Congress continues to build on the momentum of last year's heartening achievements to protect a lasting legacy of America’s common ground as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. In a work session today, the House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R. 886, the Wild Sky Wilderness Act, to protect more than 106,000 acres of wilderness in Washington's Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, sending the measure to the House floor. The path for final House passage of this broadly backed measure has now been cleared.
This rugged landscape, an hour's drive from Seattle and Everett, is home to thousand-foot cliffs, high alpine peaks, lush old-growth forests, and more than 25 miles of salmon and steelhead spawning streams. Sponsored by Reps. Rick Larsen and Jay Inslee, and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, the bill has garnered the support of elected officials, outdoor industries, local, businesses, and sporting and conservation groups. The same measure has cleared the Senate three times previously, so quick passage of this bill by the full House of Representatives will likely lead to enactment.
Meanwhile, an additional 515,000 acres of sage desert and canyon country in southwestern Idaho could win permanent protection as designated wilderness under a bill reintroduced today by Senator Crapo (R-ID), entitled the Owyhee Initiative Implementation Act. Preserving areas well beyond the canyon rims, the proposal encompasses significant wildlife habitat. Nearly 400 miles of riverways would be added to the Wild and Scenic River system, including waters in each of the major wilderness designations, creating unspoiled wildlife and rafting corridors. We also applaud the bill's provisions to provide greater assistance to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes to protect cultural and archaeological resources, the closure of 200 miles of roads within proposed wilderness, and the opportunity for greater economic stability for the county.
Shaped by county officials, ranchers, conservationists, local tribes, motorized users, and other interested parties, the Owyhee Initiative involves many land management issues and processes. By its very scope, and by the diversity of stakeholders involved, the legislation represents a compromise in the truest sense--everybody had to give a little to get a little. The legislation is a work in progress, but the underlying agreement represents a significant conservation opportunity and a potential consensus model of national significance.
The Campaign for America's Wilderness applauds this impressive progress on both Washington’s Wild Sky legislation and the Owyhee Initiative for Idaho.
