8 Things The Natural Resources Management Act Does
8 Things The Natural Resources Management Act Does
In addition to protecting land throughout the West, adding new parks and National Heritage areas, the bill does a number of things and has benefits for just about every state. Here are just eight of the things the 662-page bill does that impact our region:
- Protects 1.3 million acres of wilderness, areas which prohibit roads and motorized vehicles.
- 2. Withdraws 370,000 acres near Yellowstone (Mont.) and North Cascades National Park (Wash.) from mining.
- Reauthorizes and protects the Neotropical Migratory Bird Act, which protects millions of acres of habitat for more than 380 species of birds that migrate between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
- Protects 620 miles of rivers in seven states from damming and designates sections of Connecticut’s Farmington and Salmon Brook River, sections of the Nashua River (which runs through New Hampshire and Massachusetts) as well as 60 miles of Utah’s Green River as National Wild and Scenic Rivers.
- Ensures that President Obama’s “Every Kid Outdoors Act” allows fourth graders and their families free admission to all national parks.
- Opens all federal land (that’s not designated otherwise) to hunting and fishing and allows hunters to transport bows across national parks to reach hunting areas.
- Creates a new Conservation Service Corps that will allow kids and veterans to work on public lands.
- Allows Fish and Wildlife officials to work with private landowners and match investment in restoring habitat.
Featured Photo Caption: One of the best views of Smuggler’s Notch. Photo Courtesy the Green Mountain Club.