WASHINGTON — House Resources Committee Chairman Jim Hansen, R-Utah, has called a hearing on the first of what may be many bills to rework national monuments created or expanded by former President Bill Clinton.
He scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on a bill by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, to amend the management plan to allow hunting in Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument, which Clinton expanded. Simpson said hunting has been a popular activity there, but the monument's new management plan would block it.
Earlier this year, Hansen wrote to House members whose districts include the 21 monuments created or expanded by Clinton. He offered to help them rework or even erase boundaries residents oppose, or to amend unpopular management rules.
"This legislation (on Craters of the Moon) is precisely what I had in mind when I offered the committee's help in redrawing the boundaries or management plans of these Clinton monuments," Hansen said.
"Like most of the Clinton monuments, this designation was crammed down the throats of the local people with complete disregard for their wishes or the impact on their local economy.
"Now, the local people want the monument's management plan changed to accommodate their long-standing use of that land. We're going to help them make it happen," Hansen said.
The hearing will be before the Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. Hansen and Subcommittee Chairman Joel Hefley recently added the word "recreation" to its title because they said public lands management has too often ignored that use and tilted too heavily toward environmental protection.
Hefley said, "What Bill Clinton did to the people of Idaho and 14 other states with his national monuments was an arrogant abuse of power."
Simpson said his bill is "about fairness and fulfilling the promises that the federal government made to the people of Idaho. It ensures that Idahoans can continue to enjoy hunting and are not locked out of traditional hunting areas."
Among the monuments the committee may revisit is Utah's vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said he is soliciting comment from local officials about changes they may want.
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