House to vote on amendments meant to weaken wilderness bill

The House will vote on a dozen amendments to a massive wilderness protection package, including a Republican measure that aims to gut a key part of the legislation.

The Rules Committee last night made in order for floor debate Colorado Republican Rep. Scott Tipton's amendment to strike any wilderness designations in the state's 3rd District.

The "Colorado Wilderness Act of 2019," H.R. 2546, sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), would designate as wilderness more than 600,000 acres in 32 unique areas across the Centennial State.

That bill, along with five others included in the package, would protect nearly 1.4 million acres of land as wilderness or potential wilderness across three states: Colorado, California and Washington. The package would also add nearly 1,000 miles of river to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

A release from DeGette's office said collectively the bills "would be the largest wilderness-protection package to advance through the chamber in more than a decade."

The Rules Committee adopted 9-4 along party lines yesterday evening a structured rule for debate on the package this week.

Lawmakers made in order five Democratic amendments, six Republican amendments and one bipartisan measure. A final floor vote on the bundled bills could happen as early as tomorrow.

The White House has threatened a veto on the package if it remains in its current form but said, "The administration is willing to work with Congress to make the necessary improvements to this bill if it is considered further."

Tipton, who represents much of the affected land in Colorado, opposes the designation, in part because he argued it could harm the local economy and military activities in the area.

He cited input from affected counties requesting the areas be designated for multiple use, not wilderness. A wilderness designation is the highest protection Congress can ascribe to public land. It prohibits drilling and recreational activities that could harm the landscape or require a motor vehicle.

"I'm not opposed to wilderness designations if the areas proposed hold true to wilderness characteristics and the community in which the land is located overwhelmingly supports the designation," Tipton said.

But DeGette, who has been working on the legislation for over 20 years, said more than two-thirds of those areas were designated as wilderness study areas and are essentially being treated as wilderness now.

"The bill is the product of decades of work, countless community meetings, dozens of visits to some of the most remote areas in my state," she said. "If approved, this bill will not only protect these public lands from the threat of future development or the harm that comes from drilling for oil and natural gas, it will also further bolster our states' thriving tourism and outdoor recreation industries."

DeGette said she has been to most of the areas in her Colorado wilderness bill "by foot, horseback and raft."

The Rules Committee also made in order two other amendments offered by Tipton. One would require the Defense Department to conduct a study on the impacts that wilderness designations would have on the readiness of military aviation training.

The other amendment from Tipton and South Carolina Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham would ensure that military aircraft overflights and flight training routes are allowed over the wilderness areas designated in H.R. 2546.

Among the 12 amendments made in order are:

• An amendment from Arkansas Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman that would strike all designations of "potential" wilderness in the package.

• An amendment from Westerman that would allow the Agriculture and Interior secretaries to exempt wilderness designations under the act that are at high risk of wildfire.

• An amendment from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) that would delay wilderness designations under the act until the affected county officially approves it.

• An amendment from DeGette that would add about 60,000 acres of designated wilderness under Title I of the package.

The five other bills in the package are:

• H.R. 2250, the "Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act," from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), to authorize eight new wilderness areas and grow nine others, protecting some 260,000 acres of federal public land to help boost outdoor recreation. It would also designate 379 miles of new wild and scenic rivers and create the Northwest California Public Lands Remediation Partnership, which would restore public lands damaged by illegal marijuana growing.

• H.R. 2215, the "San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act," sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), which would establish the San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area as a unit with the National Park System and create four wilderness designations.

• H.R. 2199, the "Central Coast Heritage Protection Act," from Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), which would add to or develop at least 17 smaller wilderness sites, building a 400-mile-long trail to connect Los Angeles and Monterey counties.

• H.R. 1708, the "Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act," from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), which would adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor.

• H.R. 2642, the "Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act," from Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), which would designate and expand wilderness areas and rivers in the Olympic National Forest, protecting 126,500 acres of land and 19 rivers.

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