In the News

A long-requested U.S. House hearing on Tuesday saw unusual bipartisan agreement that the closest Cascade mountain valley to Seattle deserves protection, and that 22,100 acres in the mountains of eastern King County should be added to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area.

The testimony should boost prospects that the legislation can be sprung from the House Natural Resources Committee.  The panel’s anti-wilderness chairman,  Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., has so far snubbed the bill even though a home state Republican colleague, Rep. Dave Reichert, is its lead sponsor.

“We will protect rare low-level forests, preserve important recreational opportunities, protect wildlife and by designating the Middle Fork-Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as scenic or wild rivers, guarantee clean water for downstream fisheries for generations to come,” King County Councilman Reagan Dunn told a Natural Resources subcommittee.

Dunn is a Republican, and son of the late GOP Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn.  The legislation is cosponsored by Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene, and sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.  The Senate has already acted to approve the legislation.

The centerpieces of the legislation are the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River, just northeast of North Bend, and its tributary the Pratt River.  Once a mountain junkyard, the roaded Middle Fork has been transformed back into a recreation destination over the last decade.  Lakes at the headwaters of the Pratt River are reached by a trailhead from the Snoqualmie Pass highway.

“The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, just 45 minutes from downtown Seattle, is one of the most popular wilderness areas in our entire system,” said DelBene.  “Countless local residents and visitors to Washington come to the Alpine Lakes to hike, camp, hunt, fish and enjoy some of the most spectacular open spaces that Washington has to offer.”

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