1984 Arizona Wilderness Act
Background and Review of Release Language
The following document was compiled to supplement the testimony of Mr. Mark Trautwein before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands (7-21-09). In his testimony, Mr. Trautwein (former House Natural Resources Committee staff under Chairman Mo Udall) refuted assertions that the 1984 Arizona Wilderness Act was intended to be the final disposition of the status of all lands on the Arizona Strip in Northern Arizona including those currently being considered for withdrawal from uranium development.
A further review of the legislative record related to the consideration and passage of the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (PL 98-406) finds:
· Nothing in the legislative record supports or suggests that the legislation was meant to be the final disposition on the status of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the Arizona Strip. In addition to designating wilderness areas in the Arizona Strip, the legislation released non-designated lands in the Strip from section 603 of the Federal Land Management and Policy Act (FLPMA). In particular, the legislation stated that released lands need not be managed to maintain their suitability for wilderness designation. However, the legislation contains no language preventing future consideration of Arizona Strip lands for wilderness. Instead, non-designated lands are managed under section 202 of FLPMA, which requires, among other things, consideration of wilderness values and, where appropriate, protection of lands with wilderness character. As in the case of Forest Service lands, described below, this means that the BLM must consider and, as appropriate, protect lands with wilderness character through the local land management process.
· In regards to National Forest lands, Congress clearly intended that, after a pause, the Forest Service should review the wilderness values of released lands and make wilderness recommendations. Section 103 (2) of PL 98-406 states:
“With respect to the national forest system lands in the State of Arizona which were reviewed by the Department of Agriculture in the second roadless area review and evaluation (RARE II) and those lands referred to in subsection (d), except those lands designated for wilderness study upon enactment of this Act, that review and evaluation or reference shall be deemed for the purposes of the initial land management plans required for such lands by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, to be an adequate consideration of the suitability of such lands for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System and the Department of Agriculture shall not be required to review the wilderness option prior to the revisions of the plans, but shall review the wilderness option when the plans are revised.” (emphasis added)
· There is extensive discussion of the issues of release in the Senate Report 98-463 accompanying the Arizona Wilderness Act. The report states:
“In short, the wilderness option must be considered in each future planning generation if the particular land in question still possess wilderness attributes…[T]he language also provides that lands recommended for wilderness in future generations of plans shall be managed for the purpose of protecting their suitability for wilderness designation as may be required by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, and other applicable law, upon implementation of such plans.”
· There is nothing in PL 98-406 requiring mining development to occur on the lands not designated as Wilderness. While non-designated lands are made available to non-wilderness uses, such uses are not required. As noted in House Report 98-463, the legislation, “releases certain other lands for such non-wilderness uses as are determined appropriate through the land management planning process.” (emphasis added)
Additional considerations relevant to decisions about the future of lands on the Arizona Strip and the greater Grand Canyon region:
· Congress has never approved legislation to permanently release lands from consideration for wilderness despite numerous efforts to enact such a provision.
· The language in the 1984 legislation was carefully crafted compromise which appeared in dozens of statewide forest wilderness bills in the 1980s. That language – as noted above – did not preclude future consideration of lands as wilderness. In fact, multiple pieces of legislation have passed as recently as 2009 that have designated wilderness areas on lands that were released in the 1980s.
· Since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964, Arizona’s congressional delegation has sponsored and passed 7 distinct pieces of legislation creating new wilderness areas across the state. None of these laws precluded additional wilderness areas from being designated in the future.
· Today, Arizona has doubled its population since the last wilderness legislation passed in 1990. As we grow and prosper, management plans and protected areas must keep pace with the growing demand for environmental services and recreation trends. Existing and future wilderness areas are more important than ever in balancing our growth and providing our communities with high quality natural amenities.
· Since 2000, citizen-led wilderness assessments have identified many areas originally considered in the late 80’s which have retained their wilderness characteristics and are being proposed today – more than 20 years later – for permanent protection as Wilderness.
Click here for Mark Trautwein’s 2011 Testimony before Congress.
