President Signs Landmark Law Protecting Wild Lands and Rivers

Congress conserves more than 2 million acres in four Western states

Article By: John Gilroy
Projects: U.S. Public Lands
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President Signs Landmark Law Protecting Wild Lands and Rivers

Public lands advocates across the West work tirelessly to protect special places cherished by Americans, and their efforts have paid off: The president signed a public lands package March 12 to protect more than 2 million acres of lands and waters, including nearly 1.3 million acres of wilderness. On Feb. 26, the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act passed the House by a 363-62 vote. The Senate had passed the same measure by a 92-8 vote a week earlier, prompting a Washington Post editorial stating that “the traditional pathway for preserving precious lands has not disappeared.”

Here are photos of some of the extraordinary wild places that will be permanently protected under the act.

Utah: Emery County Public Land Management Act

South of Salt Lake City rests Little Grand Canyon in the Sids Mountain Wilderness Study Area, which is home to Utah’s largest herd of bighorn sheep.
The Pew Charitable Trusts

Utah: Emery County Public Land Management Act

Temple Mountain and the remains of a mining community lie within the boundary of the new San Rafael Swell Recreation Area in central Utah.
The Pew Charitable Trusts

California Desert Protection and Recreation Act

Natural springs in the Avawatz Mountains, in the California desert about 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles, supply water to desert animals and provide connectivity for wildlife migrating across the larger desert landscape.
John Dittli

California Desert Protection and Recreation Act

A view of the Soda Mountains from the Cronise Sand Dunes in Southern California’s Mojave Desert.
John Dittli

New Mexico: Cerros del Norte Conservation Act

Cerro del Yuta, or Ute Mountain, rises above a winding canyon cut by the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico.
Stuart Wilde

New Mexico: Cerros del Norte Conservation Act

Rich in biodiversity, New Mexico’s Rio Grande del Norte landscape provides year-round habitat protection to bighorn sheep.
Bureau of Land Management photo courtesy of Steven W. Martin Photography

New Mexico: Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Conservation Act

The bill protects nearly 242,000 acres of wilderness within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument outside Las Cruces.
Bob Wick

New Mexico: Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Conservation Act

Sunshine illuminates the Robledo Mountains, a range within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
David Soules

Oregon: Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act

Tributaries of the North Umpqua River, which runs through southern Oregon, are significant spawning grounds for native steelhead and salmon.
John Waller

Oregon: Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act

Northern red-legged frogs spawn in the North Umpqua River.
Paul Colangelo

Oregon Wildlands Act

The Devil’s Staircase is an Oregon treasure well hidden in the Siuslaw National Forest, part of which crosses the southern Oregon Coast Range.
Greg Lief/LiefPhotos.com

Oregon Wildlands Act

Cloud cover socks in southern Oregon’s Rogue River Valley on a winter day.
Garth Lenz/International League of Conservation Photographers