Two Idaho wilderness bills were part of the Omnibus Lands Bill derailed recently in the U.S. Senate when Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma threatened to filibuster.
The Owyhee Canyonlands bill would have protected 500,000 acres of wilderness in southwestern Idaho while the Boulder White Clouds bill would have protected 319,000 acres in Central Idaho. The canyonlands bill was Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo's baby and the White Clouds bill was Congressman Mike Simpson's. Both are Republicans.
It was good news when both men announced that they are undeterred and will continue to pursue passage.
They and their staffs worked painstakingly and diligently for years to craft bills that satisfied stakeholders that included ranchers, conservationists and property rights advocates.
A lot of people thought they had a snowball's chance in Hell of getting bills crafted, let alone approved. Yet, in successfully drafting the bills, they faced and conquered polarization, preconceptions and misconceptions.
Bringing not one but two wilderness bills to Congress from the state of Idaho is akin to negotiating a cease-fire in the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys.
It's a fine achievement.
Nonetheless, all the hours, all of the compromises and the meetings of the minds that jelled to put the two bills together will be for naught if the bills die. Some of Idaho's most spectacular lands will continue to be eaten away, bite by bite, as private desires erode thin public protections.
Despite widespread support in Idaho for the bills, Idaho's Republican representatives have had difficulty gaining traction in the effort to get them approved in either a Republican- or Democrat-controlled Congress.
Newly elected Democrat Congressman Walt Minnick could surely lend a hand when he takes office and create bi-partisan support for the bill in the new Congress. That is if he chooses to sign on to the bill, and he should. Also, newly elected Republican Sen. Jim Risch could bring a united delegation to the bill. Neither are strangers to public lands issues and their support will be essential.
The bills will bog down, however, if the new Democrat majority lards the bills with wilderness wish lists that may be unpalatable to Idahoans and unachievable in any living person's lifetime.
Good sense, good governance and bi-partisanship should prevail to protect the best of Idaho's remaining wild lands.
