Wilderness designation has gone too far.

It was to be expected that when the pendulum of conservation had swung to the extreme, a time would come when it had to return to the middle. It won't be well if it swings too far in the other direction, either, but there's a ways to go before that happens, particularly in Alaska.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a co-sponsor of the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act, which was introduced this week in the Senate. The House proposed the act in April.

The act would release 43 million acres from highly restrictive management rules and allow them to be managed for multiple use by the public and with public input.

The ultimate effect, if the act passes, would be to open up land for development and jobs, enhancing the economy of communities and states across the nation.

Importantly, the act would terminate the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and the 2005 State Petition Rule, and would prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from directing how the roadless areas are managed.

It directs the U.S. Forest Service to manage the roadless area according to the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960.

Just for the record, it all started with a congressional attempt in 1976 to determine which land would be preserved as wilderness. The Bureau of Land Management recommended 6.7 million acres and the Forest Service 36.1 million acres. That land has been locked up out of public reach since then.

The result has been detrimental to Alaska's economic growth and impeded development in its communities. In the economic recession of recent years, the effect of excessive preservation has been illuminated. States and communities rich in natural resources need access to the land to develop, creating jobs and a reasonable quality of life. Ultimately, denying the communities and states that opportunity cripples the nation.

Ketchikan and southern Southeast Alaska will welcome the Roadless Area Release Act.