VOL. 56 ISSUE 9 MARCH 5, 2019 P33
S.47 Passes U.S. Senate And House
T
he U.S. Senate and House
have passed S.47, an omni-
bus public lands bill that des-
ignates more than one million
acres of wilderness and per-
manently reauthorizes a federal
program to pay for conservation
measures. The bill designates
1.3 million acres in Utah, New
Mexico, Oregon and California
as "wilderness," the most strin-
gent level of federal land protec-
tion. The designation prohibits
any development and bans the
use of most motorized vehicles.
The bill also creates permanent
protections for land in Montana
and Washington State. It also
classifies approximately 225
miles of river in Massachusetts
and Connecticut and 280
miles of river in Oregon as wild,
scenic or recreational. Included
in the omnibus bill is U.S. Sen.
Diane Feinstein's California des-
ert bill that adds six wilderness
areas in Death Valley National
Park and releases six wilderness
study areas. The Feinstein bill
also:
•Creates Vinagre Wash
Special Management Area in
California's Imperial County;
• Allows motorized travel on
currently approved routes;
• Designates a three-year
period for the public to lobby the
Interior Secretary for new motor-
ized routes;
• Provides Off-Highway
Vehicle Recreation Area des-
ignation to five areas currently
used for OHV recreation in San
Bernardino County managed by
the U.S. Bureau of Land Man-
agement; and
• Expands the Johnson Valley
Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation
Area in California by 20,240
acres.
The full Senate bill also
includes changes in Emery
County, Utah, that:
• Eliminates access to at
least 50 miles of routes currently
open to OHVs;
• Creates 18 wilderness ar-
eas, totaling more than 600,000
acres of new wilderness;
• Creates the 216,995-acre
San Rafael Swell Recreation
area managed by BLM, which
allows motorized use;
• Creates a seven-member
federal advisory board, with only
one member from the motorized
community; and
• Prohibits creation of new
motorized routes, but allows
repairing or rerouting existing
routes for public safety or to
protect resources.
The omnibus bill also perma-
nently reauthorizes the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, which
funds federal land purchases
that usually preclude OHV activ-
ity. CN
The passing of S.47 opens up more
land for riding in Johnson Valley.
