Wild Sky triumphs

At long last, creation of the 106,000-acre Wild Sky Wilderness is official. President George W. Bush's signature on legislation capped years of hard work by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen.

Together, the two Democrats built a consensus of complementary support from Capitol Hill to small Snohomish County towns to establish the state's first new wilderness in 24 years. The two determined lawmakers repeatedly rallied and sustained a cast of hundreds of Washington elected officials, businesses, community and religious leaders to promote protection of the lowland wilderness in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Perhaps the celebration could have started last month, when legislation first introduced in 2002 finally passed both houses of Congress. After years of parliamentary setbacks and near-misses, the cautious waited for ink on paper.

The president, to his credit, had long promised to sign a Wild Sky Wilderness bill if one reached his desk.

Wild Sky survived and succeeded with vital partisan assists. Bellevue Republican Jennifer Dunn, the late former congresswoman, offered early, strategic backing. After a first, failed attempt, a conservative Northwest GOP skeptic made a key assessment: "You did it the way it ought to be done. It was an inclusive process."

Those words had real currency over time because Murray and Larsen worked with a variety of interests to accommodate access and use of these treasured Cascade creeks, peaks and trails.

In the end, snowmobilers, floatplane pilots, scouts, the Forest Service, timber owners and handicapped recreationists all applauded the results — as did legions of conservationists and groups representing hikers, anglers and hunters.

The other reality of this wild and wonderful outdoor legacy is the economic potential that attracted the endorsements of hundreds of businesses, including more than 100 in the Skykomish River Valley. Recreation is big and Wild Sky is a welcome, compatible neighbor.

Legislative craft and tenacity have given Washington state a wilderness heritage to be enjoyed for generations.