Environment

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 »

DARRINGTON — It's a glimmer of hope for the future. That is how most people in Darrington — many affected by the tragic March 22 landslide west of town — viewed the news Monday that federal legislation will allow the historic forest fire lookout atop nearby Green Mountain to remain. The law now goes to the president for his signature. "What a relief,"… Read more »

The House of Representatives today approved S. 404, legislation to save the Green Mountain Lookout. The authors of the companion House legislation are Representatives Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen. The Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act would protect the lookout in Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest that a U.S. District Court ordered removed… Read more »

Today by unanimous consent, the Senate passed S. 404 which would protect the historic Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness near Darrington, WA. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) introduced the companion legislation, H.R. 908. The bill will now go to the House, where it could be taken up as soon as next week. “The Green Mountain Lookout is an iconic part of the… Read more »