Senate Approves Wild Sky

Senate Approves Wild Sky

Today the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Wild Sky Wilderness bill. While the Senate has passed the Wild Sky legislation three Congresses in a row, the House bill has remain stalled in committee.

"I am proud to work on behalf of Washingtonians to make sure this important natural and recreational treasure is permanently protected," said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "We will continue to champion this bill until it passes the House and becomes law."

Cantwell is a co-sponsor of the Wild Sky Wilderness Act of 2005 (S. 152). In February, she helped to clear the bill through the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.

The proposed Wild Sky Wilderness area is the result of more than five years of bipartisan collaboration, community involvement and hard work. Led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), the proposal would protect 106,000 acres of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest for a host of outdoor recreational activities.

Designation of this wilderness area would protect wildlife and promote clean water, protect threatened salmon, steelhead and trout, protect recreational opportunities for the region, and contribute to the local economy.

In June of 2003, the Bush Administration praised Wild Sky during a Senate hearing. Mark Rey, the Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the Department of Agriculture declared that Wild Sky is "a good bill," which the President would sign into law.

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/releases/2005_07_26_wild_sky.html