With a major election behind us, policymakers, pundits and the public will be looking for evidence that Congress and the White House can move forward on issues of importance to a majority of Americans. With that in mind, it's safe to say that as a nation we have no firmer common ground than our literal common ground — the lands we cherish for hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. For decades, presidents and members of Congress from both parties have held protection of these wild places as an honorable duty. Now should be no exception.
For its part, Congress has the opportunity to safeguard some of our rapidly vanishing wilderness. Through the Wilderness Act, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, lawmakers have the authority to preserve the nation's most biologically diverse federal lands. Currently, more than two dozen bills, many of them with bipartisan sponsorship, await action by either the House or Senate.
...Beyond signing wilderness legislation, President Obama can also use the authority of the presidency, under the Antiquities Act, to unilaterally protect "objects of historic and scientific interest." The Antiquities Act has been used more than 100 times by presidents from both sides of the aisle to set aside some of the nation's most valuable ecological, cultural and historical places. It was signed into law in 1906 with the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, who most famously used it to shield the Grand Canyon from mining and other development.
...Just as President Reagan helped set a record for wilderness legislation signed, President Clinton proclaimed the most monuments — 21 sites in all. Congress and the White House should seize upon this historical tradition of bipartisan commitment to protect some of America's first — and last — wild places, which form our true common ground.
Reichert heads the environment program at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Ever since the R's took over the House, the enviros have become interested in "bipartisanship". Now that the R's also have a majority in the Senate, they're really interested in the concept. Throw in a little threat from the Antiquities Act and presto, you have their game plan for the next two years.
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