This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Rob Bishop may represent the northern part of Utah, but he's concerned about landowners in Connecticut.
Bishop took the lead this week in trying to kill a measure to designate the Eightmile River in Connecticut as part of the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers system because he says the bill opens up the chances for the government to condemn private land.
However, supporters of the measure - which passed the House Tuesday by a 253-172 vote - say Bishop is out to embarrass freshmen Democrat Rep. Joe Courtney.
They also say that the legislation includes a specific provision ensuring acquisition of land for the system is "limited to acquisition by donation or acquisition with the consent of the owner of the lands."
Bishop, a Republican, tried to send the bill back to committee Tuesday with instructions to amend the bill - a move used often by Republicans this year to kill measures. Bishop says he wanted to make sure there is language to protect homeowners and landowners.
The Day of New London, Conn., however, said Bishop and the Republicans' opposition to the river designation was to foil Courtney's attempt to pass legislation, a move the newspaper said was payback for Courtney's razor-thin win in November.
"After 10 years of hard, bipartisan work by local citizens, elected officials and environmental organizations to protect Connecticut's Eightmile River and its rural watershed, GOP clowns made political hay of the effort last week, following the lead of a Utah Republican and defeating the wild and scenic designation for the river," the newspaper's editorial said last week referring to a procedural block Bishop helped initiate. "It was just their way of getting back at Rep. Courtney."
Bishop, who is the ranking Republican on the Natural Resources subcommittee over the legislation, says such a suggestion impugns his motives and the argument is "crap."
"I'm sure that newspapers have been wrong before and they'll be wrong again," Bishop said. He adds that the language preventing condemnation is moot because another section says nothing shall preclude eminent domain if needed.
Bishop says his effort was solely focused on protecting private landowners and he otherwise supports the state's effort to protect the waterway. Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell and the state's federal delegation all supported the measure.
"If a state wants to do it, go ahead," Bishop said, as long as private landowners are protected.