Drafter
Clerk 03/19/2010
Title
A MOTION expressing the council's support for the preservation of currently unprotected areas of the Cascade Mountain range.
Body
WHEREAS, our national forest and national park lands in the North Cascades Mountains are a treasured resource for their conservation, recreation, research, and economic values, and
WHEREAS, more than forty years after the North Cascades National Park was created, pristine rivers and streams, scenic mountains, lowland old growth forests, essential wildlife habitats and popular recreation sites surrounding the park still remain unprotected by national park or wilderness designation, and
WHEREAS, many of the projects that were cited as reasons for keeping certain areas undesignated as park or wilderness areas have since been abandoned, and
WHEREAS, these areas should now become protected in the absence of those projects in order to preserve the pristine state of the North Cascades Mountains, and
WHEREAS, local gateway community and regional economies depend on high-value recreation and tourism opportunities provided by the North Cascades, and
WHEREAS, all Washington state residents depend on a healthy environment to sustain commerce, green jobs, ecosystem services and a cherished quality of life, and
WHEREAS, regional climate change and human population growth in the Puget Sound threaten the water supplies, aquatic ecosystems, wildlife habitats, old growth forests and outstanding recreation opportunities provided by the North Cascades, and
WHEREAS, these treasured resources can only be permanently and completely preserved through congressional designation of new park and wilderness lands, and
WHEREAS, conservation groups have initiated the American Alps Legacy Project to preserve public lands around the North Cascades National Park;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The King County council approves of and supports efforts by the North Cascades Conservation Council to complete the conservation vision for the North Cascades
through congressional designation of additional park and wilderness lands in the American Alps Study Area.