Reichert bill would add to Alpine Lakes

WASHINGTON — Environmental groups are hailing a new plan to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area east of Seattle by 22,000 acres.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, would designate land near Interstate 90, east of North Bend, as federally protected wilderness.

The measure would increase the 394,000-acre reserve of craggy Cascade peaks, alpine lakes and forest sandwiched between Interstate 90 and Highway 2.

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, created in 1976, is about 50 miles south of the proposed Wild Sky wilderness area north of Highway 2.

The House has approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, to create Wild Sky, but the Senate has not acted on the measure.

The Senate has approved the Wild Sky proposal three times in recent years, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she is confident it will be approved again.

Reichert, who faces a strong challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner for his seat representing Seattle's Eastside suburbs, promised the Alpine Lakes expansion this summer and formally introduced it Thursday.

He called the bill historic.

"Not only does it designate and preserve a wilderness area, but it also shows that we can continue the proud Washington state tradition of protecting public lands by working together," Reichert said.

Reichert, one of the few Western Republicans in Congress to embrace wilderness legislation, said the bill was drafted in a bipartisan collaboration with area residents, conservation groups and recreation enthusiasts.

"We included everyone who cares about this land, taking into consideration the thoughts offered by these interested experts, caretakers and constituents," he said.

Tom Uniack, conservation director for the Washington Wilderness Coalition, said Reichert — like Larsen and Murray before him — had drafted the Alpine Lakes bill "the right way."

Just as in Wild Sky, the Alpine Lakes bill "is built on the same tradition of local support and consultation with local stakeholders, which should serve it well as it moves through Congress," Uniack said.

The bill, which goes to the Natural Resources Committee, also would designate the Pratt River as wild and scenic. The Pratt is a tributary of the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.