skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

WA's Stake in National Wilderness Month

play audio
Play

Tuesday, September 7, 2010   

SEATTLE - September is National Wilderness Month, and for Washington, the presidential proclamation is a celebration of the 4.4 million acres that make it the Evergreen State. There's a push to increase that total, with an addition to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area that has already passed in the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate.

Tom Uniack, conservation director with the Washington Wilderness Coalition, says objections from a single senator slow most individual wilderness bills in the Senate, even though the Alpine Lakes legislation has already proven that the two major political parties can reach agreement.

"The Alpine Lakes bill is a really good example of that: Republican Congressman Dave Reichert and Democratic Senator Patty Murray are the sponsors of that bill. Here in Washington state, wilderness has always been bipartisan, and we think that suits it very well to get through Congress."

Uniack says the lone senator's objection is that the government can't afford to maintain more federal land.

Mike Matz, executive director of the Pew Campaign for America's Wilderness, says people around the country have proposed at least two million acres of new federally protected wilderness, and all are waiting for Congress to act on it. He hopes National Wilderness Month revives the discussion.

"These are all places that people have really worked from the ground up, they support locally. So, it'd be great to see this accomplished, and I think this is a good way to draw attention to that."

Conservation and sportsman's groups hope a number of wilderness bills can be combined into omnibus legislation, which has a better chance of passing because it requires fewer votes. That's how similar bills have gotten through Congress in the last two sessions.

National Wilderness Month began last week with the 46th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, and ends with Wilderness Week activities nationwide.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021