Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Wilderness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Washington County Commission adopts resolution opposing donation of roughly 700 acres to BLM for wilderness designation
Summary
The Washington County Commission voted to oppose a proposed donation of about 700 acres by the Wilderness Land Trust to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that would add to nearby designated wilderness areas, citing concerns about federal land percentage, access and local resource-management priorities.
The Washington County Commission on Jan. 2025 approved Resolution R-2025-3426 formally opposing the transfer of approximately 700 acres of privately acquired land to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for inclusion in nearby wilderness areas.
County staff explained the donation was proposed by an organization identified in the meeting as the Wilderness Land Trust and that the donated acreage is in northwestern Washington County. Staff said the donation has received initial approval and, if finalized, the land could be added to the Cougar Canyon and Slaughter Creek wilderness areas.
Commissioners debating the resolution cited the county’s resource management plan and concerns that Washington County already contains a high percentage of federally controlled land. One commissioner noted the county maintains and uses a road that runs through the parcel and said that wilderness designation could limit practical use of those lands and access to adjoining public lands. The speaker said, in part, that the county has “enough wilderness” and expressed opposition to further additions.
The motion to adopt R-2025-3426 passed by voice vote. Commissioners instructed staff to record the county’s opposition and to seek support from the federal delegation where appropriate.
Why it matters: designation of additional wilderness land changes permitted uses, typically limits mechanized access and long-term multiple use; such transfers can affect local access, grazing, firefighting access, road maintenance responsibilities and county land-management plans.
Clarifying details: meeting discussion referenced the 2009 lands bill (Omnibus Public Land Management Act) as background for previous Congressional action on wilderness in the county and cited an estimate (in meeting remarks) of more than 250,000 acres of designated wilderness in Washington County across federal agencies, a figure the speaker described as approximate.
Following the vote, commissioners directed county staff to keep the county resource management plan as the reference point for federal land-management decisions and to notify federal managers and the county’s federal delegation of the adopted position.
