Omnibus Public Lands Bill to be Voted on Tomorrow Again.

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Omnibus Public Lands Bill to be Voted on Tomorrow!
The American Motorcyclist Association urges everyone to contact their Representative to vote "No" on the rule and on the final passage of H.R. 146, the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program. This bill was formerly known as S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which would prohibit all motorized vehicle access on over 2 million acres of public lands.

As you may know, S. 22 was defeated two weeks ago, on March 11, in the U.S. House of Representatives. Following defeat of the bill, the U.S. Senate leadership, using a little known parliamentary procedure, considered H.R. 146, inserting the language from S. 22, and passed the bill on March 19 by a vote of 77 to 20.

Now H.R. 146 is back for consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives and consists of a daunting collection of more than 160 pieces of legislation in over 1300 pages of text. It is because of this that, for parliamentary reasons, the House Leadership wants to consider H.R. 146 under regular order. This would mean that the bill needs only a simple majority to pass. In order for this bill to be considered under regular order, the U.S. House must first pass a rule.

Therefore, in order to help preserve your access to vital public lands, everyone needs to contact their Representative and urge them to first vote "No" on the rule regarding H.R. 146. Then they must also be asked to vote "No" on the final passage of H.R. 146.

With such a short time frame for action, the best way to request that your Representative to vote "No" on H.R. 146 is to call. CLICK HERE to get the phone number for your Representative Enter your zip code in the "Find Your Officials" box and click on the name of your Representative.

If you would prefer to contact your Representative with e-mail, you may contact your Representative by CLICKING HERE. We have pre-written a letter for your use.

Immediate action is critical to help keep more than 2 million acres of public land open to motorized recreation. Please call your Representative and tell everyone you can to do the same.

Every Representative must know that responsible motorized recreationists want them to vote "No" on the rule and "No" on the final passage of H.R. 146!
 

SoCal

I'm a Toy Haulin Hooligan - UTVUnderground Approve
Jan 16, 2009
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It just takes a second or 2 guys to click on the link and send the pre fabbed email!!!!!
 

SoCal

I'm a Toy Haulin Hooligan - UTVUnderground Approve
Jan 16, 2009
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OMNIBUS passed... no bueno:

Wilderness Preservation Bill Passes In House
Opponents call legislation 'land grab' that would block energy development

WASHINGTON - Congress on Wednesday set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as protected wilderness  from California's Sierra Nevada mountains to the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

The legislation is on its way to President Barack Obama for his likely signature.

The House approved the bill, 285-140, the final step in a long legislative road that began last year.

The vote came two weeks after the House rejected the bill amid a partisan dispute over gun rights. The measure was brought up again in the Senate and approved last week, setting up Wednesday's vote.

The bill  a collection of nearly 170 separate measures  would be one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in a quarter-century. It would confer the government's highest level of protection on land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

Supporters called the bill landmark legislation that will strengthen the national park system, restore national forests, preserve wild and scenic rivers, protect battlefields and restore balance to the management of public lands.

Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a "land grab" that would block energy development on vast swaths of federal land.

"After nearly a decade during which our parks were taken for granted and our range lands were scarred by a spider-web of roads and (drilling) well pads," the lands bill "represents a new dawn for America's heritage and American values," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Opposition over land development
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and other Republicans complained that the measure would lock up millions of acres of land that could be explored for energy and used for other development.

"Our nation can't afford to shut down the creation of jobs for jobless Americans, and we can't afford to become even more dependent on foreign sources of energy," Hastings said.

The bill "even locks up federal lands from renewable energy production, including wind and solar," he said.

Hastings and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to allow visitors to national parks to carry concealed, loaded weapons. A federal judge last week struck down a Bush administration rule allowing loaded guns in parks and wildlife refuges.

Because of a parliamentary rule adopted in the Senate, the House took up the bill under a rule that blocked amendments.

Preserving the wilderness
Land to be protected in the bill ranges from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range and Oregon's Mount Hood to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.

Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would win designation as wilderness, and more than 1,000 miles of rivers in nearly a dozen states would gain protections. The proposals would expand wilderness designation  which blocks nearly all development  into areas that now are not protected.

The bill also would let Alaska go forward with plans to build an airport access road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge as part of a land swap that would transfer more than 61,000 acres to the federal government, much of it designated as wilderness.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 

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