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Mining defeat draws cheers
[size=-1]By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.[/size][size=-1]
Jackson Hole Daily[/size]
Wyoming residents and conservationists Wednesday hailed the death of an effort in Congress to repeal an 11-year-old ban on the sale of mining claims on public lands.
The measure was attached in the U.S. House to the federal budget and sought to roll back a ban on the conversion of mining claims to private property. Critics said the measure would have led to a sell-off of public land and that any changes to the 1872 mining law should be debated on their merits, not pushed through as a budget amendment.
U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., earned praise from the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance for his staunch opposition to the change, known after its House sponsor as the “Pombo provision.”
“The Alliance membership thanks Sen. Thomas on his leadership defeating this bad proposal,” said Tom Darin, public lands director with the group. “It's a clear message that this administration cannot solve its budget problems by selling off public lands cherished for their hunting, fishing and family recreation opportunities.”
Thomas issued a statement expressing satisfaction that the bill won't be considered as part of the budget.
“I’m pleased that the House recognized that this was the wrong place to legislate on the mining act,” he said. "The mining provision never belonged in the budget reconciliation package.
The Wyoming Wildlife Federation also hailed demise of the measure.
“This was one of the worst pieces of conservation legislation in a century,” said David Gowdey, executive director of the group, “and we are glad that it is now dead.”
He singled out Thomas and Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal for leading the efforts nationally to defeat the provision. Gowdey made his comments in a statement that also credited hunters and anglers of Wyoming “who rallied to defend their public lands.
“Senator Thomas and Governor Freudenthal took a courageous and principled stand on this issue that influenced other policy makers around the country,” Gowdey said.
In Cheyenne, Freudenthal's press secretary, Lara Azar, said she had not seen details of the change and was uncertain of the implications. But Azar said the move “looks like a step in the right direction.”
The provision’s sponsors, Reps. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., withdrew the measure late Tuesday. The Associated Press quoted a Pombo spokesman saying the representative would work on the bill again next year.
Thomas said he would remain involved.
“I expect this issue to come up next year and I'd like to continue to address the needs of sportsmen and promote the multiple-use of our public lands," his statement said.
The Wilderness Society also hailed withdrawal of the bill.
“The defeat of this extreme plan to privatize wild public lands is a major victory for the conservation legacy of our nation,” William Meadows, the society’s president, said in a statement issued from Washington, D.C. “Public lands are for the public. That’s an American tradition that Republicans, Democrats, and Independents can all agree on.”
The ban on the conversion of mining claims to private property was instituted more than a decade ago because of abuses that allowed claim holders to develop property for uses other than mining. Critics of the Pombo provision said it would result in a widespread sale of public property throughout the west involving not only Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land, but national park lands as well.
Pombo supporters, including U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., said the measure would help rural economies develop. They discounted the acreage that would be sold, saying it was potentially much smaller than the 350 million acres critics said was at risk.
The Wilderness Society's Meadows said widespread criticism of Pombo was understandable.
“It's no surprise that we saw broad opposition from all across the country to these damaging provisions,” he said. “Hunters, anglers, businesses, governors, local officials, and everyday citizens recognize that our wild public lands should be treasured for all time, not sold to the highest bidder.”
He also rejected the contention that development of public property was key to economic health in the rural West. “Our National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and Bureau of Land Management lands and waters drive our local economies, they improve quality of life for all of us, and they preserve a piece of our shared American history that we cannot afford to lose.”
Gowdey, of the wildlife federation, said nearly 600 square miles were jeopardized in the Equality State. “At immediate risk in Wyoming were 353,499 acres of existing mining claims that could have been sold to developers at bargain basement prices,” he said.
