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House Designates New Wilderness Areas on 38th Earth Day

04/22/08

              The U.S. House of Representatives celebrated Earth Day with the passage of two conservation measures – Rep. Nick J. Rahall’s (D-WV) Wild Monongahela: A National Legacy for West Virginia’s Special Places (H.R. 5151) and Rep. Peter DeFazio’s (D-OR) Copper Salmon Wilderness Act (H.R. 3513) –that will designate wilderness on federal lands on opposite ends of the country.

            “It is a privilege for me, as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, to bring legislation to this floor which recognizes that there remain in this great Nation of ours many places with special features, exceptional landscapes and unique wildlife that deserve and demand continued conservation,” Rahall said.

            Rahall’s legislation, which would designate 37,771 acres of federal land within the Monongahela National Forest as wilderness, is supported by the entire West Virginia Congressional delegation: Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller (both D-WV).  Included in the legislation are the expansion of three existing wilderness areas – Cranberry, Dolly Sods and Otter Creek – and the establishment of three new wilderness areas – Big Draft, Roaring Plains West and Spice Run. 

            “To be in a wilderness area is, to me, a humbling experience.  To be a part of designating wilderness is even more humbling, because the ultimate goal in protecting these areas is to retain the landscape as God created it,” Rahall said. 

New wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest has received support from a wide range of organizations within the state, including the West Virginia AFL-CIO, the West Virginia Council of Churches, various West Virginia chapters of Trout Unlimited, the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Fayette County Commission. 

            DeFazio’s Copper Salmon Wilderness Act would designate 13,700 acres of the Rogue River-Siskyou National Forest in Oregon as wilderness and segments totaling 10.8 miles of the Elk River as Wild and Scenic.  The forest includes some of the last remaining stands of Port-Orford-Cedars in the Elk River watershed, and the Elk River fisheries are among the best salmon and steelhead producers in the continental United States. 

           “Copper Salmon is truly a rare coastal Oregon gem.  It is almost entirely intact ancient forest, which supports healthy fish runs and great elk herds, blacktailed deer, bears, and other wildlife.  This is an area that deserves protection for the enjoyment of future generations and I am happy that Congress voted today to recognize that fact,” DeFazio said. 

            H.R. 3513 enjoys broad backing from the Governor of Oregon, the Curry County Commission, the Mayor of Port Orford, the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Elk River, Trout Unlimited, and the American Fisheries Society – Oregon Chapter.