A collection of more than 150 various lands bills and related issues compiled in one massive omnibus package has officially returned to Congress.

The package includes several items affecting Idaho, including a proposal by Sen. Mike Crapo for an 807-square-mile Owyhee wilderness area, $3 million tabbed by former Sen. Larry Craig for water storage projects in the state and suggested "wild and scenic" status for a 387-mile stretch of the Snake River and its tributaries in Wyoming.

Many of its contents have been in the works for a long time, and the package's defeat last fall signaled another setback for those projects.

Now known as Senate Bill 22, the omnibus bill has officially been reintroduced and could see its first action on Friday, Crapo spokesman Lindsay Nothern said Wednesday.

It won't have to go back to committee, and it's possible that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., could even call for a weekend session to handle the bill, Nothern said.

The bill's main sponsor is once again Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.

The bill has drawn detractors as well as supporters - a variety of business and public lands groups mobilized to fight its last appearance in November, while much of the Senate supported it. But the person largely responsible for its momentary demise was Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who threatened to drag out a rushed session of Congress by filibustering any discussion.

Calls to Coburn's press secretary on Wednesday were not returned.

But on Tuesday, the senator blasted the bill's return in a press release, criticizing it again as an example of congressional waste and questioning why Senate leaders have put it ahead of several weeks of hearings on an economic stimulus package.

"I would welcome the opportunity to spend several days discussing the contents of this legislation on the Senate floor," Coburn said in his release. "However, the millions of Americans who are worried about their jobs and their homes are hardly eager for Congress to build roads to nowhere, spend $1 billion to rescue 500 salmon and help a city in Florida plan a party six years in advance," he added, referencing several items he opposes.

Coburn didn't specify in the release what steps he might take against the bill. But Nothern said the changes in the 111th Congress may prevent Coburn from pulling a repeat performance.

"He may not have the votes to sustain a filibuster," Nothern said, adding that the bill's backers have been holding discussions with Coburn's office.

"We're trying our best to work with him on this, and hopefully we can have a good outcome."

If it clears the Senate, the lands bill will still have to pass the House, where Nothern said he understands it shouldn't face much opposition.

Though some December discussions focused on attaching Rep. Mike Simp-son's Central Idaho Eco-nomic Development and Recreation Act to the package, Simpson spokeswoman Nikki Watts said she expects the House to leave the package as it is, increasing its chances of passing and preventing a return to the Senate.

Nate Poppino may be reached at 208-735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.