[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9713]
[From the U.S. 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 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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