Nethercutt doesn’t need to stall on this

Not in my backyard. So often we hear this phrase when a government agency is proposing changes to a place where we live, work or care about in some fashion.

I have lived in Index for nearly 30 years and the proposed Wild Sky Wilderness Area waiting in the House of Representatives for passage is something that will, literally, be in my backyard.

I think Rep. George Nethercutt is making the right call on finally supporting the Wild Sky Wilderness. But I don’t understand why he wants to change a carefully crafted, bipartisan conservation bill. According to The Herald article on May 20, apparently he is not sure why, either. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rick Larsen have made many compromises and built broad support for Wild Sky over the last four years. There’s no need for Mr. Nethercutt to come in and play politics with Wild Sky at the last minute. Much of the spirit behind this bill is selflessness, not selfishness. I encourage him to join the rest of the delegation in working to pass it instead of trying to change it.

David Meier

Index