On Tuesday, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson supported final passage of S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act. The legislation includes over 100 individual bills which deliver local solutions to public lands issues, primarily in the west. The bill includes two bills authored by Congressman Simpson that resolve boundary adjustments and management of recreation facilities. S. 47 also permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation on public lands and state grant programs. The bill passed by a broad bipartisan vote of 363-62.

“I am thrilled to see so many pieces of local legislation honored in the public lands package,” said Congressman Simpson. “Many of these bills are local issues that require an act of Congress to fix and I am happy to report that two Idaho bills were included in the package. It is also important that LWCF is reauthorized because it has a history of conserving, protecting, and constructing public lands and local parks. We have so many examples in our own backyard, whether you are hiking in the SNRA or recreating in the Boise foothills, this program has improved access to the outdoors in Idaho.”

Included in S. 47, is H.R. 482 and H.R. 483, two bills authored by Congressman Mike Simpson and introduced on the Senate side by Senator Jim Risch. H.R. 482 authorizes the Forest Service to allow routine maintenance of a recreation facility in Central Idaho and update outdated and fire-prone energy equipment with renewable sources. H.R. 483 allows for a minor boundary adjustment in Henry’s Lake Wilderness Study Area to correct a property line on federal land.

The LWCF reauthorization is nearly identical to Congressman Simpson’s LAND Act, which includes the LWCF reauthorization and funding to address the backlog in our National Park system. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law as the Senate passed the bill 92-8 on February 12^th.

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