 A recreator watches as the sun sets on the White Mountains from Benton Crags. Certain areas of the Whites, specifically the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, are targeted to receive the federal government’s highest level of land protection in the Wild Heritage Act, which is expected to be signed into law next week. Photo by John Dittli Mike Gervais
Register Staff
3-31-2009 Eastern Sierra residents on both sides of the issue are speaking out about the controversial Eastern Sierra Wild Heritage Act now that the House and Senate have approved the bill and sent it on its way to President Barack Obama for a final seal of approval.
Throughout its many revisions, residents here in the Sierra have had diverse opinions on the merits and flaws in the bill, as have state and federal leaders.
It took months of diligent work from leaders of both parties, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to overcome procedural challenges on both sides of the Capitol and vote 285 to 140 to pass legislation in the House on Wednesday.
The House of Representatives voted on the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 after it was shot down in an early “confidence vote” on March 11.
The original bill (S. 22), the first environmentally related bill in the 111th Congress, was approved by the Senate 73-21 on Jan. 15. In a second vote on March 19, the Senate again overwhelmingly passed the bill as H.R. 146, sending it back to the House for consideration and approval on Wednesday.
All of California’s Democratic representatives supported the bill. House speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco usually doesn’t vote, but she said she backed the bill.
All of the state’s Republicans voted against it except for Rep. Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs and McKeon, who also sponsored bills to create wilderness areas in their districts. Rep. Gary G. Miller of Diamond Bar did not vote.
According to reports, there was enough bipartisan support to keep the legislation alive through various changes of power up until now.
McKeon’s Deputy Chief of Staff Bob Haueter described the working relationship between McKeon and coauthor Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) as one built on mutual respect and a common goal, and noted that although the two rarely agree politically, they had many opportunities over the last several years to abandon their bipartisan partnership but did not.
Essentially, Haueter said, there were times when either legislator could have mustered enough support for different versions of the wilderness bill from their respective sides of the aisle – without any concessions to the other – but chose to stick to pursue the compromise anyway.
He explained that when McKeon originally introduced his bill, “his party” was in charge, and in 2006 when the Democrats took over the House and Senate, even though Republicans still held the White House, the Dems pretty much had the power.
But Boxer, like McKeon before her, reached out to members of the opposition party. “She said, in the spirit of bipartisanship, let’s get some compromise and work together,” Haueter explained.
Boxer “cut her bill in half and let us keep two crucial provisions” – 50,000 acres of Wilderness Study Area releases and the Hoover Snowmobile Winter Recreation Area, Haueter said. “She understood how important those were to Mr. McKeon.”
When Obama was elected to the presidency in November and Boxer’s party gained control of the White House too, “she could have said, ‘This is a brand-new session, we don’t need any compromises at all,’” Haueter continued. “But instead she reached out again and said, ‘A deal’s a deal.’”
But there were still some who were unconvinced, and the bill continued to receive amendments and changes to garner enough support on both sides of the aisle to make it to the president’s desk.
The legislation passed Wednesday is a combination of 160 land bills, including measures to strengthen the protection of Oregon’s Mt. Hood; create a commission to plan for the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, Fla.; and designating the River Raisin battlefield in Monroe, Mich. as a unit of the national park system.
Closer to home, the Wild Heritage Act aims to give the highest federal land protection designation to approximately 472,000 acres of wild land and four wild and scenic rivers totaling 73 miles near Santa Clarita and in the Eastern Sierra, including the White Mountains.
In Inyo County, the bill gives permanent protection to the ancient bristlecone pines, the John Muir Wilderness and the Owens River headwaters in Mono County.
The bill also includes the Amargosa river, designating it as a Wild and Scenic River.
Once signed into law, this lands package will amount to the largest increase of public land added to the Wilderness Preservation System in 15 years.
Part of the compromise legislators worked out to pass the bill was the release of the Masonic Mountain, Mormon Meadow, Walford Springs and Granite Mountain wilderness study areas. There is a total of about 50,000 acres of wilderness study releases included in the bill.
The bill also includes 7,680 of “winter recreation area” for snowmobile use and other activities near Bridgeport.
Bill Sauser, president of the Mammoth Lakes Snowmobile Association, lauded passage of McKeon’s wilderness measure and said it is a great example of collaboration and community involvement.
Many in Inyo County, however, have denounced the bill on the grounds that much of the local land included in the legislation does not meet the mandates set forth in the 1964 Wilderness Act for wild land.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors, the non-profit group Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL) and hundreds of residents have openly expressed opposition to the bill.
