Idaho Mountain Express: Simpson brings CIEDRA back

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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Simpson brings CIEDRA back

Democrat Minnick now a co-sponsor

By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

Rep. Mike Simpson's ongoing effort to establish three new wilderness areas north of Ketchum in the rugged Boulder and White Cloud mountains was given a little more momentum this week.

Stepping in to lend a hand to Idaho's senior member of the U.S House of Representatives is Idaho's newest congressman, Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, who signed on as a co-sponsor. Just after their swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Simpson and Minnick formally reintroduced the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act into the 111th session of Congress.

"Walt knows first-hand the importance of CIEDRA and I'm thrilled he's joining me in the quest," Simpson said in a prepared statement.

The legislation would designate 318,765 acres in the two scenic alpine ranges as congressionally designated wilderness. Most of the lands targeted for wilderness designation are within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, with a small share in the northern Boulders dropping over into U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands south of Challis.

Minnick predicted this will be just the first example of the kind of partnership Idahoans can expect between the state's two U.S. Representatives. He credited Simpson for his work to bring often opposing sides together to protect the Boulder-White Clouds region.

"Mike deserves high praise for his work and for setting a new standard on the collaborative approach to wilderness designation," he said. "I pledge to him and to the many others involved that I will do all I can to help pass CIEDRA."

The legislation would designate a 110,438-acre Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness within sight of Ketchum in the southern Boulder Mountains. Farther to the north and east, the bill would establish a 76,657-acre White Clouds Wilderness and a 131,670-acre Jerry Peak Wilderness.

CIEDRA also proposes to convey more than 5,000 acres of public land to Stanley and Custer County and release 131,616 acres of wilderness study areas from consideration for wilderness designation.

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Arne P. Ryason

01/08/09 - 16:13

CIEDRA - the "Central Idaho Environmental Disneyland and Wreck-creation Act." Leave the SNRA alone! The big "W" label will make it as crowded as the Sawtooth "Wilderness." It can't be strip-mined or clear cut! It's a recreation area. The taxpayers already bought out all the mineral rights. Leave it alone!

Janine – Seattle

01/08/09 - 15:33

I concur with Steve. Minnick makes it clear just how independent he's going to be-- signing on to a bill that met vociferous opposition among grassroots and in Congress (and has been an utter legislative failure). Why does Simpson deserve high praise for that?

Steve

01/07/09 - 09:48

Great, now our one Democrat in Congress (a Nixon Republican), in his very first action, has openly opposed the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee (a Democrat) and many other Representatives (of both parties)who care passionately about public land; that ought to make him especially ineffective in representing Idaho.

Worse, he perpetuates the fantasy that CIEDRA was crafted as a collaborative compromise. It was "crafted" as a "Let's Make A Deal" behind closed doors grab bag, financed by a Washington based lobbying organization, where every participent went home with a prize.

The end result is that after five years CIEDRA now has a whopping two co-Sponsors. If it is such a good bill, why has is so much opposition?

Reply to Steve

brad lohman – lewiston,idaho

01/07/09 - 12:05

ecellent,more fricking wilderness. dont the pinhead green people have enough wilderness -"land of no use !" what next,everytime the wackos try to rollback progress and mans ability to thrive the anti -work crowd cries "foul" and tries to protect something (and so far they have screwed everything up )drive the people out ,who settled the west so the people who perverted the east can steal the property and delvope it.way to go enviro -wackos ,i heard some body spotted big foot just north of boise "lets steal the land in the treasure valley and lock it up.