Environment
Northwest Washington is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, with great opportunities for outdoor recreation, including hunting, hiking, fishing and kayaking. I am working to protect open spaces in the 2nd Congressional District to benefit of future generations, and create good jobs in the tourism and recreation industries today.
Outdoor recreation is responsible for an estimated 6.1 million jobs in the U.S. and plays a huge role in the rural economies of the 2nd district. I will continue to push to encourage tourism and recreation in the Northwest to help rural economies in these difficult economic times.
Accomplishments
- Wrote and passed legislation to create Wild Sky Wilderness Act in 2009 which created the Wild Sky Wilderness Area and protects 106,000 acres the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Senator Patty Murray and I created the first new wilderness area in Washington state in twenty years. Washington families and businesses will benefit from this accessible wilderness for generations to come.
- Introduced legislation to make sensitive federal lands in the San Juan Islands into a National Conservation Area to preserve public access and protect these pristine areas, and continue to support efforts to administratively create a National Monument.
- Introduced legislation to protect Green Mountain Lookout, an important part of Skagit County’s outdoor heritage and recreational economy.
- Introduced and the House of Representatives passed legislation to designate Illabot Creek in Skagit County as a Wild and Scenic River in 2011, protecting Illabot Creek’s habitat for endangered salmon and trout and maintaining access for fisherman and hunters.
- Secured $6 million in the 2011 Department of the Interior funding bill for the National Parks Service to purchase and protect Mitchell Hill, a valuable natural and historic landmark adjacent to San Juan Island National Historical Park. As a result, the 300 plus acres of land on Mitchell Hill that was in danger of development will be preserved for public access for future generations.
- Fought to protect Ebey's Landing, the nation’s first historical reserve created to protect farms and farming communities.
Congressman Larsen and Senator Murray in Wild Sky.