Land Purchases Urged To Preserve Idaho

A new report by the Wilderness Society and 53 environmental groups says land should be bought for public ownership along the Lower Salmon River, the south fork of the Snake, City of Rocks National Reserve and elsewhere in Idaho.

Other Idaho locales where purchases were recommended include Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Targhee National Forest and the Sands Elk Range in southeastern Idaho.

“At City of Rocks, acquisition would limit grazing damage and help ensure that recreational activities like rock climbing are available,” said Craig Gehrke, The Wilderness Society’s Inter-Mountain Regional Director.

“Idaho is one of a kind, and purchases like these are essential if we’re going to keep it that way.”

The document proposes 1996 acquisitions in 45 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The money would come from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which derives more than 80 percent of its revenue form offshore oil drilling royalties and is the largest source of funds for land acquisition. Each year $900 million is directed into the fund. But since 1981, appropriations have averaged just $252 million, leaving an unappropriated surplus of more than $10 billion.

The report also recommends appropriation of matching funds that would go to states and localities for various open space and recreation projects.