Wilderness on
back burner following
lawsuit threat
Simpson still interested in pushing
forward
"The congressman has been working to
build trust with the various groups, and the notice of intent (to sue) has
caused serious problems in that process."
— LINDSAY SLATER, Chief of Staff
for Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Efforts to resolve land-use debates and to
work toward potential wilderness designation in Central Idaho’s Boulder and
White Cloud mountains are on hold indefinitely because of unrelated and
unresolved conflicts over water use in the Snake River.
"Frankly, it’s kind of in a hold pattern
right now," said Lindsay Slater, chief of staff for Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho,
who has assumed the lead role on the potential wilderness designation of
approximately 250,000 acres in the two mountain ranges.
In an interview last week, Slater said
that when environmental groups, including the Idaho Conservation League, filed
an intent to sue the Bureau of Reclamation over upper Snake River water use,
repercussions rapidly spread to other issues the environmental groups were
working on.
Wilderness designation had the biggest and
clearest bull’s eye.
"The ICL’s participation in that
(threatened lawsuit) caused, I would say, difficulties," Slater said.
"The congressman has been working to build
trust with the various groups, and the notice of intent (to sue) has caused
serious problems in that process," he continued. "We had hoped to introduce
concepts in September so the public would get an idea of what could be in
proposed legislation, and we would get feedback on the proposed concepts before
we go with that legislation."
Idaho Wilderness negotiations fell in
jeopardy in August when four environmental groups threatened to sue the Bureau
of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries over ailing runs of Snake River salmon.
In response to the threat of a lawsuit
targeting fish, dams and water use in the Snake River, Idaho irrigation
interests called on their resource allies to walk out of unrelated talks that
could lead to additional wilderness protection for the Boulder and White Cloud
mountains and the Owyhee canyon lands in Southwest Idaho.
But at the urging of U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo,
R-Idaho, environmental and fish advocacy groups temporarily withdrew the threat
of a lawsuit and agreed to sit down with Idaho water users for negotiations. Two
full-scale meetings have taken place, as well as many smaller conferences, said
ICL Executive Director Rick Johnson.
"So, we’ve taken a stand-back approach to
see what happens in those discussions," Slater said.
For his part, Johnson said the
collaborative talks are a significant shift in strategy for the conservation
community, a shift his group is willing to test.
"Crapo is forcing people to talk with each
other who have never laid eyes on each other," Johnson said. "There’s something
very substantive going on. We’re taking it very, very seriously."
As for the Boulder-White Clouds proposal,
Johnson said efforts are ongoing. He also said ICL would continue to work on
varying issues.
"The ICL works on an awful lot of issues,"
he said. "If my work on one issue is going to preclude my ability to work on
another issue, I may as well wrap it up. If it’s going to be distilled that
coarsely, then the White Clouds aren’t going to happen."
But 95 percent of the work is done, he
said.
"The remaining 5 percent is really hard."