Idaho: White Cloud – Boulder Mountains Wilderness bill revised, reintroduced

Another story on the reintroduction of a revised CIEDRA-

Wilderness bill revised, reintroduced. Controversial land transfers near Stanley dropped. By Jason Kauffman. Idaho Mountain Express Staff Writer

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We posted an earlier story on this.

Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness bill is finally introduced in US Senate

Will 2010 finally be the year Idaho’s Boulder and White Cloud Mountains get Wilderness protection?

Although Representative Simpson (R-Idaho) has not introduced his CIERDA bill this year in the House, Idaho’s two U.S. Senators yesterday introduced it in the Senate. If it moves, it will probably get attached to omnibus or other legislative and sort of by-pass the House.

This year’s version, which I have not reviewed, strips out some controversial public land giveaways at Stanley, Idaho.

Unlike Senator Tester’s Wilderness bill in Montana, the Idaho bill provides a mechanism and incentives for the voluntary retirements of grazing allotments.

Story: Rep. Simpson’s Boulder-White Cloud bill is introduced in the US Senate. By John Miller. AP

Idaho’s one Democrat, Minnick, teams with Simpson to reintroduce CIEDRA

Prospects for “wilderness bill” have now improved-

Walt Minnick, the Democrat who defeated incumbent nutwinger Bill Sali for Idaho First Congressional District, joined with Idaho Second District Representative, Republican Mike Simpson to reintroduce the controversial Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA) on the first day of Congress.

With Democrats in control the prospects for the passage of the bill written by  Simpson have increased as well as the possibility of making the legislation less damaging.

While the media often call it a “Wilderness bill” because it designates 318,765 acres in the Boulder Mountains and White Cloud Mountains as Wilderness, there are other aspects of the bill that many see as problems. We need to see the actual text of the bill to see if any of these have been removed.