©2026 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) sponsored H.R. 2546, the Protecting America’s Wilderness (PAW) Act, which would permanently protect 1.37 million acres of public lands and waters across California, Colorado, and Washington. The PAW Act, an ambitious public lands package, combined six bills: H.R. 2546, the Colorado Wilderness Act; H.R. 2250, the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act; H.R. 2199, the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act; H.R. 2215, the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Act; H.R. 1708, the Rim of Valley Corridor Protection Act; and H.R. 2642, the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This legislation would preserve majestic landscapes and rivers for future generations, protect tribal lands and cultural sites from oil and gas development, improve access to public lands for underserved communities, address the threats of climate change by increasing wildfire resiliency, and boost our country’s thriving outdoor recreation economy. On February 12, the House approved H.R. 2546 by a vote of 231-183 (House roll call vote 69). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. While the Senate took no action on H.R. 2546, its text was added as an amendment on July 21 to the House version of H.R. 6395, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act, but the language was stripped in the conference committee and not included in the bill that became law on January 1, 2021.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters