Shays Rebellion

In the Cool Bills That Will Never Fly Department, a bipartisan duo last week introduced legislation in the House that would designate as wilderness all roadless federal lands in Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and western Wyoming -- a total of 26 million acres. The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, championed by Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), has more than 100 co-sponsors, but little chance of passage in the current political climate. Likewise, prospects are dim for a bipartisan bill introduced in the House and Senate on Thursday that would reinstate a ban on the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. "There's no political will for this in Congress, we know that," said Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel (D-Penn.). "But we can raise hell and we can scream."