The Natural Resources Management Act made it through the Senate a couple of weeks ago. Now, it has passed the House and is headed to the President for signature . . .
In the unlikely event you tuned into C-SPAN’s live stream on Feb. 26, you saw a bipartisan conga line of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives making a pitch for public lands.
For stakeholders on both sides of the political aisle, it was a refreshing sight, particularly given the polarized political climate that too often overshadows popular pieces of legislation with gridlock and ingrained party differences.
But that didn’t happen this week when, in passing the largest conservation legislation in a decade, an oft-divided House furnished the public lands package with bipartisan support. In doing so, lawmakers sent a message to their constituents that protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers is good for the environment and for the economy.