Ironwood Forest National Monument

Credit: BLM

As Congress debates funding for conservation programs this week, wilderness lovers should know that some members have launched an unprecedented assault on our wild places and natural resources. The House will vote as early as this weekend on a appropriations bill that would close wildlife refuges, remove much-needed protections for wildlife, allow uranium mining to go on near the Grand Canyon, and prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink. Read more

In the wake of the House Majority’s extreme budget bill, which made severe cuts to conservation, it’s clear that we need a better blueprint for the budget going forward.  The Wilderness Society, working together with a host of other conservation groups, has created that blueprint with the release of the Green Budget. Read the group release on the Green Budget Read more

Middle Fork of the Williams River in Cranberry Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. Photo by Duane Bowker.

This past Tuesday’s election delivered a message that is reverberating throughout the halls of Congress: Voters went to the polls and sent the message that partisanship and legislative gridlock are no way to manage the nation’s business. By delivering a divided Congress for the first time in 10 years, voters are not endorsing one party or the other — they are instead crying out for cooperation, compromise and a little common sense. Read more