Silurian Valley; © John Dittli

Just before the New Year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the "California Desert Protection Act of 2010," a landmark piece of legislation that would add land to Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. The bill would also designate new wilderness areas in the California desert, and provide needed protection for popular rivers like Deep Creek, Whitewater, and Surprise Canyon.

Western South Dakota is blessed with some of the nation's unique and most treasured landscapes. In 2002, U.S.Forest Service under the Bush Administration recognized the value of areas of undisturbed prairie in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland and recommended them for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. I believe it is time to move forward with what would be the country's first national grassland wilderness so that future generations can experience this area as it has been for hundreds of years.

When Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act last July, he did something that is all too uncommon in today's political world. He kept a promise.

He'd told conservationists, loggers and recreationists that if they could reach agreement on contentious issues involving public lands - including wilderness designation, deciding where logging and habitat restoration is appropriate, and, most importantly, getting popular support for their ideas - he'd introduce a bill to help implement their vision.

Brent Winebrenner / Getty Images / msnbc.com

True escape from city life doesn't have to mean a trip outside the U.S. Inside America's borders are some of the most remote, pristine spots on the planet.

The U.S. has more than 100 million acres of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS), public lands that - since the 1964 passage of the Wilderness Act - are protected from human influence and disruption. For the outdoorsy traveler looking for remoteness, solitude and a sense of nature, Wilderness areas offer all these things in abundance.

This week, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., will hold a series of public listening sessions in five Montana towns concerning the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act proposed by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.

Tester could probably give him a good idea of what to expect. Not long ago, Tester was also touring the state to explain the legislation, which he introduced in July, and to gather constructive feedback and ideas. And at those meetings, he did indeed hear a number of useful suggestions, which he then incorporated into the act that is now before the Senate Energy Committee.

Sometime today, look outside. There are gifts out there, presents that you, your children and future generations of Oregonians may discover and enjoy over and over again.

Yes, this is a lean Christmas for a lot of Oregonians. Of course, there is no softening the blow of persistent unemployment. But for the state's forests, rivers and fish and wildlife -- and all of the Oregonians who love and treasure them -- this is still a time worth celebrating.

Legislation introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, would extend wilderness designation to 21,000 acres adjacent to Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia. The territory is existing public land and extends across the Riverside and San Diego County borders.

Some 21,000 acres of rugged public lands near where San Diego County and Riverside County converge on Anza Borrego Desert State Park may soon get welcome federal designation as wilderness.