More than two million acres of public land are ready to be preserved for posterity after the passage of a 164-bill strong package that Congress passed last Wednesday. The measure then headed to President Obama's desk where he signed it into law Monday.
The House of Representatives originally defeated the resolution two weeks ago when it was known as S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Senate members used congressional maneuvering to quickly reinsert the language of the package into H.R. 146. A simple name change resulted in successful passage of the bill.
The newly passed H.R. 146 seeks to protect more than two million acres of land under the National Wilderness Preservation System. Established by the Wilderness Act of 1964, the system's stated goal is to ""secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.""
As the sprawling reach of human development continues to swallow the wild regions of this planet's surface, it is essential that we preserve the few natural areas that remain for the benefit of future generations.
Not only will these bills preserve vast tracts of uninhabited land, they will also promote scientific research within these boundaries and programs to help educate the public about the importance of conservation.
H.R. 146 includes provisions to add more than 1,100 miles of 86 wild and scenic rivers. These rivers will add to the 166 that are already protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Any development that impedes the free-flowing nature of these rivers will be prohibited.
The main critics of the package contest that the measure will hurt small businesses in the area because federally designated wilderness areas restrict the use of all motorized vehicles.
This argument fails to recognize the fact that a large number of the package's supporters are actually small business owners. Companies that specialize in tourism and outdoor recreational activities will surely see a rise in revenues with the new wilderness designations as tourists flock to the undisturbed beauty of the land.
Several Republican representatives also expressed concern that the newly designated wilderness areas will prevent the extraction of valuable energy resources, such as petroleum and natural gas.
Drilling in ecologically pristine regions may increase domestic energy production, but how much natural beauty are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of short-term energy solutions? A century from now, when clean energy options have overtaken the environmentally harmful methods of the present, what will future generations think of us if we continue to destroy our last few pristine ecosystems?
President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke wisely about the importance of the original Wilderness Act of 1964. ""If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.""
Tom Hart is a senior majoring in history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
