In the News

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 will reach the president stunningly fast, by congressional standards, thanks to an all-too-rare exhibition of the personal overcoming the political in Washington, D.C.

On March 28, the sixth day after a monstrous mudslide erased an Oso neighborhood and claimed nearly three dozen lives, Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin told members of Washington's congressional delegation that protecting the lookout would uplift the community's spirits.

The Senate responded April 3 by passing the preservation measure. The House approved it Monday and there was not a dissenting voice in either chamber.

"I think that tells you how much everybody wants to do something," said Sen. Patty Murray, adding Obama shouldn't wait to act on it until visiting later this month.

"I want him to sign this and get it done," she said. "This is a community that needs to stand up and cheer."

Though success came remarkably quick, Congressman Rick Larsen poured the foundation in June 2012 by introducing the first Green Mountain Lookout Historic Preservation Act.

In 2013, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene re-introduced it and Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell, co-sponsored an identical bill in the Senate.

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