Enough talk,
wilderness needs action
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson
didn’t unveil a long-promised plan for wilderness in the Boulder and
White Cloud Mountains this week.
Instead, he treated the state to a
tepid opinion piece that sounded like it had been drafted to launch an
effort to bring people with competing interests to the table to discuss
the possibility of a Boulder-White Clouds wilderness area.
Anyone who read Simpson’s piece
can be excused for wondering if newspapers around the state mistakenly
re-ran an old piece from a back issue.
Simpson and his staff spent the
past two years huddled with conservationists, motorized user groups,
outfitters, ranchers, Custer County Commissioners, and federal agencies
trying to hash out a wilderness plan acceptable to a broad segment of
the public. Most people believed the talks had ended, yet Simpson’s
latest statement made it sound like they are just beginning.
That’s news to all the people who
spent hours in meetings trying to find common ground with competing
interests and who expected that Simpson would soon release proposed
wilderness legislation.
That’s news to all of the news
organizations in the state that last fall reported Simpson’s broad
outlines for a deal.
What the public got instead of
wilderness legislation this week was an excuse for more foot-dragging.
Simpson now says he must reach out
to unnamed groups to consult with them on unnamed issues. He wrote,
"There are many other issues and groups that will play a part in the
ultimate resolution. In the coming months I will be reaching out to
these groups and the public to discuss how possible legislation may
affect them."
Reaching out is all well and good,
but come on, Congressman. What’s the hitch? Who are these groups? What
do they want?
In the decades since the Boulder
and White Cloud Mountains became wilderness study areas, a heavy stream
of users and federal neglect have eroded the area’s wilderness
characteristics. More years without wilderness protection could destroy
the solitude and untrammeled nature of mountains that should be part of
Idaho’s wilderness legacy.
Since Simpson was elected to
Congress more than five years ago, he has said repeatedly that resolving
the Boulder White Clouds wilderness debate is a top priority. That
ignited a spark of hope and a spirit of compromise in people who love
these mountains.
Yet, what Idahoans have gotten to
date is a lot of talk, veiled promises, and no action. It’s time for a
plan. It’s time for some public debate. It’s time for Congressman
Simpson to step up and get on with it.