Growing up, my mom would make popcorn the old-fashioned way on Friday nights.  We kids would wait expectantly for those first few test kernels to pop.  She'd add more and we'd wait again until they heated up enough to begin popping.  Remember how it takes a little while to get going, but eventually the pot fairly explodes with popped kernels?

Wilderness legislation in this Congress reminds me of that.  It's taken a little while to heat up, but the lid of the pan is about to burst off.

On Earth Day, the House of Representatives passed wilderness bills for West Virginia's wild Monongahela and for Oregon's Copper Salmon River.  That day the Senate held a hearing on bills for wilderness in Idaho's Owyhee Canyon and for southwestern Utah. 

A week later, the House passed the Wild Sky bill for Washington, sending it to the President's desk for his signature.  More are popping.  Twelve bills could be signed into law this year, adding almost two million acres to the National Wilderness Preservation System.  Our kids are going to get a taste of this wilderness, just like I did popcorn on those memorable Friday nights long ago.  That's a great thing.