12/04/06 ICA backs Owyhee Initiative

There's a lot of speculation on what the lame duck Congress will do over the next few weeks. Two Idaho wilderness bills are up for consideration but it seems unlikely either will make it to the President's desk by year's end. They're most likely to go unnoticed. The Idaho Cattle Association executive director Lloyd Knight says the members voted and are willing to support Senator Mike Crapo's Owyhee Initiative legislation which protects ranching and wilderness in the southwest corner of the state. KNIGHT "And we're supportive of what they're trying to accomplish down there but obviously we do have a caveat in there. We want to make sure that everything that is in that agreement happens before its all implemented, i.e., let's make sure there's funding there to complete the agreements for the ranchers so they're not left hanging." Senator Larry Craig says he's working on minor changes to the Crapo bill and Congressman Mike Simpson's Boulder-White Clouds legislation. Craig says he will support both bills but like the ICA, only if the money is there to pay the ranchers first. Crapo's bill sets aside more than a half million acres of wilderness, 384 miles of wild and scenic rivers and promises 15 million dollars to ranchers who give up land and grazing areas. This bill hasn't come up for a vote in either chamber while Simpson's bill has seen action in the House only. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott