House Votes on Sweeping Public Lands Package

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives is voting today on a series of measures that would preserve wilderness and help safeguard public lands in the West. 

The following is a statement by Sharon Buccino, director of Lands for NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council):

“This is how we make our public lands and waters part of the solution, and not part of the problem. It’s also a move that would help us reach our goal of protecting 30 percent of our lands, waters and oceans by 2030.

”Science tells us we need immediate action to address the climate and biodiversity crises. That means conserving lands, waters, and critical habitat for wildlife, and enhancing landscape connectivity.”   

The Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act (H.R. 803) would block new drilling and mining on 1.2 million acres of public lands, including iconic landscapes like the Grand Canyon and Colorado’s Thompson Divide.  It would also designate about 1.5 million acres in Colorado, California, and the state of Washington as wilderness, and incorporate more than 1,200 river miles into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Sharon Buccino has more on the legislation here.

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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.