Statement of
Representative Shelley Moore Capito
September 2004

  West Virginia Wilderness: Our Proud History and Future

 Wilderness and wild forests have been the canvas on which much our state�s long history has been painted.  It is perhaps our states greatest resource and is certainly one of our most popular.  We have always prided ourselves on our wild forests and worked to ensure that our children and our children�s children will be able to enjoy our wildlands for generations to come.  It is in that spirit that we celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, this month and recommit ourselves to protecting West Virginia �s special landscapes.

 A generation ago, Congress passed a visionary piece of legislation that protects wild places across the country. President Johnson�s signing of the Wilderness Act, on September 3, 1964 , created the National Wilderness Preservation System.  Today this system protects over 105 million acres of America �s wilderness.  No other country has made such a commitment to protecting wild lands.

 West Virginians have shared this commitment.  From the wide open vistas of the Dolly Sods Wilderness, protected as part of the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975 to the rich wildlife habitat of the Cranberry Wilderness, the last wilderness bill passed for West Virginia in 1983.  Wilderness is a vital part of our state�s unique way-of-life and wilderness recreation is an important part of our state�s economy.  We should be thankful for the work that has been done to protect the Mountain State 's great forests and honor this legacy by looking toward the future.

 Wilderness is not only an important part of our past. It�s also an essential part of our future.  I look forward to being part of a new dialogue on wilderness in West Virginia and to working with my congressional colleagues and local citizens to protect our state�s remaining wild places.

 BACK TO ARTICLES