The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009

This is good news!!!

But..... only 1 vote??? That's not good, they are gaining support and it's only a matter of time.

only 1 vote? that does not sound too promising. contact your legislative officials and get them to change their vote!

An update...the message is this thing is far from over.



From: BRC Alert [mailto:bralerts@sharetrails.org]
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:33 PM
Subject: Update on Omnibus Public Lands Legislation

BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!

Update on Omnibus Public Lands Legislation

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

Greg Mumm called early this morning with an update on the Omnibus Public Lands bill. I thought I'd pass it along to our Action Alert subscribers. Greg said there is a lot of uncertainty about where this massive bill goes next. Greg wanted me to caution BRC's members: the omnibus package is far from dead and the Wilderness lobby is working hard to jam it through without the normal congressional review process.

An article by Noelle Straub and Eric Bontrager from E&E news (http://www.eenews.net) quoted West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall as saying he knew the vote was close, but that "a lot of groups came out of the woodwork" in the final days leading up to the vote. The article also quoted Utah Congressman Rob Bishop as saying it was a mistake for the Senate to pass such a large package. "If they have to lump these bills together, they could easily pass it by removing any bills members object to, which would truly make it a noncontroversial bill," Bishop was reported as saying.

In order to be passed, normal House rules would have to be suspended, which require a two-thirds majority vote. The final vote was 282 to 144, one vote short of the 2/3 margin.

Straub and Bontrager reported that an amendment to ensure no public lands were closed to hunting and fishing, offered by Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire, was a key factor in the vote. The story also speculated on possible scenarios where the bill may still pass under "closed rules."

It is clear that the legislation contained in the omnibus package is not dead. Worse, possible scenarios are being considered that will prohibit full review as well as opportunity to offer amendments.

BRC will keep our members posted and let you know the next development in this bizarre chapter in public land politics.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition

Isn't there something wrong with the titling of these bills..??? I mean, it says right in the title "public lands" but they are wanting to take the land AWAY from the public making it simply land, so they should just say what it is and title it "the taking of public land away from the public bill".

why did crapo from id bein a rep vote for this crap?????????

hilinerider said:

why did crapo from id bein a rep vote for this crap?????????

Click to expand...

Crapo is a Senator from Idaho. He voted for it because HIS Owyhee Canyonlands bill that will turn over 500,000 acres into wilderness is part of the Omnibus Bill.

Another update...things are going to get back into full motion next week.


Date: 03/13/2009 02:52 PM
Subject: Omnibus Lands Bill take two. Friday the 13th 1600 hour update

Given the failure in the House to find the votes of pass S. 22 with an amendment to add hunting, fishing, and shooting access to the bill: We are now expecting to take the bill up again starting Monday starting at 2PM. With the first cloture vote due at 5:30 PM

The vehicle this time will be H.R. 146 The Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefield acquisition grant program. When that is taken up it will be amended with most of the contents of S. 22 as passed by the Senate along with the hunting access language that the House attempted to add.

There are two or three other changes we anticipate seeing, including:
1) a number of purely technical changes to some of the water provisions;
2) dropping of two of the Parks provisions: sec. 6201 Baca Wildlife preserve; and 7403 National Parks Advisory Board because both got attached to the Omnibus Appropriations bill that we passed last week,

Efforts by Representative Simpson to add the Central Idaho wilderness bill (CEIDRA) seemed to have waned and at this moment in the time space continuum that moon does not seem to be destined to collide with the constellation now call H.R. 146.

As for what will happen next and what it means:

1) Depending on what the Senate Leader wants to do (as far as entertaining amendments) we will either find a time agreement on a limited number of amendments that will allow the bill to move quickly through the Senate; or

2) We will slog our way through two or three cloture votes (the first one occurring on Monday evening at 5:30 pm).

We could take the final vote as early as late Tuesday if the first scenario comes to pass, or we could be as late as Wednesday or Thursday should the legislative Gods have not extracted quite enough out of my carcass up until this point.

Presuming H.R. 146 as amendment passes the Senate it will go back to the House and called up under as a "preferential" bill --having been passed once by the House. That means the House Rules Committee can issue a rule which would prohibit a motion to recommit.



Frank M. Gladics
Minority Professional Staff
U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Washington, DC 20510

202-224-2878

It passed the Senate today

As expected, it passed the Senate today 77-20!

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&docID=cqmidday-000003079651

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
March 19, 2009 – 1:12 p.m.

Senate Passes Omnibus Lands Package a Second Time

Hoping the second time is the charm, the Senate passed an omnibus federal lands bill Thursday and set the stage for the House to clear it as early as next week.

The bill passed by 77-20 following months of delay and procedural maneuvering in both chambers. It combines hundreds of separate measures that together designate more than 2 million acres of new wilderness areas and establish lesser degrees of protection for other federal lands.

The use of motorized vehicles and other mechanized equipment is forbidden in wilderness areas, which are to be preserved in their natural state as nearly as possible. Camping, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, fishing, climbing, canoeing, and similar non-motorized activities are generally permitted.

“When you take all of these bills together, I believe they represent the most significant conservation legislation passed by the Senate at least in the last 15 years,” said Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman , D-N.M., who worked with members of both parties to assemble the package.

Sen. Tom Coburn , R-Okla., refused to allow the Senate to act on many of the component bills last year without debate and floor amendments, and Democratic leaders ran out of time when they attempted to pass omnibus lands legislation.

They started again this year, rolling the bills into one package and passing it Jan. 15 after limiting debate and choking off Coburn. But March 11, the House fell two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to clear the lands package under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure that bars amendments.

This week, the Senate called up an unrelated battlefield preservation bill that passed the House on March 3 and substituted the text of its lands bill, with modest modifications.

Under a deal struck by Senate leaders, Coburn was allowed to offer six amendments to the package. Five were tabled, and thus killed, while one was adopted by voice vote.

CleElum Sledhead said:

As expected, it passed the Senate today 77-20!

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&docID=cqmidday-000003079651

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
March 19, 2009 – 1:12 p.m.

Senate Passes Omnibus Lands Package a Second Time

Hoping the second time is the charm, the Senate passed an omnibus federal lands bill Thursday and set the stage for the House to clear it as early as next week.

The bill passed by 77-20 following months of delay and procedural maneuvering in both chambers. It combines hundreds of separate measures that together designate more than 2 million acres of new wilderness areas and establish lesser degrees of protection for other federal lands.

The use of motorized vehicles and other mechanized equipment is forbidden in wilderness areas, which are to be preserved in their natural state as nearly as possible. Camping, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, fishing, climbing, canoeing, and similar non-motorized activities are generally permitted.

“When you take all of these bills together, I believe they represent the most significant conservation legislation passed by the Senate at least in the last 15 years,” said Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman , D-N.M., who worked with members of both parties to assemble the package.

Sen. Tom Coburn , R-Okla., refused to allow the Senate to act on many of the component bills last year without debate and floor amendments, and Democratic leaders ran out of time when they attempted to pass omnibus lands legislation.

They started again this year, rolling the bills into one package and passing it Jan. 15 after limiting debate and choking off Coburn. But March 11, the House fell two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to clear the lands package under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure that bars amendments.

This week, the Senate called up an unrelated battlefield preservation bill that passed the House on March 3 and substituted the text of its lands bill, with modest modifications.

Under a deal struck by Senate leaders, Coburn was allowed to offer six amendments to the package. Five were tabled, and thus killed, while one was adopted by voice vote.

Click to expand...

Ahhh fawk, here we go again

sick