Barrasso, Hatch Bill Would Unlock Millions of Acres of Non-wilderness Public Lands in Utah, U.S.

Press Release

Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and other members of the Senate Western Caucus introduced legislation today to release nearly 43 million acres of federal land deemed unsuitable for wilderness designation.

After through study, the federal Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service have found the land not to have wilderness characteristics. The Wilderness and Roadless Act of 2011 would also exempt the areas from being eligible for Wild Lands designation. The objective of this bill is to open up more federal lands to multiple-use activities.

"It is time to take these public lands out of the hermetically sealed, regulatory lockbox where the Obama administration and their environmental elitist allies have placed them," Hatch said. "Opening and loosening the Interior Department's stranglehold on these lands will prevent the collapse of rural economies in the western U.S. and the further loss of thousands of jobs in Utah and surrounding states. Returning what the BLM and Forest Service deem as non-wilderness lands to the respective agency planning process will empower stakeholders and surrounding communities to work with local agency officials to devise land plans that balance multiple-use and conservation needs."

The bill enjoys widespread support from scores of groups favoring greater access to federal lands.

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