Two Northwest park bills advance
WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee voted yesterday to expand Mount Rainier National Park and to create a new historical park honoring the Lewis and Clark expedition.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved an 800-acre increase on the northwest side of Rainier and called for the conversion of three historical sites in Washington and one in Oregon into the only national park honoring the explorers. The Washington sites total 560 acres on the lower Columbia River.
Congress must approve $4 million to $6 million to buy the Rainier land before it becomes part of the national park system.
Land for the Lewis and Clark park will cost $1.5 million to $2.3 million, though that money may come from the National Park Service's current budget.
The actions came in separate bills, both championed by committee member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The measures now require the full Senate's approval.
The Rainier proposal is the same as one written by Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., that passed the House in June.
"Today's action is an important step towards securing the largest expansion of Mount Rainier National Park in 70 years," Cantwell said after the unanimous committee vote.
The bill expand the park around the Carbon River, which includes a canyon and one of the few remaining inland rainforests in the state.
"(The vote) couldn't have come at a better time," said Heather Weiner, Northwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. "The landowners are very willing to sell their land to the park; they see it as their legacy, but they are aging. It's a phenomenal area."
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
Two Northwest park bills advance
To learn more about park conservation, please visit Earth Share of Washington member National Parks Conservation Association:
www.npca.org
