Idaho Wilderness Bill Defied Odds

When Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson shared a copy of the latest version of his Boulder-White Clouds wilderness bill with a conservation leader, he hand wrote a note on its first page: “The Elvis version — “It’s now or never.” This week, after 12 years of sponsoring wilderness bills, Simpson triumphed. The Senate passed the bill, preserving 275,000 acres of gorgeous mountain terrain, and sent it to President Barack Obama, who plans to sign it Aug. 7 into law. The Republican congressman’s urgency reflects his certainty that if he failed to get the bill through this year, Obama would use the Antiquities Act to name a monument instead/ Elizabeth Shogren , High Country News. More here.