In a victory for America's public lands, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 277-140 on April 9 to pass HR 2016, the National Landscape Conservation System Act.

The Act formally recognizes and protects 26 million acres of Bureau of Land Management terrain, including 15 national monuments, 13 national conservation areas, thousands of important cultural sites, and historic trails, mountains, wild and scenic rivers, and Wilderness areas. National treasures such as Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Sonoran Desert, Oregon's lower Deschutes River, and stretches of the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails are part of the System.

In another Wilderness victory, the Senate voted 91-4 to pass a public lands package that preserves America's natural and cultural heritage for generations to come. The package includes a provision to honor labor and environment leader César Chavéz, as well as a landmark Wilderness bill that will protect Washington State's Wild Sky Wilderness.

We could not have passed these bills without your help in letting your leaders know how important it is to protect America's Wild Legacy!

Thank you,

Greg Haegele
Director of Conservation

Sierra Club