New Washington wilderness area passes key hurdle
WASHINGTON - A key House committee Wednesday approved a bill creating a Wild Sky Wilderness northeast of Seattle, the first new wilderness area in Washington state in more than 20 years.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., would designate 106,577 acres in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as wilderness, the government's highest level of protection.
The Senate has approved the Wild Sky proposal three times in recent years, but the plan has never come up for a vote on the House floor. This year, with their party in charge of Congress, Democrats say they are confident the measure will finally be approved.
"We've reached the pinnacle of a long hike," Larsen said after the unanimous vote by the House Natural Resources panel. Getting Wild Sky legislation through the committee "is like arriving at the summit of Mount Fernow (in the Entiat Mountains southwest of Washington's Lake Chelan). I'm looking forward to the celebration at the end of the trail," Larsen said.
A Larsen aide said the House should vote on the measure this spring.
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the Natural Resources panel, has called Wild Sky the panel's highest wilderness priority this year. He said in a statement Wednesday that he is pleased the committee endorsed the measure at its first business meeting under Democratic control and commended Larsen "for his diligent work in seeing that this wilderness area is protected for future generations to come."
Larsen's bill, and a companion measure sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., would designate 106,577 acres in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as wilderness. The two Democrats say their measure would block development or other economic activity in a sprawling area north of U.S. 2 that includes habitat for bears, bald eagles and other wildlife, as well as streams, hiking trails and other forms of recreation.
Environmental groups called the committee vote a huge victory for Washington state and supporters of Wild Sky.
"This is the critical step we've waited so long for," said Tom Uniack, conservation director of the Washington Wilderness Coalition, noting that the Wild Sky effort was blocked in the Resources committee for years under Republican control.
"It is exciting to see the legislation beginning its journey this year by passing out of this committee," Uniack said. "We look forward to Congress finally getting the job done this year."
This article is republished courtesy of The Olympian:
New state wilderness area passes key hurdle
