CONSERVATION -- If we're handing out medals for bravery this week, save one for Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., who broke ranks with House Republican leaders on Wednesday to save the vital Land and Water Conservation Fund. 

Reichert was among a small number of GOP lawmakers, along with House Democrats, who saved the LWCF from elimination on a 216-212 vote, says environmental reporter Joel Connelly on seattlepi.com.

The funding has been a critical force in conservation across the country, with 48 years of examples in Washington state including state parks projects, salmon recovery, farmland preservation, endangered species protection and cleaning up mine claims in the North Cascades National Park.