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The Campaign for America's Wilderness today submitted testimony (PDF) from executive director Mike Matz for the hearing record on the nomination of Senator Ken Salazar as the next Secretary of the Interior.
The U.S. Senate today approved the first key cloture vote on the Omnibus Public Land Management Act (S. 22), allowing a final vote on this important bill to proceed. Another cloture vote and a vote on final passage are needed before the package moves to the House for a vote. Following is a statement from Mike Matz, Executive Director of the Campaign for America's Wilderness:
Washington, DC - Keeping true to his word, Senate Majority Leader Reid today announced the introduction by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Bingaman of a new version of the omnibus lands package (S. 22) that was considered but not voted on in the final days of the 110th Congress.
The Campaign for America's Wilderness applauds the nomination of Sen. Ken Salazar as Secretary of the Interior by President-elect Obama. As a senator from Colorado and a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Salazar has been a strong proponent of protecting federal public lands as wilderness, starting with Rocky Mountain National Park, Dominguez Canyons, and Browns Canyon, and including many others that will forever preserve some of America's best wild lands.
On behalf of the many Americans from around the country who wished to see action on the Omnibus Public Lands Bill, S. 3213, the Campaign for America's Wilderness expresses its disappointment that a short schedule and a still-evolving response to the financial crisis will apparently prevent action by the Senate on that important piece of legislation by this week.
Senator Reid has said that he will call up the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2008 during the post-election session, and we look forward to the Senate taking action next week. This important conservation package includes 15 wilderness bills which will protect nearly 2 million acres across 8 states, ensuring more places for Americans to hike, hunt, fish, camp, canoe and otherwise enjoy. In addition, it contains myriad bills for water projects, land exchanges, and heritage areas that have economic impacts for local communities.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee favorably reported eight wilderness bills today, which together would protect special wild places to benefit local economies, enhance the quality of life for people living in nearby communities, safeguard clean air and crystalline water, and provide for hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, and other popular activities.
"This Congress continues to build an impressive record of accomplishment on wilderness protection, much to the gratitude of constituents of every stripe, from Main Street businesses to county commissions, from teachers
Over the next two weeks, delegates to the political conventions will see the faces of everyday Americans - from both political parties and different walks of life - in a new advertising effort by the Campaign for America's Wilderness. A rancher, biker, business people, children, and others are asking lawmakers to protect the special wild areas they treasure. The ads will run in the Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Minneapolis Star-Tribune and National Journal.
Living on Earth (Public Radio International) correspondent Jeff Young takes a hike with wilderness advocate Mark Miller in one of the special places in southwestern Virginia that may be protected as wilderness this year. Mike Matz, Campaign for America's Wilderness executive director, discusses prospects for this Congress to leave a proud wilderness legacy for future generations.
Radio host Jim Slinsky and Mike Matz took time recently to discuss wilderness and the status of wilderness legislation in Congress for Jim's sportsman-oriented radio program. Jim and Mike cover a lot of interesting ground in their nearly hour-long conversation. Listen here, and visit the Outdoor Talk Network for more from the perspective of hunters and anglers across the country.
