Photo by Mark Lawler

"We've done it!" says Mark Lawler, national forest activist for the Sierra Club's Cascade Chapter. "After nine years of planning, organizing, mapping, writing letters, taking photographs, lobbying officials, presenting slideshows, leading tours, and thousands of hours of volunteer and staff effort, the Sierra Club celebrated on May 8 as the Wild Sky Wilderness Act was signed into law."

Wild Sky is the first new designated national forest wilderness in Washington State since 1984. Its 106,000 acres include soaring peaks, pristine mountain lakes such as Eagle Lake, above, and abundant hiking trails, but also ancient forests in low elevations, not typically found in other western wilderness areas. One such area, Howard Creek, is pictured below.

Wild Sky also fills in gaps between other wilderness areas that had been deliberately excluded by the Forest Service. With the contiguous Glacier Peak and Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Areas, a protected wild swath now extends all the way over the Cascade Crest, from near Seattle to the upper reaches of the Wenatchee River.

Photo by Mark Lawler

"Wild Sky breaks the mold for western wilderness areas not only by protecting lower-elevation lands and river systems, but also previously logged areas that have a patchwork of old logging roads from many decades ago," Lawler says. "Previously, Congress wanted only pristine, never-touched lands—mainly the tops of ridges. But to protect more complete ecosystems, you need to include areas that have once been touched."

Key to the Sierra Club's vision for Wild Sky was to extend the wilderness down into the valleys, into productive forests and salmon habitat. "It's the rich habitat that really sets this apart," Lawler says. "That's a significant leap for us in the Pacific Northwest." Lake Simms and Gunn Peak, in the heart of the wilderness, are pictured below.

Photo by Mark Lawler

The Sierra Club's push for Wild Sky really began in 1988, when the local forest committee decided to adopt four miles of national forest trail in the Skykomish Ranger District. They worked to get the trail into shape and slowly built a small cadre of volunteers who loved the area and went on outings there. Club activists like Don Parks, below, worked with other organizations to evaluate which areas stood the best shot of making it into the wilderness system.

Photo by Harry Romberg

In 1999 they presented a concept to Senator Patty Murray, who introduced the Wild Sky Wilderness Bill in Congress two years later. She was soon joined as its champion by Representative Rick Larsen, whose district includes Wild Sky, and Senator Maria Cantwell helped move the measure through the Senate.

"The biggest challenge I've found with wilderness bills is the ebb and flow of the process," says Lawler. "You'll have intense activity around the introduction of the bill and getting spokespeople who can talk to the press, and then the bill will stagnate in Congress. It's a challenge keeping the volunteers excited, engaged, and moving forward."

The Cascade Chapter addressed this by securing endorsements by elected officials, leading regular outings to the area, keeping up a steady stream of newsletter articles, and making sure wilderness advocates attended every congressional public hearing on the bill.

Photo by Rick McGuire

"Ultimately, the overwhelming public support was what Murray and Larsen needed to keep pushing the bill forward despite several years of adversity in Congress and timber industry efforts to remove the heart and soul of the proposal," says Lawler.

Photo by Tim Greyhavens