Help Pass the Wyoming Range Legacy Act

There is a great deal of activity in the Public Policy department today
due to the sudden rapid movement of a bill in U.S. Congress we have
been working on since 2004. Passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act,
which would protect the state’s namesake mountain range from future oil
and gas development, will be the culmination of a long-term goal for
NOLS. This bill could possibly be signed into law as early as this
week, and we are hoping to smooth its enactment as much as possible. To
do so, we need YOUR help!

photo courtesy Brady McCarley

Several U.S. Senators are presently undecided about the bill. NOLS is currently looking for supporters who are from these Senator’s states, or have lived there in the past, to call their D.C. offices and indicate support for the bill. If you are from one of the following states, please consider giving your senator a call by Wednesday, January 14:

Maine: Susan Collins (202) 224-2523, Olympia Snowe (202) 224-5344
Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar (202) 224-3244
Tennessee: Lamar Alexander (202) 224-4944, Bob Corker (202) 224-3344
Missouri: Kit Bond (202) 224 5721, Claire McKaskill (202) 224-6154
Indiana: Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623, Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814
Delaware: Joe Biden (202) 224-5042,
Nevada: John Ensign (202) 224-6244
Pennsylvania: Robert Casey (202) 224-6324, Arlen Specter (202) 224-4254
Arizona: Jon Kyl (202) 224-4521, John McCain (202) 224-2235
Ohio: Sherrod Brown (202) 224-2315, George Voinovich (202) 224-3353
New Hampshire: Judd Gregg (202) 224-3324, Jeanne Shaheen (202) 224-2841

Please feel free to indicate your support in whatever way you feel comfortable. Here is some additional background on the bill:

– The Wyoming Range Legacy Act withdraws 1.2 million acres in the mountains of western Wyoming from future oil and gas leasing, forever. It also preserves the private property rights of existing lease holders within the withdrawal boundary.

– The Wyoming Range is an important year-round operating area for both NOLS Rocky Mountain and NOLS Teton Valley.

– The act is packaged with approximately 160 other public lands bills, brought forth from Republicans and Democrats, through grassroots efforts across the country. These combined bill would designate more that 2 million acres of wilderness and add more than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers across the country.

The Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which NOLS has been supporting for years, is one small part of a very important bill. We in the public policy department are thrilled that so many members of the NOLS community have an opportunity to participate in the passage of the landmark legislation. Thank you for your help! If you would like additional information or have any questions, contact Aaron Bannon at (307) 335-2312.