Some opponents have said the wilderness designation would push mining and prospecting out of the community, others have claimed that Inyo’s economic life-source lies in recreation and motorized travel that will be outlawed with the wilderness and still more say that California has more than enough protected land with 14 million acres of wilderness, second only to Alaska.
In addition to the Board of Supervisors and AAPL, the Eastern Sierra Four-Wheel Drive Club, the Blue Ribbon Coalition, The California Association of Four-Wheel Drive Clubs and Eastern Sierra Quail Unlimited have been vocal in their opposition of the bill.
Reaction to the House’s passage of the omnibus bill and its Wild Heritage Act has been widespread.
Following are some of the comments received by the Register in the wake of Wednesday’s vote:
Representative Howard “Buck” McKeon
“The land in the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains areas are some of the most rugged and majestic in California and the country. My bill works to protect and designate that land as wilderness. The Eastern Sierra Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act is the product of countless hours of community involvement. Senator Boxer and I worked together and met with virtually every local stakeholder and leader to reach a compromise. This package works for my district because it isn’t Congress telling my district how to manage our land; this is my community – my constituents – asking Congress to approve a land use compromise developed and vetted back home in California.”
Greg Weirick Advocates for Access to Public Lands President, Bishop
“Congressman McKeon’s claim that this was a bipartisan effort is patently false. Few folks who once voted for him here in the valley supported his crossing the aisle to gain liberal votes. McKeon’s claims that he had any more than a token involvement in the shaping of the Bill are also false. Boxer knew exactly what she wanted from the Bill and what she would give up, long before McKeon joined her ranks.
“AAPL deeply regrets the passage of the Eastern Sierra Wild Heritage Act, but the silver lining in it is the wilderness community will not be able to come back for more wilderness here for some years with any credibility. Time will tell if the cherry stemmed roads (allowing roads through wilderness) will be allowed to stay open, but we will not take any unreasonable closures lying down. In the meantime, the motorized community will be gearing up to better defend our cultural, historical, commercial and recreational rights to reasonable access to our cherished lands.”
Sally Miller, senior field representative for the Wilderness Society in Mammoth Lakes
“The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel regions are blessed with outstanding beauty and recreational opportunities. This legislation is a promise to future generations that these lands and rivers will remain forever wild.”
Bill Sauser, Mammoth Lakes Snowmobile Association president
“The snowmobile community in Mono County is very supportive of Congressman McKeon and is grateful he included us in this project and fought for us,” said Sauser. “It was a broad-based effort here in California where we all worked hard together, so it’s good to see the bill coming to fruition.”
David Lamfrom, National Parks Conservation Association California desert field representative
“… Historic action has been taken to protect the Amargosa River. This ribbon of green amid one of the harshest environments on earth is now being recognized as a life-line for rare and endangered species, and as a critical source of water for Death Valley National Park and its gateway communities.”
Rusty Gregory, chairman and CEO of Mammoth Mountain
“Congressman McKeon demonstrated considerable courage in sponsoring his wilderness bill. I agree with his support of the lands bill and I applaud his willingness to take a strong stand to preserve wilderness in the Sierra Nevada for the benefit of our regional economy and future generations.”
Vicki Bauer, board chair, Mono County Board of Supervisors
“To reach compromise locally was hard work, so it is nice to know the federal government is listening to us,” said Bauer. “I consider myself lucky to have watched this bill go from a 300 person local hearing to passage in the House.”
Tim Alpers, Alpers Trout owner, Mono County
“I am pleased with the passage of this bill in that it preserves beautiful wild lands for future generations, protects water sheds crucial to the health of our fisheries, and provides high quality recreation opportunities for our visitors, which helps our local economy,” Alpers said. “Passage of this bill represents long overdue protection for many priceless areas, including my area the Upper Owens River. Because of the unique and elegant design of this watershed, my grandfather, my father, as well as myself and many others have fought for long-term protection for one of the American public’s greatest stream systems. It has been a pleasure to work with a great team including Congressman McKeon, Senator Boxer and our local jurisdictions, businesses, and individuals.”
James Wilson, Owner, Wilson’s Eastside Sports, Bishop
“Congressman McKeon and Senator Boxer showed vision and perseverance in the creation of this bill, we owe them our thanks. Wilderness is an antidote to the hustle and bustle of modern life. This legislation provides the certainty of quiet, wildlife, and open spaces for our children and our economy.”
Inyo County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Beverly Brown was unavailable to comment as of press time Friday.
The omnibus bill is expected to be signed by the president early next week.
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