Wyden Urges Passage of Public Lands Bill

March 19, 2009: Seven public lands bills authored by US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) passed the Senate again today by a vote of 77 to 20, as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (HR 146): "The Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007," "The Copper Salmon Wilderness Act," "The Oregon Badlands Wilderness Act of 2008," "The Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Voluntary and Equitable Grazing Conflict Resolution Act," "The Spring Basin Wilderness Act of 2008," "The Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2008" and "The Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2007." The Omnibus bill had passed the Senate in mid-January but failed to reach the 2/3 majority vote in the House of Representatives required to pass it under suspension of the rules. The bill will now move to the House for final passage.