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Article 3/14/05 |
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| Shays
sponsors bill to protect Rockies
By Neil Vigdor, Greenwhich Time, CT
3/14/05 |
U.S.
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Bridgeport, is chief co-sponsor
of a bill that he says will help protect 18 million acres
of federal land in the northern Rocky Mountains from logging,
mining and gas exploration.
Introduced at a Capitol Hill ceremony last week by Shays
and Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York City,
the Rockies Prosperity Act would give land in five states
the highest level of protection as wilderness and help
protect plants and wildlife such as bison, elk and bull
trout, its supporters say.
"It is a mistake for Americans to just think this
land is owned candidly by people out west," Shays
said. "We all own it, and we all have a stake in
trying to protect it."
On the public lands, scattered in Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, the proposal ban activities
such as logging, mining and gas drilling, while activities
such as hunting, fishing and hiking would still be allowed,
according to the Sierra Club, which has endorsed the legislation.
Two national parks border the protected area -- Montana's
Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, which
has sections in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
"It's bold scope -- in terms of its really broad
vision of protecting an entire ecosystem that spans five
states," said Melinda Pierce, a Sierra Club lobbyist
in Washington, D.C., who specializes in lands protection.
Pierce commended Shays for his sponsorship of the bill,
which is a variation of a proposal that has been languishing
in Congress for more than a decade. She also said it was
not uncommon for congressmen from outside the Rockies
to sponsor such legislation.
"You might think so, but that's what we see in Congress
these days is sometimes the folks that live closest to
the areas are not the ones out there championing the wilderness,"
Pierce said.
Shays said the proposal would create more than 2,300 jobs
in preservation and recreation in the region and save
taxpayers $245 million over 10 years in timber subsidies.
Not everyone shares Shays' enthusiasm for the proposal,
however.
"If the sponsors of this legislation think it's good
policy for the West, I'd ask them to do it in the East
as well," said Marc Smith, executive director of
the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States,
a Denver-based energy exploration trade association with
about 300 members.
One could fit the entire states of Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland in the
area that would be affected by the proposal, said Smith,
who noted that just one of the bill's 33 sponsors represents
one of the five states affected by the proposal.
Although the trade association has yet to do a full analysis
of the bill, Smith said it would probably have unintended
effects on the economy.
"By adding another 18 million acres of wilderness
in the area, it's going to increase the cost of energy
to Connecticut," Smith said. "Bottom line."
Shays conceded that he faces obstacles from the leadership
of his own party as well as the natural resources industry.
"Some of the members who live there have basically
vetoed the people who own it, you and I, from having much
say on it," he said.
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