being handled in typical end run fashion.

[Grumpy]

Latest news on omnibus lands bill:

Although the official vote in the Senate has not yet taken place, we must be honest and say that the bill is likely to pass either tomorrow or Thursday.

This sends the bill back to the House, and the leadership there is expected to suspend normal rules in order to jam it through without debate or chance of amendments. As we noted in the previous action alert, D.C. insiders expect House leadership to call the legislation up as a "preferential bill," which would prohibit committee review and limit amendments.

For more information on the Omnibus Land Bill, see our previous alerts here.
(http://www.sharetrails.org/alerts/)

Important info:
I need to mention that the number of calls on this omnibus bill have increased over the last few weeks. This is really rare for long running marathon bills like this one.

Your calls are making a difference and many of the legislators you are calling are starting to question why, in a time of financial crisis, is it so important to jam through a $10 - $12 billion land bill.

Another question that should be asked is, "Why is there no opportunity for an amendment?"

I'll take this opportunity to mention a few Congressmen asking the tough questions, including Utah's Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, California's Devin Nunes, Florida's Alcee Hastings, Montana's Denny Rehberg and Oklahoma's Mary Fallin, just to name a few.

Honorable mention goes to Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis, who penned a very well reasoned letter as to why she could not vote for the omnibus bill. I encourage all BRC Action Alert Subscribers to take a minute to read what she said. http://lummis.house.gov/2009/03/lumm...-package.shtml

What you need to do:
BRC is asking all of our members and supporters to call their Senators AND their Representatives NOW. Finding their phone number is easy. Just enter your zip code on BRC's Rapid Response Center webpage at http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/.

For Maximum Effectiveness:
Call both Senators and your Congressperson. Three quick phone calls. Simply tell them that you oppose the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009. Tell them you oppose putting public lands bills into these "all or nothing" omnibus packages.

Be brief. Be polite. Do it NOW.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, call or email.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

[Grumpy]

PUBLIC LANDS: Omnibus clears Senate, heads for House vote next week (03/19/2009)

Eric Bontrager and Noelle Straub, E&E reporters

The House will take up the public lands, water and natural resources omnibus bill next week, potentially sending the measure to President Obama for his signature.

Today, the Senate passed the bill for the second time this year, 77-20, as part of a complicated maneuver to prevent House Republicans from offering contentious amendments.

House National Parks Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said he expects the House will move quickly to approve the omnibus. "It will happen next week," he said. "I'm hearing Thursday from the leadership, so it'll probably be Tuesday."

The bill will come up under a rule, a House Democratic aide said.

Assuming the House passes the omnibus, Grijalva said he would like to begin work on a new another lands package, including new wilderness designations, for consideration later this year or early next year.

Before today's vote, senators accepted one amendment but rejected two others that Democrats allowed Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to offer as part of a deal in exchange for allowing the bill to proceed. Yesterday they rejected three others.

Coburn, who placed "holds" on many of the bills in the omnibus for months last year, said the bill contains earmarks, limits energy development on public lands, and is an example of "hyper-parochialism" under which senators put items they wanted for their home states over the long-term good of the country.

The Coburn amendment that was accepted by voice vote would clarify the bill to allow the "casual collection" of rocks in parks that may contain a fossil, preventing criminal prosecution of visitors who unintentionally take a fossil. It would keep penalties for those who knowingly take or sell fossils from parks.

One of the amendments defeated today would have struck certain sections that Coburn deems frivolous, such as the $3.5 million to celebrate the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine, Fla., in 2015, and a salmon restoration project in California. Coburn said the California provision would amount to the government spending hundreds of millions of dollars to protect 500 fish. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said his amendment would have destroyed a widely supported, court-approved settlement of an 18-year legal battle. The Senate voted 70-27 to table, or kill, the amendment.

The other amendment would have required federal agencies to issue an annual report detailing the total amount of land they own and the cost to taxpayers of the ownership of the land. It was tabled, 58-39.

Last week, the House fell two votes shy of passing the bill under suspension of the rules, a maneuver that shields legislation from amendment or a motion to recommit but requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Senate leaders then devised a strategy to use a bill that had already passed the House -- H.R. 146, a proposal to protect Revolutionary War battlefields -- and strip its contents, replacing it with the omnibus lands bill. Because the House already passed H.R. 146, the chamber will only need to vote to concur with the Senate amendment.

The omnibus would designate more than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states and would establish three new national park units, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, more than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers and four new national trails. It would enlarge the boundaries of more than a dozen existing national park units and establish 10 new national heritage areas.

It would also authorize numerous land exchanges and conveyances to help local Western communities address water resource and supply issues, and includes provisions to improve land management.

The revised omnibus bill will also include language from Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) meant to ensure that the omnibus would not close off lands that are already open to hunting and fishing.

Conservation groups praised the Senate passage.

The Wilderness Society's Paul Spitler said the Senate move "clears the most significant hurdle to protecting some of the country's most cherished landscapes."

"These wonderful landscapes are under tremendous pressure, and their value to local communities and to all Americans who treasure our natural heritage will remain long after the country has recovered from the economic crisis," Spitler said in a statement, although he expressed concern over a provision allowing construction of a road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

"Today, Congress has helped ensure that we will have a wild legacy to pass on to our children and grandchildren," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "This bill helps guarantee that future generations will be able to hike in pristine forests from California to West Virginia. They'll be able to fish America's untouched rivers, watch antelope migrate through Wyoming, and take their families camping in the stunning Rocky Mountains."
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[Grumpy]

Wilderness Preservation Bill Passes In House
Opponents call legislation 'land grab' that would block energy development

WASHINGTON - Congress on Wednesday set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as protected wilderness — from California's Sierra Nevada mountains to the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

The legislation is on its way to President Barack Obama for his likely signature.

The House approved the bill, 285-140, the final step in a long legislative road that began last year.

The vote came two weeks after the House rejected the bill amid a partisan dispute over gun rights. The measure was brought up again in the Senate and approved last week, setting up Wednesday's vote.

The bill — a collection of nearly 170 separate measures — would be one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in a quarter-century. It would confer the government's highest level of protection on land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Supporters called the bill landmark legislation that will strengthen the national park system, restore national forests, preserve wild and scenic rivers, protect battlefields and restore balance to the management of public lands.

Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a "land grab" that would block energy development on vast swaths of federal land.

"After nearly a decade during which our parks were taken for granted and our range lands were scarred by a spider-web of roads and (drilling) well pads," the lands bill "represents a new dawn for America's heritage and American values," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Opposition over land development
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and other Republicans complained that the measure would lock up millions of acres of land that could be explored for energy and used for other development.

"Our nation can't afford to shut down the creation of jobs for jobless Americans, and we can't afford to become even more dependent on foreign sources of energy," Hastings said.

The bill "even locks up federal lands from renewable energy production, including wind and solar," he said.

Hastings and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to allow visitors to national parks to carry concealed, loaded weapons. A federal judge last week struck down a Bush administration rule allowing loaded guns in parks and wildlife refuges.

Because of a parliamentary rule adopted in the Senate, the House took up the bill under a rule that blocked amendments.

Preserving the wilderness
Land to be protected in the bill ranges from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range and Oregon's Mount Hood to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would win designation as wilderness, and more than 1,000 miles of rivers in nearly a dozen states would gain protections. The proposals would expand wilderness designation — which blocks nearly all development — into areas that now are not protected.

The bill also would let Alaska go forward with plans to build an airport access road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge as part of a land swap that would transfer more than 61,000 acres to the federal government, much of it designated as wilderness.

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