Wilderness supporters celebrated Thursday as the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and the Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 1769 / S. 721) got one step closer to reality after House passage of the bill. The measure would protect an additional 22,000 acres of wilderness adjoining Washington state’s existing Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and would add 10 miles of the Pratt River and nearly 30 miles of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River to the National Wild and Scenic River System.

The old growth Jeffrey Pines that take root atop one of the most rugged mountain ranges in the country aren’t what immediately comes to mind when one thinks of the Los Angeles area. But these beautiful peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains are just an hour’s drive away for more than 17 million people.