The human-powered outdoor recreation community sustained a significant setback last week when Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar confirmed that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will not move forward with plans to identify and set aside wild lands for passive outdoor recreation independently of Congress as was announced last December.


The order restored BLMs authority to designate and manage – with public input through its existing land planning process – areas as Wild Lands to provide visitors with rare opportunities for solitude and personal reflection.  Public use of such areas would be restricted to hunting and fishing, observing wildlife, hiking and other non-motorized and non mechanized recreational uses.  The executive order appeared to mark a significant milestone for Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), which has been working for years to get federal land management agencies to acknowledge the economic value of the $289 billion dollar outdoor recreation industry.


BLM had used the authority until 2003, when the Bush Administration suspended it through an executive order in conjunction with a 2003 out-of-court settlement with the State of Utah. That decision so upset the outdoor industry that it threatened to pull the Outdoor Retailer Show out of Salt Lake City.  Conversely, Black Diamond Inc. CEO Peter Metcalf, an OIA board member, and OIA President and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer joined Salazar at his press conference last December to announce Executive Order 3310.


The real losers in this decision are the American people and the communities that rely on outdoor recreation to support their local economies, Hugelmeyer said of Salazars announcement last week. Outdoor recreation is a core component of balanced, sustainable economies in every community across the country.

 

Our nations wilderness and additional backcountry lands and waters-245 million acres of Wilderness just within BLM-are the essential infrastructure that allows Americans to hike, hunt, watch wildlife, camp and fish.


In December, Salazar said the order would restore balance to BLM land management practices by recognizing the legitimate needs and economic contributions of passive outdoor recreational enthusiasts. But the order immediately drew howls of protest from other groups, including off-road vehicle users, mining and forestry companies and even the mountain biking community. Some critics from the 11 Western states that contain most BLM land dubbed the executive order a federal land grab.


In reversing the order last week, Salazar cited a provision of the continuing budget resolution approved by Congress in April that specifically prohibits the use of appropriated funds to implement, administer or enforce the order in the current fiscal year.
Salazar said BLM will instead continue working with Congress to designate appropriate BLM lands in their districts for protection under the Wilderness Act, a much lengthier and more political process.