GDP X-Post: Obama Signs Public Lands Management Act protecting 2,000,000 million acres of wilderness

[NYC_SKP]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8305144

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday afternoon, March 30, 2009, President Obama will sign into law the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009. After much wrangling in the house and senate, and major opposition by the American Motorcyclists Association and other off-road organizations, this bill has finally made it to the president’s desk. It is a compilation of natural wilderness Acts to designate certain land as components of the Natural Wilderness Preservation System and it authorizes the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to participate in specified programs and activities concerning natural wilderness, rivers, boundary line adjustments, and much more.

This year will mark the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which was signed into law in 1964, by President Lyndon Johnson. The National Wilderness Preservation System and the National Wildlife Refuge section are components of the Copper Mountain roadless areaWilderness Act. The state of Washington already enjoys the preservation of millions of acres of land designated for wilderness and wildlife refuges; including the Olympic National Forest and Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

Now, President Obama is signing a law that will expand protection to over 160 other wilderness components, including the following:

*Oregon Badlands Wilderness Act to protect 30,000 acres of desert wilderness in Central
Oregon.

*Spring Basin Wilderness Act to protect 8,600 acres of scenic wilderness long the John
Day River in Central Oregon.

*Copper Salmon Wilderness Act of Oregon to protect 13,000 acres of old growth forest
along the head of the Elk River; one of the most prolific salmon fisheries in the west.

*Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Voluntary and Equitable Grazing Conflict
Resolution Act of Oregon to protect 23,000 acres of pristine flowering meadows and old
growth forests and insure voluntary relinquishment of grazing permits.

*Owyhee Public Lands Management Act 2007 of Idaho to protect over a half million
acres of wilderness and 315 miles of streams and rivers in the scenic high desert country
along the Owyhee River.

*National landscape Conservation System Act that has designated 26 million acres of “crown jewels” administered by the Bureau of Land Management from Alaska to the southern tip of Florida.

This bill represents a defeat for recreational and off road supporters, but it is a victory for all Americans who care about preserving undisturbed and natural places for today and for future generations. Wilderness areas that can be accessed and enjoyed for recreation by hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, and floating; leaving a non-intrusive footprint, without the noise, pollution, and habitat destruction that has been attributed to motorized off road activities.

The operative word for wilderness preservation is “undisturbed”.

http://www.examiner.com/x-5266-Seattle-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m3d29-Omnibus-Public-Lands-Management-Act-of-2009-Huge-benefit-for-the-West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:patriot:

[tabatha]

1. Yes! Thankfully.

[Adelante]

2. Wonderful

Thank you :)