On Dec. 12, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act including a handful of bipartisan bills to protect public lands in Washington. The legislation included the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act and the Illabot Creek Wild and Scenic River Act sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray; Sen. Maria Cantwell was a co-sponsor.
“After seven years of hard work, we are elated to see the Alpine Lakes and Illabot proposals for new Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River protections pass Congress,” said Tom Uniack, conservation director for Washington Wild.
The package of public lands bills in the National Defense Authorization Act includes about one million acres of overall land protection, including more than 200,000 acres of designated wilderness, 140 miles of Wild and Scenic River designations, 75,000 acres of mineral withdrawals and creation or expansion of a handful of national parks. The last significant public lands package to pass Congress was the 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.
The Alpine Lakes legislation protects an additional 22,000 acres of wilderness adjoining the existing Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, and adds 10 miles of the Pratt River and nearly 30 miles of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
The legislation, introduced in the House by District 8 Congressman Dave Reichert and District 1 Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, will protect water, wildlife and outdoor recreational opportunities in the closest mountain valley to the greater Seattle metropolitan area.
Legislation to designate Illabot Creek as a Wild and Scenic River was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Murray. A companion bill in the House was introduced most recently by Congresswoman DelBene. Wild and Scenic designation will protect stream flows and important spawning habitat for iconic Northwest salmon species in this creek which flows into the Skagit Wild and Scenic River.
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