By The Editors

Editor's Note: Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV) took issue with Hal Herring's recent Conservationist blog, titled "Are There Any Politicians Who Really Understand Sportsmen's Concerns?" and asked us for the opportunity to address Hal's comments in an OpEd piece. Here's what he has to say.

By U.S. Congressman Dean Heller

A recent posting on this blog commented on a Wall Street Journal article concerning the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s secretarial order to designate areas with wilderness characteristics under its jurisdiction as “wild lands.” The author of this post made assumptions about my experience based upon comments in this article that need to be addressed.

I am a lifelong sportsman, a member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, and currently serve as Policy Chair for the Congressional Western Caucus. I grew up recreating on the more than 85% of the land in my home state of Nevada that is controlled by the federal government. In some counties in my Congressional District as little as 2% of the land base is privately owned. Federal land management policies have a tremendous impact on local communities throughout the West and in my Congressional District. I spend a large portion of my time in Congress dedicated to natural resource issues, such as federal land management. For these reasons, I am particularly sensitive to any actions that could restrict access to public lands.