Don’t mess with our special places

Here in Oregon, we treasure our breathtaking wilderness areas – those special places we return to year after year to hike, camp, fish, and relax.

From Eagle Cap to Steens, many of our special places are permanently protected by the Wilderness Act, a law signed by President Lyndon Johnson 50 years ago today. At the bill signing President Johnson said:

"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."

Protecting our special places used to be a nonpartisan effort. Every year Congress expanded wilderness protection to new areas. But not anymore. No new wilderness areas have been designated since 2009 because of partisan gridlock.

While Congress is deadlocked about public lands, Americans are not. When our parks were closed because of the government shutdown, America said loud and clear: Don’t mess with our special places!

It’s time to get back to the grand bipartisan tradition of working together to protect these places that contribute so much to our quality of life and economy. The Senate unanimously approved my bill to grant wilderness protection to Devil’s Staircase. I’m hopeful that this year we can achieve a similar bipartisan vote in the House on this and many other public land protections that have stalled.

With your continued support and involvement, we’ll make sure no one messes with our special places.

Thank you,

Ron Wyden