Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today passed the Omnibus Lands bill, which contains 16 wilderness bills protecting more than two million acres of public land across nine states, by a vote of 77 to 20. The approval of the Senate sends the package over to the House of Representatives for what should be a final vote before the measure heads to the White House for President Obama's signature.
Campaign for America's Wilderness executive director Mike Matz said, "The vote today in the upper chamber was another resounding endorsement of a widely popular piece of legislation."
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has again come through for the majority of Americans who favor strong protection for our most treasured landscapes. By acting quickly on this second go-round of the omnibus lands package, this time including assurances that nothing in the bill will prevent sportsmen's access to these public lands, Sen. Reid has made it possible for the Congress to maintain legislative momentum to get this bipartisan legislation quickly onto the books so that millions of Americans can begin to enjoy the new wilderness this spring and summer."
The Omnibus Lands bill contains more than 150 broadly supported, bipartisan bills that will protect wilderness, preserve key components of America's natural heritage and provide important economic benefits to struggling local businesses and governments. It will be the largest public land protection measure passed by Congress in more than fifteen years.
Wilderness designated in the bill include California's Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mount Hood in Oregon, Zion National Park in Utah, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and parts of Virginia's Jefferson National Forest and the Monongahela in West Virginia. The bill would also establish the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System, protect hundreds of miles of free-flowing rivers in six states, and designate new National Scenic Trails, Natural Historic Sites, and National Heritage Areas across America.
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