More than 60
groups call on Congress to pass wilderness bills during lame duck session
112th Congress on track to be the first in almost 50 years to
not protect wilderness
Contact(s):
David Moulton, 202-429-2681, david_moulton@tws.org
Emily Diamond-Falk, 202-841-8605, emily_diamond-falk@tws.org
Trey Pollard, 202-495-3058, trey.pollard@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON (December 6, 2012) – The Wilderness Society and the
Sierra Club joined more than 60 local and national groups asking Congress to take
action to protect America’s dwindling wilderness this year. The coalition sent a letter warning that time is running out
for over two dozen wilderness bills that span from California to Maine.
The 112th
Congress has been the most anti-wilderness Congress in history, blocking any
wilderness legislation from getting to the House floor. And if the U.S. House of Representatives
stays on its current course, this will be the first Congress since 1966 to not protect a single acre of
wilderness.
“Wilderness
is a unique American legacy that has always had broad, bipartisan support on
the ground and in Congress,” said Jamie
Williams, President of The Wilderness Society. “Americans across the
country are asking the 112th Congress to continue this incredible
legacy and protect wilderness before going home for the holidays.”
After a
divisive election, it is clear that the American people want a Congress that
will reach across the aisle and work together.
That support showed up during the 2012 elections. All across the country
voters passed local measures to protect and
conserve land. Of the 57
measures on local and statewide ballots, 46 passed - an approval rate of 81
percent. The measures in 21 states will provide more than $2 billion
overall, including $767 million in new money to support protection of water
quality, new parks and natural areas, and working farms and ranches.
“If things don’t
change soon, this will be the first Congress in generations to fail to protect
a single acre of American wilderness,” said
Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “All across the
country, the support for preserving our natural legacy has been loud and clear.
Now, it’s time Congress listened.”
The letter states,
“Nearly 50 years ago, the
Wilderness Act passed the House with one dissenting vote and passed the Senate
73-12. Protecting our dwindling patches of truly wild areas always gets
bipartisan support at the local level – and it used to get bipartisan support in
Washington as well. It is not too late to redeem this legacy.”
To view the letter
and signatories: http://wilderness.org/resource/letter-dont-let-congress-go-home-holidays-without-protecting-wilderness
For a
complete list of 27 stalled wilderness bills: http://wilderness.org/article/pending-wilderness-bills
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