[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 95 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1113-E1114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING THE WILD OLYMPICS WILDERNESS AND SCENIC RIVER ACT OF 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. NORMAN D. DICKS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2012

  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker. Today I am proud to be introducing the Wild 
Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic River Act of 2012, which will 
provide critical protection of key forested areas and rivers in the 
State of Washington. This bill, a result of more than two years of work 
by my staff and the staff of Washington Senator Patty Murray, is a 
consensus effort that adds critical protection for sources of clean 
drinking water and preserves critical salmon and steelhead habitat. It 
creates more than 126,000 acres of new wilderness on the Olympic 
National Forest and designates 19 new Wild and Scenic Rivers and their 
tributaries in the National Forest, in Olympic National Park and on 
Washington Department of Natural Resources land.
  I am particularly proud that the final version of this bill that is 
being introduced today has evolved through a long consultative process 
that included extensive local community input from Tribes, conservation 
groups, timber communities, business leaders, shellfish growers, 
farmers, local elected officials, hunters, anglers, mountain bikers, 
hikers, federal and state land managers and the general public. The 
result, in my judgment, is a common sense solution that offers 
permanent protection to some of the most spectacular of the Olympic 
Peninsula's public lands--without having a significant impact on timber 
jobs or recreational access.
  In our great state of Washington, Mr. Speaker, we cherish the ability 
of our citizens to have access to the natural beauty of our region, 
especially areas that remain pristine and

[[Page E1114]]

undisturbed. Our challenge as leaders of a growing population has been 
to assure that the most sensitive of these areas are protected from 
development so that future generations--our kids and their kids--have 
the same ability that we have had to see the magnificent vistas and 
enjoy the benefits of a clean environment. The Wild Olympics Wilderness 
& Wild and Scenic River Act of 2012 represents an important incremental 
step in assuring the protection of additional roadless areas in 
Washington, and I will be working with my colleagues on the Natural 
Resources Committee to urge timely consideration of this legislation.

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