The Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act is named for two great American visionaries: Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who set aside the core of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1960, and former Democratic U.S. Representative Morris Udall from Arizona, who succeeded in doubling its size in 1980. The amendment considered on Friday honored the bipartisan legacy that this legislation has enjoyed for decades.
This legislation has been introduced in every Congress for almost three decades, and has never come to the floor for a vote, until recently. The House held a historic vote to designate Wilderness for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. I applaud Congresswoman Pingree’s vote in support of this legislation. It is high time this fragile and important ecosystem received the protection it so deserves.
John Demos
Alaska Wilderness League,
Northeast Staff
South Berwick
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
