You may not have heard of Jim Wattenburger. He is a county commissioner in rural northern California. A Republican. He's a firefighter. He's testified before Congress. Like any public servant, he's concerned about jobs and the economy and the quality of life in his county. He is forward-thinking about the needs of people like him who live where he does.
That's why, he says, he supports wilderness designation on public lands.
He testified about it when he went before Congress, and President Bush signed into law a bill to protect wilderness in Jim's neck of the woods. "Preserving such areas is what smart communities are doing in every part of the country," he says.
That's why, in rural Idaho, ranchers, conservationists, and county commissioners are cooperating to promote wilderness protection for Owyhee Canyon. It's going on in southern New Mexico where the local homebuilders association wants to see the Organ Mountains preserved. It's the same in western Colorado where Sen. Ken Salazar says, "You know, these are neither Republican nor Democratic issues" when he talks about local commissioners' support for safeguarding Dominguez Canyon.
Or, as Jim Wattenburger likes to say, it's about "finding win-win solutions."
We like that idea.
