Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Derek Kilmer on Wednesday re-introduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to “protect environmentally sensitive parts of the Olympic Peninsula, support outdoor recreation opportunities, and preserve and grow jobs on the Olympic Peninsula,” according to a statement by Murray’s office.

“As someone who grew up in Port Angeles, I’ve always said that we don’t have to choose between economic growth and environmental protection,” Kilmer said. “I’m proud to continue fighting for a bill that is part of a practical, balanced strategy to protect our natural beauty while attracting businesses to stay, grow, and invest in our future. I’m grateful for the partnership of Senator Murray and folks throughout our region who helped develop this proposal.”

The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would designate 126,554 acres of existing federal land as wilderness in the Olympic National Forest and designate 464 river miles across 19 rivers and major tributaries on the Olympic Peninsula as Wild and Scenic Rivers.

According to a map released by the campaign last year, there are several areas included for designation in Grays Harbor County: Quinault nature trails east of 101 near the south shore of Lake Quinault, the West Fork of the Humptulips River and trail, the East Fork of the Humptulips River, Wynoochee Falls Trail, and Spoons Creek Falls Trail are among them.

Wilderness is the strongest level of protection on federal lands, and a designation requires an Act of Congress and the president’s signature. State and private lands are not eligible for the designation, only federal lands. The designation generally prohibits motorized and mechanized use, logging, mining and other development. Hunting, fishing, camping and hiking would still be allowed.

“It is critical that we keep fighting to ensure these pristine areas of the Olympic Peninsula are preserved for generations to come,” said Murray. “As someone who enjoys hiking and fishing in Washington state, I am thrilled to work with Congressman Kilmer and the local community to keep up the momentum and preserve some of Washington state’s most prized wild spaces.”

The Wild Olympics Coalition, a group that supports the legislation, announced Wednesday more than 150 new endorsements from Olympic Peninsula elected officials and businesses rallying behind the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The new additions bring the total number to more than 700 endorsers, including the mayors of Port Townsend, Hoquiam, Ocean Shores and Elma. The coalition claims more than 12,000 local residents have signed petitions in support.

Rep. Jim Walsh of Aberdeen is not among those supporters. “The Wild Olympics bill is bad for this area,” he said. “Its supporters have tried to make it less bad — but it’s still bad. It erodes the property rights of Washingtonians who live in rural parts of the Peninsula. It’s bad for our timber industry, which is already struggling. It would have a chilling effect on other industries that might consider locating in this area. And it’s not even good from a forest-management perspective: Forest land that’s untended wilderness is more prone to disease and wildfire than forest land that’s well managed.”

Jasmine Dickhoff, Mayor of Hoquiam, provided the following testimonial for the coalition: “I’m from here, I grew up here, and I’m proud to call the Harbor my home. Harborites are hardy, self-reliant, and we often have a different point of view than other communities,” she said. “We choose to live without all the amenities of big-city life and we do so because we love it here. Hundreds of local Peninsula businesses, sportsmen organizations & local elected officials like myself are backing Wild Olympics because it embraces that same pride — our shared love of the land and our desire to permanently protect the most special parts of our spectacular backyard. However as a local elected official concerned about our economic future, I believe we need to be seizing new economic opportunities while taking great care not to hurt our current ones. That’s why it’s important to me that Rep. Kilmer and Sen. Murray have worked to ensure their final proposal won’t hurt local timber jobs.”

A Wild and Scenic River designation protects a river’s “outstandingly remarkable” values, including wildlife, recreation, fisheries, cultural, and free-flowing character. The designation prohibits federally licensed dams and projects the legislation considers damaging. According to the drafters of the Wild Olympics campaign, the Wild and Scenic River designation will be sought for contiguous stretches of rivers on federal and state lands; no private lands would be included unless the landowner wanted the designation.

Also providing a testimonial for the Wild Olympics Coalition was Montesano guide service owner and member of Sportsmen for Wild Olympics Casey Weigel: “I am a full-time professional guide … on the Wynoochee River. I support the Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act because our rivers and our salmon are our lifeblood and, without them, businesses like ours, the local jobs they support, and the dollars they bring into our local economy would dry up. The Wild Olympics proposal would simply make the current safeguards protecting our rivers on Olympic National Forest permanent. That’s all it does. It doesn’t change access or cost timber jobs. And if it did, I wouldn’t support it, because my family works in the timber industry.”

Opponents of the plan argue this is another federal land grab attempt that would cut thousands of jobs and cost nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money. Some timber companies and chambers of commerce have come out against it. The campaign itself claims no roads will be closed, trails can be maintained and existing uses of the rivers and forests will be protected under the proposal.

“Those of us who live in this part of Washington value pristine water and natural vistas that are accessible to ordinary people. Those are major reasons we live here. But we also value property rights and want to robust economy and local tax base,” said Walsh. “Well-intentioned but poorly-drafted proposals like Wild Olympics have handcuffed local entrepreneurs and workers for decades. We don’t need more of that.”

Sen. Murray and then-Congressman Norm Dicks first introduced Wild Olympics to Congress in 2012. Wednesday’s version was initially introduced in 2014. According to Leah Kennebeck from Sen. Murray’s office, it builds off the 2012 legislation, which itself “was a result of nearly three years of public engagement with residents, business owners, organizations and Native American tribes. Based on additional public input, Sen. Murray and Rep. Kilmer made several changes to the legislation to address concerns and strengthen sections about private landowners’ rights.” Since 2012 a version of the Wild Olympics bill has been introduced to Congress a number of times but has failed to garner enough support to make it out of committee for a vote in either chamber.

In his opposition, Walsh concluded: “Rural Washington isn’t a museum for urban yuppies. It’s a vibrant place with its own traditions and values. Let’s build on those.”