Senator introduces grassland bill

Thom Gabrukiewicz

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced legislation Wednesday to protect about 48,000 acres of West River prairie, converting them into the nation's first designated grassland wilderness area.

The Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010 seeks to protect three different areas within the Buffalo Gap National Grassland. South Dakota conservationists have been pushing for the designation since the U.S. Forest Service first made its recommendation to the Bush Administration in 2002.

Yet some skeptics, including off-highway vehicle enthusiasts, ranchers and Gov. Mike Rounds, have maintained that there's already enough protection under Forest Service policies.

"I announced in January that I planned to introduce first-of-its kind wilderness protection for part of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland," he said. "Since then, I have listened to many South Dakotans. The feedback from ranchers, hunters, conservationists, off-road vehicle groups and others has helped me produce balanced, common-sense legislation."

By putting lands into a wilderness designation, they would be off-limits to motorized use, oil and gas drilling, mining and road building. The lands, however, would continue to be open to hunting, hiking, fishing, horseback riding - and grazing.

"I don't want to see anymore wilderness area designations until we get a better understanding on what we can do to protect those beautiful areas and have a little bit of a management tool available to us - and I don't see that happening at the federal level," Rounds said in February, after he sent a letter to Johnson, urging him to reconsider the legislation.

Johnson's version of the bill keeps the six-mile-long Indian Creek Road open by excluding it from the wilderness boundaries. That was key, he said, for ranchers, hunters, horseback riders and nature-lovers.

"Senator Johnson really did his homework on this," said Cheryl Warren, manager of the South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition. "You can't say he didn't reach out to everyone, including those who were against it. But in the end, this is an excellent multiple use management for these wonderful lands."

The Buffalo Gap National Grasslands encompasses 591,000 acres in southwestern South Dakota.

Jodie Hickman, executive director of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, said her organization - along with South Dakota Farm Bureau and the South Dakota Public Lands Council - still has concerns about management issues that could send noxious weeds or harmful insects or animals onto private lands bordering the designated areas.

--

Source: http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100506/NEWS/5060313/1001/rss01

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites