The Mountaineers
Earlier this year, the House passed the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, which includes additional protections for the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act here in Washington state. The bill would protect over 126,000 acres around the Olympic National Park as Wilderness where outdoor enthusiasts, including Mountaineers, hike, camp, climb, and more.
While the legislation passed the House earlier this year, time is running out to get it through the Senate. With that in mind, House representatives introduced an amendment to include the public lands protections in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass piece of legislation. A similar legislative strategy was used in 2014 by Senators Murray and Cantwell and Representatives Reichert and DelBene to attach legislation to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, which was passed in the 2014 NDAA.
With support from Representatives Kilmer, Smith, and Jayapal, the amendment was passed with a bi-partisan vote and included in the House NDAA. The Senate is preparing their own version of the NDAA and the two versions must be reconciled. While we still have work to do to make these wilderness protections a reality, this is a major step forward.
Help us keep up the momentum and contact your Senators in support of Wild Olympics, and thank the House members for their support.
Our Mountaineers community leads many trips to the Olympics, including hiking, backpacking, and stewardship activities, and we believe protecting these beloved areas will ensure that all visitors can enjoy the lush natural beauty of the Olympic Peninsula now, and for generations to come. Over the past decade, we have worked with a diverse group of partners and coalition members, from conservation advocates to local business groups, to support Congress in creating more protections for wildlands and scenic rivers surrounding the Olympic National Park.
More info
Learn more about Wild Olympics’s vision of long-term protection for these sensitive forest and river watersheds, and the partners working together to push this bill through with our partners at Wild Olympics.
The Protecting America’s Wilderness Act includes protections for the Wild Olympics in Washington, the central coast and redwoods in California, and Wilderness throughout Colorado. In all, this bill brings together six long-standing efforts that Outdoor Alliance, our partners, and the outdoor community have worked on for years. If passed, this will protect 1.3 million acres and 12,000 miles of rivers where recreationists like you hike, climb, kayak, camp, and enjoy nature.
- (H.R. 2642) – Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
- (H.R. 2546) – Colorado Wilderness Act of 2020
- (H.R. 2250) – Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act
- (H.R. 2199) – Central Coast Heritage Protection Act
- (H.R. 2215) – San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act
- (H.R. 1708) – Rim of the Valley
The Senate needs to hear from you now, particularly in support of the Wild Olympics Act. Please join the 12,000+ Olympic Peninsula residents and 800 businesses, farms, faith leaders, sports groups, elected officials, conservationists, outdoor recreationists, and civic groups who show strong support for the Wild Olympics Act.
MAIN IMAGE OF sol duc falls. PHOTO BY gabe purpur.
Add a comment
Log in to add comments.
I enjoy these updates on the blog and the turnkey links to notify our lawmakers. Thank you.
