Mike Matz, executive director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness, praised the broad-based community effort that led to enactment of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act (H.R. 233/S. 128), which President Bush signed into law today. The conservation measure designates more than 273,000 acres in California’s North Coast as wilderness and grants wild and scenic status to 21 river miles.
“On the very day that the United States’ population was estimated to have become 300 million strong, the President signed into law the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act. The timing of the enactment of this important law is an appropriate reminder that with the growing population, our remaining wild, open spaces become all the more precious.
“We wish to congratulate the diverse coalition of wilderness supporters who worked so hard to protect California’s magnificent North Coast. With one stroke of a pen, the President put the capstone on years of hard work by a citizen-led conservation coalition to protect over 273,000 acres of our most spectacular wild land. In so doing, the dedication of scores of volunteers, businesspeople, outdoor enthusiasts and legislators was transformed into a real and lasting legacy of our natural heritage to be enjoyed by our grandchildren and theirs.
“Our public servants have shown a willingness to put America’s natural heritage first, to work together to achieve goals broadly supported by the public. So far in the 109th Congress, President Bush has signed four laws protecting nearly 400,000 acres of wilderness, including desert canyonlands in New Mexico (Ojito Wilderness), a tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico (El Toro Wilderness), and rugged peaks in Utah (Cedar Mountain Wilderness). As Congress prepares to wrap up the legislative year, there exist additional opportunities to further enrich an already strong wilderness record.
“In the short time remaining, the 109th Congress can pass legislation to protect over a million acres of America’s most precious wild places: over 76,000 acres of New Hampshire’s White Mountains and Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forests; nearly 320,000 acres of the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains in central Idaho; between 77,500 and 125,000 acres of Oregon’s iconic Mount Hood; 545,000 acres in eastern Nevada’s White Pine County; and some 20,000 acres around Browns Canyon near Salida, Colorado, just to name a few.
“Let’s hope that in these last weeks, Members of Congress will again come together to demonstrate that wilderness is truly America’s common ground.”
