Wilderness areas like these bring back memories for many people – and they are critical to protecting wildlife.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives had an important opportunity to conserve and expand some of America’s most cherished landscapes and wild places when they voted on the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act is designed to secure millions of acres of wilderness and thousands of miles of rivers. It would also protect wildlife habitats in many parts of the country, including gems such as the Rocky Mountain National Park and the Mt. Hood Wilderness.

And that’s not all…

For all you hikers, birders, or just plain nature-lovers out there: It also permanently establishes a 26-million acre National Landscape Conservation System and adds trails around the country, ensuring that future generations will be able to see and enjoy our country’s majestic wild places.

The unfortunate news is that even though the bill had strong bipartisan support, it ended up falling just two votes shy from passing last week.

But there’s good news!

In the coming days, the U.S. House will have another opportunity to pass the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.

So, find out how your representative voted on the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, and then encourage him/her to take this next opportunity to ensure this landmark legislation for our public lands and wildlife can finally become law!

Over the last five years, it’s been one thing after another threatening to take the character and beauty from our public lands. From fossil fuel development occurring at an unprecedented rate and conducted rashly and irresponsibly to dirty mining and threats to sell-off public lands for short term gains, public lands have been abused and all but forgotten as the national treasure they truly are.

Almost 1/3 of the United States is public lands — lands held in trust by all Americans that provide vital habitat for our wildlife, clean water and open space for recreation. They are also lands we will pass on to our children, and our children’s children to experience.

Last week the senate passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which contains more than 160 separate public lands bills, most of which will expand the protection of our public lands. The Act will provide the largest expansion of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 15 years, designating 2.1 million acres of permanent wilderness in nine states — California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Another one of the bills in the package — the National Landscape Conservation System Act — will provide permanent protection for the first new system of conservation lands in the United States in more than 50 years. Under the National Landscape Conservation System Act, over 850 federally recognized areas covering 27 million acres of the Bureau of Land Management’s most spectacular land and waters will be protected permanently.

The Act now moves to House of Representatives, which is expected to consider it in the coming weeks. Visit www.OurPublicLands.org for more information.