Congress Passes Wilderness Bill to Protect 2 Million Acres Across 9 States

The House of Representatives, by a vote of 285 to 140, passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act Yesterday.

Containing 16 wilderness bills, which protect more than two million acres of treasured landscapes across nine states (view map), the Omnibus Public Land Management Act is the largest public land protection measure passed by Congress in more than fifteen years. It moves now to the president’s desk for his signature into law.

“Congress has done something truly amazing for people from all walks of life and all regions of the country in forever protecting America’s common ground through this bipartisan measure,” said Mike Matz, executive director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. “People are cheering in the streets of their communities across the nation today, knowing that protection for their special wild place will become a reality. Having that certainty — especially in these uncertain times — is really important to them. We cheer lawmakers for completing work on these important wilderness bills — nearly all of which have been in the works for many years.”

Marcia Argust, the Campaign’s government affairs representative, added, “Today’s victory signals that legislation can be crafted to both protect our nation’s public lands and help sustain local economies. Once again, collaboration and bipartisanship at the local and congressional levels have proven to be the key to successful wilderness proposals.”

Jim Mathews, a legislative specialist with the Campaign, noted, “The strength of public support coupled with the size, scope and diversity of the lands protected in this bill are emblematic of the growing recognition that our wild lands must and do serve many purposes, not the least of which is as a place to hunt, fish, hike, camp, watch birds and take solace — unaltered and unadorned, just as they are.”

The omnibus bill contains more than 150 broadly supported, bipartisan bills that, in addition to wilderness protection, will preserve key components of America’s natural heritage and provide important economic benefits to struggling local businesses and governments.

“It is fitting that the first conservation bill sent to the new president, which will forever protect millions of acres of special wild places, comes in the year the nation celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act,” added Matz.

Among the wild treasures that will now stay as they are for our grandchildren are 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. House Natural Resources Committee Chair Nick Rahall called the measure “the most significant conservation legislation the Congress will consider this year.”

“We commend and congratulate the House leadership, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, and the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Rahall, for an impressive accomplishment so early in the 111th Congress,” said Matz. “Just as in the Senate, the bill had strong bipartisan support in the House. We especially appreciate the sponsors of the individual bills in both parties who worked with Chairman Rahall and leadership. Our hats are off to them because they navigated a rocky path and made it to the destination many Americans had hoped they would.”

Download this information sheet (PDF) to learn more about the wilderness measures in the lands package.

Reprinted with permission of leaveitwild.org photo credit: Jug Jones

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