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Byrd joins effort to commemorate
45th anniversary of Wilderness Act
August 11, 2009
Washington, DC – Senator Robert C.
Byrd, D-W.Va., recently joined in cosponsoring legislation that
would commemorate the signing of federal legislation that has
provided protections for public lands and wilderness areas
throughout the United States.
The measure passed the
Senate unanimously last week.
The Senate Resolution (S.Res.244)
commemorates the 45th anniversary of the signing into
law of the “Wilderness Act,” on September 3, 2009.
Byrd, along with Senators
Ted Kennedy, D-MA, and Daniel Inouye, D-HI, are the only current
members of the United States Senate who voted for the original
“Wilderness Act,” and this unique fact is reflected in the text
of the resolution.
The resolution “recognizes
and commends the extraordinary work of the individuals and
organizations involved in building the National Wilderness
Preservation System; and is grateful for the wilderness, a
tremendous asset the United States continues to preserve as a
gift to future generations of the United States.”
“From
its majestic mountains to its raging rivers, and comforting
scenic countryside, West Virginia's "Wild and Wonderful" beauty
is a sight to behold,” said Byrd.
“And rarely have
I missed an opportunity to boast of the natural beauty of West
Virginia, and remind others that we have a duty to preserve this
land as a reminder of what ‘is good and wholesome.’
This legislation
not only commemorates what we started 45 years ago, but serves
as a reminder of how far we have come in preserving our nation’s
natural beauties and reinforces that there are opportunities to
do more.”
The “Wilderness Act” put 9.1 million acres
of national forest land into the new system.
A process was created for congressional
designation of future acreage in the national forests, parks,
and wildlife refuges.
The Act also institutionalized an idea,
describing a wilderness as "an area where the earth and its
community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a
visitor who does not remain."
By definition, then, it was a place where
vehicles would not be allowed, where no permanent camps or
structures could be made, where wildlife and its habitat would
be kept in as primitive a condition as possible.
Currently there are 726 wilderness areas
across the nation totaling over 109 million acres.
West Virginia has benefitted from the
creation of wilderness areas, which include Big Draft
Wilderness, Cranberry, Dolly Sods, Laurel Fork South and North,
Mountain Lake, Otter Creek, Roaring Plains West, and Spice Run
Wilderness.
As a result of his legislative
efforts to conserve the natural splendor of our nation, Byrd was
recognized in 2004 with the Hubert H. Humphrey Wilderness
Leadership Award.
In January 2009, Byrd also
strongly supported the
inclusion of the Wild Monongahela Act in S.22, which designated
additional lands in the Monongahela National Forest --Big
Draft, Roaring Plains West, and Spice Run -- as wilderness
areas.
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