Rehberg Posts Wilderness Comments In His Online “Transparency Center”
WASHINGTON, DC – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today posted a list of verbal and written comments he heard from Montanans during the 22 public meetings he held regarding Sen. Jon Tester’s Wilderness bill. The comments are posted in the “Transparency Center” portion of Rehberg’s congressional website. Last week, Rehberg promised to take this action in a letter to Senator Tester and asked the Senator to join him in doing so in order to maximize transparency in the legislative process.
“I heard from hundreds of Montanans, each with their own ideas and opinions,” said Rehberg, “While ideas will vary in merit, each deserves to at least be heard and considered in a public forum. That’s what I’m trying to do – put them all in the bucket and see which ones end up floating.”
Rehberg has laid out a number of these comments as examples of what he’d like to see changed in the underlying legislation. One proposal, addressing an overriding concern heard in 22 listening sessions, is the notion of a wilderness ‘phase-in’ that would time the creation of new wilderness to the active management of other lands. This solution would alleviate the concern that as soon as the bill becomes law, the wilderness designations are immediate, while there is no assurance that stewardship components would not be infinitely delayed by litigation.
Rehberg, who relayed multiple suggestions in real-time to the public and the press during the course of his listening tour, has gathered a wide array of additional ideas for changes to the legislation including boundary line concerns from farmers and ranchers, preservation of recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, and maintaining the ability to accurately inventory natural resources like molybdenum.
“There’s no silver bullet here,” warned Rehberg. “There are a lot of very good ideas that should each be considered on their own merit. While I appreciate the buy-in from the partnerships that helped draft the bill, this legislation affects all Montanans who deserve the right to be heard. In addition to some other fixes, an incremental phase-in would help ensure logging isn’t bogged down by lawsuits after new wilderness areas are designated.”
Comments can be found online at http://rehberg.house.gov