The Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act is part of the CORE Act and has 83 miles of cutthroat trout habitat and 4 miles of gold medal water and would protect 1,549 miles of streams and 244,429 acres of land. It is a sporting paradise.
Excerpt from Trout Unlimited, TU.org
By Sam Davidson
Today, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act (H.R. 803). Trout Unlimited strongly supports this legislation, as it will better conserve and restore public lands, watersheds and coldwater fisheries in four Western states and support the country’s commitment to countering the impacts of climate change by protecting at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by the year 2030.
Chris Wood, CEO and president of Trout Unlimited, noted “Few places are more important to trout and salmon than our public lands. All our Western salmon and steelhead rivers, and a majority of blue-ribbon trout streams in the West, flow from or through public lands. Our public lands are of immense cultural importance to indigenous people. They help drive rural local economies. They are a great equalizer—owned by all Americans, our public lands are the places where we can go, often for little or no entry fee, to fish, hunt, hike, or simply to catch our breath. In the face of climate change, we must do more to protect our headwaters and trout and salmon strongholds. The Protecting America’s Wilderness Act does this for some of the most iconic fishing waters in five states, and Trout Unlimited salutes the congressional champions of this timely and important addition to our country’s wilderness legacy.”
TU lauded the sponsors of six bills, in particular, for their leadership in conserving our public lands, trout and salmon streams. Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-2) authored the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act; Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-4) authored the Southwest Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act; Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) authored the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act; Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) authored the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and River Protection Act; Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-2) introduced the CORE Act; and Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ-3) authored the Grand Canyon Protection Act.
A similar package of public lands bills, under the same title, passed the House last year. But the legislation never advanced in the Senate. So, this carefully crafted suite of bills—built over years of public outreach by its sponsors and feedback from local elected officials and businesses, chambers of commerce, and recreation and conservation interests—needs to pass both chambers of Congress again in this legislative session.
Continue reading about the five bills in H.R. 803 that TU supports, in particular HERE.
