Wilderness areas are those lands that are so unique and prized that they are given the most protection. Every year, Congress has the choice to preserve these wild areas by passing legislation that designates them as federal wilderness.
Well, just this week the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed 19 wilderness and public lands protection measures. These bills are now eligible for passage out of the Senate and ultimately to become the law of the land!
With only weeks left before the 111th Congress adjourns for its final time, conservationists are waiting to see if dozens of land, water and wildlife bills (including 21 wildlands and Wilderness bills), will make the short list of bills to be considered during the last days of the lame duck session.
A diverse coalition of 173 public interest groups from 41 states — including The Wilderness Society — sent a letter to House and Senate leadership, asking them to prioritize land, water and wildlife bills during the lame duck session this year.
The Wilderness Society is advocating for 21 wildland and Wilderness bills that would protect a total of almost 2 million acres of Wilderness designations and 2 million acres of other wildlands protections from coast to coast.
September is National Wilderness Month and to honor the occasion, The Wilderness Society has pulled together an urgent campaign to get Congress to pass protections for nearly 4 million acres of iconic wild places throughout the country. More than 20 different Wilderness and wildlands protection proposals are working their way through Congress — many after years of works to get them there — but we must rally to make sure they make it past the finish line.
