Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act
Encyclopedia
The Northern Rocky Mountains ecosystem in the United States is known by ecologists, biologists, and naturalists as one of the last areas of the contiguous United States that is relatively undeveloped enough and large enough to support a functioning ecosystem. The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is designed to protect this ecosystem and the many threatened and endangered species such as grizzly bears, bull trout
, sockeye salmon
, and Canadian lynx, while creating jobs that restore old roads and clear cuts. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies based in Helena, Montana has been campaigning for the legislation for two decades with the help of numerous Congresspersons, celebrities, and grassroots groups such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. The legislation has been introduced and discussed in Congress four times since 1993, most recently in May 2009 with 103 co-sponsors by December 2009.
The legislation will:
Carolyn B. Maloney, representative from the 14th district of New York introduced the legislation in February 2009, as of December 1, 2009 there were 103 co-sponsoring Congresspersons in the House of Representatives. The singer Carole King
, a resident of Custer County, Idaho, has testified before Congress in 1994, 2007 and 2009 in support of the act.
Bull trout
The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the "Dolly Varden" , but was re-classified as a separate species in 1980. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the U.S....
, sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...
, and Canadian lynx, while creating jobs that restore old roads and clear cuts. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies based in Helena, Montana has been campaigning for the legislation for two decades with the help of numerous Congresspersons, celebrities, and grassroots groups such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. The legislation has been introduced and discussed in Congress four times since 1993, most recently in May 2009 with 103 co-sponsors by December 2009.
Details of the legislation
The legislation would affect roadless areas in five states, including 9500000 acres (38,445.2 km²) in Idaho, 7 million in Montana, 5 million in Wyoming, 750,000 in eastern Oregon and 500,000 in eastern Washington. The total includes 3 million acres (12,140.6 km²) in Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Teton national parks. The NREPA does not affect private land.The legislation will:
- Designate more than 24 million acres (97,124.6 km²) of America's premier roadless lands as wilderness,
- Connect natural, biological corridors, ensuring the continued existence of native plants and animals,
- Keep water available for ranchers and farmers downstream until later in the season when it is most needed,
- Allow for historic uses such as hunting, fishing and firewood gathering,
- Create over 2,300 green jobs and a more sustainable economic base in the region,
- Save taxpayers $245 million over a 10-year period through the elimination of federally subsidized lumber harvests, mining and oil/gas production, and grazing allotments on federally owned land.
Congressional Action
Legislation on Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act- 02/11/09 - H.R. 980, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) [111th Congress]
- 04/24/07 - H.R. 1975, the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) [110th Congress]
- 02/07/95 - H.R.852, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1995 [104th Congress]
- 07/14/93 - H.R.2638, Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1993 [103rd Congress]
Carolyn B. Maloney, representative from the 14th district of New York introduced the legislation in February 2009, as of December 1, 2009 there were 103 co-sponsoring Congresspersons in the House of Representatives. The singer Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, a resident of Custer County, Idaho, has testified before Congress in 1994, 2007 and 2009 in support of the act.
Opposition to the Legislation
Opponents to the NREPA state that there will be a loss of extraction jobs in the northern Rockies; mining, logging, and oil/gas production as a whole account for many of the jobs in the five affected states. Economics professor Tom Powers, Ph.D. from the University of Montana has found that industries based on extracting resources from the land are more prone to "boom and bust" economic cycles, creating ghost towns, and unstable living conditions, while economies that are based around wilderness areas are more sustainable and have higher than average job growth rates.Similar Ecosystem Protection Projects
There are other wildland protection projects currently being endeavoured by citizens around the world. In North America there are four wildlife corridors that have been proposed by the Wildlands Network, each providing a highway, called a "wildway", for migrating creatures to mitigate the effects of climate change: the Pacific Wildway running from Baja to Alaska, Boreal Wildway running west-east from Alaska, through Canada, to the northeastern shores of North America, the Eastern Wildway running from Everglades in Florida to the Arctic, and the Western Wildway also called the "spine of the continent" runs from southern Mexico along the Rocky Mountains up into the Arctic.Further reading
- McMillion, Scott. "U.S. House subcommittee to hear wilderness bill" Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Monday, October 8, 2007.
- Staff. "Jobs for the environment" High Country News; September 4, 1995.
- Larmer, Paul. "Sierra Club to back big wildlands bill" High Country News; December 27, 1993.
- Richards, Paul. "This wilderness bill is a homespun vision for the West" High Country News; June 4, 2009.
- Larmer, Paul. "Regional wilderness bill gets a hearing" High Country News; May 2, 1994.
- Gilman, Sarah. "Wildlife wars" High Country News; October 13, 2008.
- Frey,David. "Massive Wilderness Bill Inches Forward—13 Years Later" New West; October 11, 2007.
- Staff. "Hearing finally set on wilderness bill" Queen City News (Helena, Montana). Thursday, October 11, 2007.
- Staff. ["http://www.uintacountyherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=2268 ‘The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act’: Bill would close 24 million acres (97,124.6 km²) of land in Wyoming, four other states"] Uinta County Herald (Uinta, Utah); Friday, May 8, 2009.
- Crane, Stephen. "Lummis, Bousman rip wilderness bill" Pinedale Roundup (Pinedale, WY); Thursday, May 7, 2009.
- Stahl, Greg. "Congressional committee to review wilderness bill: NREPA would designate 23 million acres across 5 states" Idaho Mountain Express; Wednesday, October 10, 2007.
- Rasker, R., B. Alexander, J. van den Noort, R. Carter. 2004. Public Lands Conservation and Economic Well-Being. Sonoran Institute. Bozeman, Montana.
- Rasker, R., B. Alexander, J. van den Noort, R. Carter. 2004. Prosperity in the 21st Century West. Sonoran Institute. Bozeman, Montana.
- Salwasser, H., Morton S. and Rasker, R. 1998. The Role of Wildlands in Sustaining Communities and Economies and Vice Versa. Personal, Societal, and Ecological Values of Wilderness Sixth World Congress Proceeding on Research, Management, and Allocation. Volume !. USDA Forest Service. Rocky Mountain Research Station. Proceedings RMRS P-4. October.
- Garrity, Michael T. Economic Analysis of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act Alliance for the Wild Rockies.
External links
- Alliance for the Wild Rockies online brochure for NREPA