Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,
YAY! The House and Senate have closed up shop for the November Elections. GASP! It looks certain a Lame Duck session will begin the second week in November.
A Lame Duck Congress is the most immediate threat to YOUR recreational access to millions of acres of scenic public lands. A Lame Duck session allows Congressmen and Senators who have been defeated by an election or are retiring to vote on legislation.
Bad For Recreation Bills Ready to Slip Into Law
Among the bills that are queued up in Washington DC at this very moment are several bad-for-recreation wilderness bills including Idaho's CIEDRA, the laughably named Central Idaho Economic and Recreation Act. Also in the queue is Montana's equally laughably named Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. These and other bills could easily pass during a Lame Duck session of Congress.
Old Threats Given Chance With Lame Duck
One long-sought goal of the radical environmentalists is full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Full and continuous funding for the LWCF is buried deep in the Senate Energy Bill (S 3663). If passed as-is, it would transfer millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars into all manner of "conservation projects."
A Potential Omnibus Brings Additional Threats
Several Legislators have indicated their intent to bundle a bunch of public lands bills into one "pass all or none" package known as an omnibus bill. This odious method of legislating began when Congresses ran into trouble passing a budget. Sadly, it is now the preferred method of the Wilderness lobby. Omnibus cheats the normal deliberative legislative process, so bad bills that cannot pass on their own get slipped into law.
Worse, news reports indicate an omnibus bill could be used to established several new National Monuments currently being considered by Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar.
Washington DC Wilderness Lobby Sees Lame Duck as Best Opportunity They'll Have In Years
Paul Spitler, National Wilderness Campaigns Associate Director for The Wilderness Society (TWS), was quoted by E&E News/New York Times as saying if TWS doesn't get their Wilderness wish list passed in this Congress, it would be a major set back for them.
" Paul Spitler, national wilderness campaigns associate director for the Wilderness Society, said there are about 20 wilderness proposals covering roughly 4 million acres of public lands that wilderness advocates would like to see passed by this Congress."The Wilderness activist groups are on an acre hunt. They perceive this Lame Duck session as their golden opportunity to grab as much of your access as possible.Please take action today!OHV and snowmobile enthusiasts must speak up now. Our message must be simple and clear:
No Public Lands Omnibus!
Use our webpage to TAKE ACTION! . . . Rapid Response Center - BlueRibbon CoalitionOur webpage has a lot of other information that will be helpful. And as always, feel free to call our Public Lands staff with questions or comments.
- BRC Land Use Update
