Congress protects public lands

This just in from the National Wildlife Federation and Ourpubliclands.org:

Today Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act. This historic plan to protect America's public lands provides the largest expansion of wilderness in fifteen years.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act will conserve critical public lands and waters, which provide important wildlife habitat, natural resources and recreation opportunities to continue America's great conservation traditions for generations to come.

Specifically, the Act will secure wilderness designation for more than two million acres of public lands, protect thousands of miles of rushing rivers and establish a 26 million acre conservation system-- the first new system of conservation lands in the United States in more than 50 years.

Yea!

More news stories about it here and here and here.