WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) released the following statement regarding the Obama Administration’s decision to abandon its sweeping wild lands order (Secretarial Order 3310):

“This Administration’s ‘wild lands’ proposal was misguided right out of the box.  Public lands should be managed in a way that provides the greatest benefit to the public.  This anti-multiple use order would have severely limited access to public lands and threatened Western economies. 

“I am pleased the Administration appears to finally understand that bypassing Congress and ignoring input from local officials is the wrong way to go.  We need to have a balanced approach to managing our public lands that involves listening to folks on the ground who know the land the best.  I look forward to working with Secretary Salazar to ensure that we achieve this goal.  I will fight any additional attempts by Washington to backdoor designate de-facto wilderness areas.”

Background:

On December 22, 2010, the Department of Interior (DOI) issued Secretarial Order 3310.  This sweeping wilderness policy was issued without input from Congress or local officials. 

On January 28, 2011, Senator Barrasso, along with other Western Caucus members, sent a letter to the DOI protesting the wild lands order.

On April 14, 2011, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution that contained provisions that limited the use of funds for the Interior Department to “implement, administer, or enforce” Secretarial Order 3310.

On June 1, 2011, Interior Secretary Salazar announced the Administration would abandon Secretarial Order 3310.

###