The 109th Congress early this morning passed its sixth bill to protect wild public lands under the National Wilderness Preservation System. The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2006, designating more than a half million acres of new wilderness, was included in omnibus tax legislation that cleared the House and Senate in the final hours of the 109th Congress, and heads next to the President’s desk for his signature.
“What was shaping up to be a good year for wilderness turned into a great year, when Congress today designated 557,000 acres of public land in Nevada as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System,” said Mike Matz, Executive Director of the Campaign for America's Wilderness. “As we head into the holidays, Congress has given future generations of Americans the very special gift of wilderness.”
“The bipartisan action by Congress demonstrates one more time that wilderness truly is America’s common ground,” said Matz.
“When signed into law by the President, the new wilderness in eastern Nevada will raise to more than a million acres the wild public land protected during the 109th Congress. The Nevada bill is the sixth wilderness bill passed during the 109th Congress, which had already achieved an impressive bipartisan record of conserving public land. In the past two years, this Congress voted to safeguard in perpetuity more than 76,000 acres of forested hills and valleys in New Hampshire and Vermont (Wild River and Glastenbury Wilderness and others), some 275,000 acres of coastal forests in northwest California (King Range Wilderness and others), more than 100,000 acres of windswept peaks in Utah (Cedar Mountain Wilderness), 10,000 acres of tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico (El Toro Wilderness), and 11,000 acres of desert canyonlands in New Mexico (Ojito Wilderness). The Nevada wilderness bill passed as part of a larger package, H.R. 6111, the House and Senate overwhelming approved in the final hours of the 109th Congress.
“The Campaign for America’s Wilderness wishes to extend our profound thanks to Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, and their staffs, who worked tirelessly to develop and guide this impressive legislation through Congress demonstrating the highest level of bipartisanship,” Matz said. “This bill was the result of years of collaboration by many varied interests, seeking to resolve long-standing issues and move forward to permanently protect special wild places. Our thanks also go to the members of the 109th Congress who recognized the importance of preserving wild public lands, and who helped protect all these irreplaceable wild places for present and future generations to enjoy.
“This holiday season, this impressive natural legacy is truly something to celebrate,” said Matz.
