Editor:

I was somewhat optimistic that the election of President Barack Obama along with an increase in the number of Democrats in both the House and Senate would not have an immediate effect on Wyoming's lands, especially given the current economic crisis. Unfortunately my optimism has completely vanished, and the true intentions of the national Democratic Party have come out.

As of today there are three bills in the House of Representatives that were introduced by Democrats, that if passed would have a detrimental effect on our lifestyles as residents of the state of Wyoming. They are HR 980 (Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act), HR 45 (Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009), and the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

Although all three pieces of legislation are detrimental to our freedoms, I would like to discuss HR 980 in further detail. HR 980 would create 24 million acres of new Wilderness designation among five Western states, with 3.26 million of those acres in Wyoming. This legislation was introduced by New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and is cosponsored by 75 other representatives, all of whom are Democrats. Only three representatives are from the five states that are affected by this bill.

The areas in Wyoming that would fall under the new Wilderness designation would include the Hams Fork, Commissary Ridge, Salt River Range, Southern Wyoming Range, Monument Ridge in the Wyoming Range, Little Sheep Mountain, Little Cottonwood, North Mountain, and Lake Mountain.

We would see a significant drop in recreation opportunities such as camping, hunting and fishing that we currently enjoy in these areas. Fortunately, not all Democrats support this bill, especially many Democrats in our state, such as Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who is on record calling it "an absurd piece of legislation brought by someone who has the capacity to introduce bills, but who lacks the wisdom to understand what they would do."

I encourage everyone to contact not only our elected officials, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. John Barrasso, and Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, but also the entire elected delegation of the U.S. and voice your opinion on HR 980, along with any other legislation that may have effects on our lifestyles as Wyoming residents.

BRAZURE HENRIE, Mountain View