Boise, ID – Two Idaho lawmakers whose wilderness bills appear to have failed to gain traction say they will try again next year.
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo and U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, both Republicans, say they'll pick up new allies on some aspects of their bills but see new pressures as well.
Crapo's bill was part of a sweeping lands bill that would have created new wilderness areas in five Western states.
The bill was stopped when Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma threatened a filibuster.
Crapo's Owyhee Canyonlands plan would protect 500,000 acres of wilderness and help ranchers in Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho.
Simpson's plan would protect 319,000 acres in the Boulder and White Cloud mountains in central Idaho.