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.