Sherwood Boehlert: “my amendment, once again, tries to seek the sensible middle ground. It protects the area. It does not foreclose options…”

“my amendment, once again, tries to seek the sensible middle ground. It protects the area. It does not foreclose options for the future. It also does not jeopardize a very fragile, carefully crafted agreement, which has been endorsed by the Secretary of the Interior. As we address the subject of off-highway vehicles, the amendment would make clear that the management plan cannot supersede existing prohibitions or Secretarial authority concerning motorized vehicle use. The amendment explicitly codifies the road closures and wilderness study areas that the Bureau of Land Management announced in March. And the amendment explicitly codifies the Secretary's regulatory authority to block motorized use that would degrade or is degrading environmental resources. Let me repeat that because it is worth emphasis. The amendment explicitly codifies the Secretary's regulatory authority to block motorized use that would degrade or is degrading environmental resources. These provisions will strengthen the BLM's ability to block off-highway vehicle use in the conservation area. The amendment does not automatically close all roads to OHV use, as the Holt amendment would. The management plan required by the bill could close all the roads, but doing so today would undermine the agreement that brought forward this bill. That agreement is necessary to ensure that off-highway vehicle restrictions are truly enforced.”