[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9901]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        ALPINE LAKES WILDERNESS

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about my bill, S. 
112, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork 
Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act. I have introduced similar legislation 
in previous Congresses; in fact, this is the third time I have made a 
legislative push to protect these treasured spaces. It passed the 
Senate by unanimous consent on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, for the first 
time, and I wish to thank my colleague from Oregon for all his 
tremendous work to get a package of public lands bills through the 
Senate for the first time in over 4 years.
  Passage of this bill is a tremendous step forward and is the result 
of over 5 years of work by me, my staff, and Congressman Reichert, who 
has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives 
several times, and Congresswoman DelBene, who now represents the lands 
this bill would protect. We are fortunate to have bipartisan support 
for this effort, and we are fortunate as Washingtonians to have unique 
and beautiful natural landscapes that deserve protection from 
unrequited development and pressure.
  This legislation would protect, in perpetuity, over 22,000 acres and 
provide the protections of the Wilderness Act to a richer diversity of 
ecosystems and lower elevation lands. These protections will ensure 
diverse recreational opportunities and protect one of the closest 
blocks of wild forests to an urban center in the country.
  As I mentioned, Congressional action on public lands have been 
stymied in recent years. I was pleasantly surprised we were able to 
find a path forward, and today I wish to confirm my support for tribal 
treaty rights and for access to these spaces to be designated as 
wilderness for traditional uses by tribal members. I firmly believe the 
Federal government has a responsibility to uphold the treaties signed 
by our predecessors with Native American tribes--a fact that has been 
upheld by the Federal courts. As the author of this legislation I want 
to reaffirm that regarding lands defined within the bill located in the 
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, nothing in this act alters, 
modifies, diminishes, or extinguishes the treaty rights of an Indian 
tribe with respect to hunting, fishing, and gathering rights as 
protected by a treaty.
  Again, I wish to thank Chairman Wyden and ranking member Murkowski 
for working together to find a path forward to protect public spaces. 
And I wish to thank Senator Cantwell for her steadfast support of this 
proposal. I look forward to working with my House colleagues to protect 
this important landscape.
  I thank the Chair.

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