Environment

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… Read more »

“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… Read more »

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.… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representatives Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced that legislation to protect the Green Mountain Lookout in Snohomish County has been signed into law by President Obama.   The new law comes after a group based in Montana filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for using a helicopter and… Read more »

Sometimes it takes a calamity to move anything through Congress. In the case of the Green Mountain Lookout, it took a tragedy for federal lawmakers to keep an iconic structure exactly where it is. A bill sent to President Barack Obama this week will preserve the lookout that's long been a destination for hikers and a cherished landmark for Darrington residents. This legislation… Read more »

On Monday, the glory of spring brought with it a promise kept to the people of Darrington: Washington’s U.S. House delegation shepherded and passed a Senate bill to preserve the Green Mountain lookout in the Glacier Peak National Wilderness Area. The lookout may not heal hearts or repair a broken landscape. But it is a welcome news for a community in mourning. “This lookout… Read more »