Outdoor industry leaders hailed an order issued by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Thursday that will ensure the Bureau of Land Management considers the value of protecting backcountry areas used for recreation when determining how to manage its vast land holdings.


Secretarial Order 3310 directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), based on the input of the public and local communities through its existing land management planning process, to designate appropriate areas with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction as “Wild Lands” and to manage them to protect their wilderness values.


“Americans love the wild places where they hunt, fish, hike, and get away from it all, and they expect these lands to be protected wisely on their behalf,” Salazar said at a press conference held outside REI’s massive Denver store. “This policy ensures that the lands of the American public are protected for current and future generations to come.”

 


 

Peter Metcalf, vice chair for Outdoor Industry Association and CEO for Clarus Corp., which owns Black Diamond Equipment and Gregory Mountain Products, and Frank Hugelmeyer, president of Outdoor Industry Association, were both in attendance and praised the decision.

 

“For years, those of us who are part of the outdoor industry have recognized that the tired old debate of jobs versus preservation was an insult to the 6.5 million Americans whose jobs are dependent on the active outdoor recreation economy,” said Metcalf. “Today, Secretary Salazar’s bold action has reframed the debate, acknowledged our industry’s contribution to the health of the American economy, while also recognizing the integrity of wild places.”

The BLM, which manages more land than any other federal agency, has not had any comprehensive national wilderness policy since 2003, when the wilderness management guidance in the agency's handbook was revoked as part of a controversial out-of-court settlement between then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, the State of Utah, and other parties. That agreement caused a furor at the Outdoor Retailer show that year.


“The new Wild Lands policy affirms the BLM's authorities under the law – and our responsibility to the American people – to protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands we oversee as part of our multiple use mission,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey.

 

Hugelmeyer said the order properly values the preservation of outdoor recreation venues on equal terms with other uses of public lands.

“In a time when Americans are returning to affordable close-to-home recreation experiences, these lands provide families access to opportunities for recreation, hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, adventure and solitude,” Hugelmeyer said. “Outdoor recreation in America has been one of the few bright spots in our economy and the availability of well managed landscapes will provide good paying jobs and generate significant economic activity for cities and towns across the U.S.,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of OIA.

Abbey said that Secretarial Order 3310 fills an important land management need for the public and the agency.

 

“Wild Lands,” which will be designated through a public process, will be managed to protect wilderness characteristics unless or until such time as a new public planning process modifies the designation. Because the “Wild Lands” designation can be made and later modified through a public administrative process, it differs from “Wilderness Areas,” which are designated by Congress and cannot be modified except by legislation, and “Wilderness Study Areas,” which BLM typically must manage to protect wilderness characteristics until Congress determines whether to permanently protect them as Wilderness Areas or modify their management.


Secretarial Order 3310 also directs the BLM to maintain a current inventory of public lands with wilderness characteristics, which will contribute to the agency’s ability to make balanced, informed land management decisions, consistent with its multiple-use mission.


“Simple principles guide this common-sense policy,” said Salazar. “First: the protection of wild lands is important to the American people and should therefore be a high priority in BLM's management policies. Second: the public should have a say in designating certain public lands as 'Wild Lands' and expanding those areas or modifying their management over time. And third: we should know more about which American lands remain wild, so we can make wise choices, informed by science, for our children, grandchildren and future generations.”

 

“We are charting a new course for balanced land management which allows the BLM to take into account all of the resources for which it is responsible through a transparent, public land use planning process,” said Abbey.

The Secretarial Order does not change the management of existing Wilderness Study Areas pending before Congress or congressionally designated units of the National Wilderness Preservation System. BLM may also still develop recommendations, with public involvement, regarding possible Congressional designation of lands into the National Wilderness Preservation System.

 

To read Secretarial Order 3310, click here. To read the BLM's draft guidance to its field managers for implementing the Secretarial Order, click here.