Environment

DelBene Statement on EPA Grants Awarded to Tribes in Washington State

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) released the following statement today, after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded grants to several tribes in Washington state. “I am pleased the EPA has awarded grants to three Washington state tribes – the Lummi Nation, the Upper Skagit Tribe, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community,” DelBene said. “Fishing is…

DelBene, Larsen Press Army Corps for Clear Path Forward on Skagit GI

| Posted in Press Releases

Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02 and Rep. Suzan DelBene, WA-01, today called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve its transparency, communication and financial stewardship of the Skagit General Investigation Study. The Corps District Office in Seattle has applied for more time and asked for more money for the Skagit GI, even as the current study was supposed to conclude in less than…

Senate passes protections for Washington wilderness, rivers

| Posted in In the News

On Dec. 12, the U.S. Senate voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act including a handful of bipartisan bills to protect public lands in Washington. The legislation included the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act and the Illabot Creek Wild and Scenic River Act sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray; Sen. Maria Cantwell was a…

Illabot Creek awaits presidents pen to become wild and scenic

| Posted in In the News

ROCKPORT — After a half-dozen years of trying, Skagit County’s Illabot Creek is a pen-stroke away from being designated a Wild and Scenic River. Congress passed a National Defense Authorization Act Friday that includes the designation. All that remains is President Obama’s signature. The designation has been a goal for conservation groups, local and state officials for…

Wilderness addition protects popular recreation area

| Posted in In the News

“A lot of people feel that wilderness is change,” said Tom Uniack, conservation director for Washington Wild. “But what wilderness is really about is keeping something the same. Unless you do something to keep something the same, it is going to change.” On Friday, a new chunk of land was protected as wilderness in Washington state when 22,000 acres were added…

DelBene Statement on Alpine Lakes Wilderness and Illabot Creek Legislation Passing the U.S. House of Representatives Today

| Posted in Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today praised the passage of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 361) as well as legislation to designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (H.R. 829) in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY15 (H.R.…

Better monitoring for volcano near Seattle

| Posted in In the News

SEATTLE — The U. S. Geological Survey is starting to improve monitoring of Glacier Peak, a Cascades volcano in eastern Snohomish County. It's the closest volcano to Seattle — just 70 miles northeast of the city. The office of Congresswoman Suzan DelBene says improved monitoring will lead to better forecasting of possible eruptions. Currently, Glacier Peak has only one…

DelBene, Reichert Statement on Alpine Lakes Bill Clearing Key Hurdle

| Posted in Press Releases

Today, a markup was held by the Natural Resources Committee on legislation from Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA) and cosponsored by Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA): the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 361); it was passed favorably out of committee. This legislation would expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and designate…

DelBene, Larsen Praise EPAs Action to Protect Bristol Bay Fishery

| Posted in Press Releases

Reps. Suzan DelBene, WA-01, and Rick Larsen, WA-02, praised the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement today that it will use its authority under the Clean Water Act to protect one of the world’s largest salmon fisheries in Bristol Bay, Alaska from the proposed Pebble Mine. The Bristol Bay salmon fishery supports thousands of jobs for Washington state fishers and…

EDITORIAL: Surveying the future and preserving the past at the Green Mountain lookout

| Posted in In the News

THE Green Mountain Lookout will be preserved, under a law signed Tuesday by President Obama. Washington lawmakers worked to put this protection in place. The fate of the U.S. Forest Service fire lookout loomed large. What began in February as a worthy effort to protect a threatened piece of Washington heritage in the Glacier Peak Wilderness took on special meaning after the devastating…