March 12, 2008 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bill Sali today voted against a bill that would cut off most public access to some 26 million acres of public lands, including more than 2 million acres in Idaho. The bill, HR 2016, would codify the National Landscape Conservation System created in 2000 during the Clinton presidency and would permanently limit grazing, mining, logging, recreation and hunting. The bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee on a 24-13 vote and will next be considered by the full House.

“Anyone who uses Idaho public lands – whether for ranching or for recreation, for hunting or for mining – will be adversely impacted by this legislation,” warned Sali, a member of the committee. “This bill is another example of how bureaucrats and politicians in Washington, D.C., think they know what’s best for Idaho. Clearly they don’t.”

In 2000, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt established a 26 million acre conservation program covering 12 western states. If HR 2016 passes, it would require an agency to place a higher value on landscape preservation than on any other management consideration, including recreational uses.  In addition, this bill uses such expansive concepts that it would restrict hunting access and many other activities well beyond the physical boundaries of these designated conservation areas including on private property.  The bill would also permanently lock up land that the BLM has determined should be released for other uses.

Sali has consistently championed access to public lands for recreation, grazing, mining, logging and hunting. Last year, Sali successfully challenged a Bureau of Land Management decision to eliminate recreational shooting on public lands near Boise.