WASHINGTON (March 19, 2007) -- Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will receive the Ansel Adams Award from The Wilderness Society Tuesday night for her leadership in protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, roadless national forests, and other lands belonging to the American people.
“Senator Cantwell has emerged as a skillful and determined defender of the nation’s natural treasures,” said Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows. “She faced a particularly stern test in late 2005, when powerful members of the Senate pulled out all the stops to authorize drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Senator Cantwell stood her ground. She was able to retain the support of swing votes in both parties and prevent passage of a drilling provision.”
The award will be presented at a dinner hosted by the President’s Council of The Wilderness Society. Washingtonians on the council are John Babcock of Sammamish, Anne R. Conn of Seattle, and Barbara and Andrew Turner, also of Seattle. Earlier on Tuesday there will be a major rally on Capitol Hill to show support for the Arctic Refuge and efforts to curb global warming.
“Senator Cantwell also has been the Senate leader in trying to protect roadless lands in our national forests from logging and road building,” Meadows noted. “She has authored legislation to make the 2001 Roadless Areas Conservation Rule a federal law. Her commitment to conservation of our natural inheritance makes it more likely that future generations will be able to benefit from our national forests, parks, and other public lands.
“Theodore Roosevelt said that ‘the nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value,’” said Meadows. “Senator Cantwell’s leadership is helping us do just that.”
Michelle Ackermann, The Wilderness Society’s Northwest regional director, based in Seattle, said that it was appropriate that a senator from Washington is an environmental champion. “Washington is home to some of the most spectacular forests and mountains in the nation, and we are fortunate to have a forceful and skillful advocate like Senator Cantwell to fight for the sound management of these lands and the other places that belong to American citizens,” Ackermann said. In the 109th Congress, Cantwell earned a 93 percent score from the League of Conservation Voters.
The Ansel Adams Award is named for the celebrated photographer who, until his death (on Earth Day in 1984), was an outspoken advocate for safeguarding the nation’s natural heritage. Prior winners of the Ansel Adams Award include President Jimmy Carter, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, former Vice President Al Gore, former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus, former Senator John Chafee, and former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. Of the 28 winners, Cantwell is one of only two women. The first was Kathleen McGinty, head of the Council on Environmental Quality under President Clinton.
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wilderness and wildlife. The group has more than 310,000 members and supporters.
