Passage of Omnibus Lands Bill a Great Step Forward for Conservation

March 25, 2009

Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), a national grassroots organization, applauded today's House passage of a comprehensive lands bill that designates 2 million acres of wilderness, protects rivers and trails, and gives legal permanence to the National Landscape Conservation System.

The bill, which passed the Senate twice by large bipartisan majorities, now goes to the president for his signature.

"This bill is the most important conservation legislation that Congress has passed in many years. We are especially pleased that 38 Republicans from all parts of the country supported this bill. It's a powerful demonstration of the good that can be accomplished for our country when Republicans return to their roots as the party of conservation," REP Government Affairs Director Dave Jenkins said.

"We are pleased that many House Republicans ignored extreme rhetoric from party leaders who urged them to vote against the bill. It's unfortunate that the House GOP leadership is so out of touch with many of their members and the constituents whom they serve," Jenkins said.

An important element of the bill grants statutory permanence to the National Landscape Conservation System, America's newest network of protected public lands. The conservation system includes national monuments, conservation areas, wilderness lands, wild rivers, and historic trails overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.

"The conservation system showcases America's history by protecting the dramatic, pristine landscapes that enable visitors to experience our country's past as our forebears experienced it," REP Policy Director Jim DiPeso said.

The legislation also protects wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and historic trails from one end of the country to the other, from lands near Revolutionary War battlefields to the eastern Sierra, where the world's oldest living things, millennia-old bristlecone pines, are found.

"True conservatism imposes a moral duty on us to protect our natural and historical heritage on behalf of future generations. As conservative author Russell Kirk taught us, nothing is more conservative than conservation," DiPeso said.

"We thank House and Senate Republicans for making passage of this legislation possible, and urge President Obama to sign it into law as soon as he can," Jenkins said.

REP thanks the 38 House Republicans who voted for the lands bill:

AK - Don Young
CA - Mary Bono Mack, Howard "Buck" McKeon
DE - Michael Castle
FL - Ginny Brown-Waite, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Tom Rooney, C.W. "Bill" Young
ID - Mike Simpson
IL - Tim Johnson, Mark Kirk
KY - Ed Whitfield
LA - Bill Cassidy
MI - Vern Ehlers, Candice Miller, Fred Upton
MN - Erik Paulsen
NE - Jeff Fortenberry
NJ - Rod Frelinghuysen, Leonard Lance, Frank LoBiondo, Christopher Smith
NY - Christopher Lee
NC - Walter Jones
OH - Steve LaTourette, Michael Turner
OR - Greg Walden
PA - Charles Dent, Jim Gerlach, Todd Platts
SC - Bob Inglis
TN - Zach Wamp
TX - Lamar Smith
VA - Rob Wittman, Frank Wolf
WA - Dave Reichert
WV - Shelley Moore Capito
WI - Tom Petri

REP also thanks the 21 Republican senators who voted to pass the legislation on March 19:

AL - Richard Shelby
AK - Lisa Murkowski
FL - Mel Martinez
ID - Mike Crapo, James Risch
IN - Richard Lugar
KS - Pat Roberts
ME - Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe
MS - Thad Cochran, Roger Wicker
MO - Christopher Bond
NH - Judd Gregg
OH - George Voinovich
PA - Arlen Specter
TN - Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker
UT - Robert Bennett, Orrin Hatch
WY - John Barrasso, Michael Enzi

REP Blog Entries on Omnibus Lands Bill

The Reddish Tinge on the Omnibus Lands Bill
Jim DiPeso's Blog, January 27, 2009

The Most Significant Conservation Effort in 15 Years
Daily Green posting, January 18, 2009

REP Resources on National Landscape Conservation System:

The Land That Time Remembers
Jim DiPeso's Blog, April 8, 2008

Vast Land, Vast Protection
Op-Ed by Scott MacCurdy, REP New Mexico Chapter President, Albuquerque Tribune, October 19, 2006