On March 31, 2004, 65 mayors from around Washington State joined the growing number of local lawmakers and concerned citizens supporting efforts to protect the Wild Sky area as a congressionally designated Wilderness. In a letter sent to the Washington congressional delegation, the mayors made their case for why wilderness protection is good for their local communities and called on the delegation to work together and "make the Wild Sky a reality." The 65 signatories represent more than 2.1 million constituents in 10 counties throughout Western Washington.
In the letter, the mayors stated, "As locally-elected mayors of cities and towns throughout Washington State, we believe that Wilderness and protecting the special places in our backyards is extremely important to our local communities. Wild, open spaces are vital to the future of our local economies, our environment and the health and quality of life for our citizens."
The letter continues by pointing out "[a]s the population of Washington State grows, permanently protecting wild areas like the Wild Skykomish area will be critical in order to safeguard the quality-of-life we enjoy here in the Pacific Northwest."
The Mayors called on the delegation to work together and push to pass the Wild Sky this year. "It has been nearly 20 years since any federal wilderness has been designated on national forest lands in Washington State. We are counting on the entire Washington State congressional delegation to work together and finally make the Wild Sky a reality," the letter said.
Background
The Wild Sky Wilderness Act (H.R. 822, S. 392) was passed by the U.S. Senate last November and is currently moving through the House of Representatives. The Bush Administration has testified that, if Congress passes the bill the President will sign the legislation into law. The measure enjoys strong support from across Washington State and is sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA02). The Wild Sky Wilderness Act would permanently protect 106,000 acres of federal forestland in eastern Snohomish County and Northeastern King County as Wilderness.
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