They Voted For You: Mon Forest

West Virginia's House delegation helped pass the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which declares more than 2 million acres in nine states, including West Virginia, as protected wilderness.

Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, all voted for the measure, which was sent to President Obama on a 285-140 vote.

"The bill — a collection of nearly 170 separate measures — marks the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 15 years," The Associated Press reports. "It will confer the government's highest level of protection on land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia."

The Charleston Gazette focused on the Mountain State's part of the bill, which would set aside "more than 37,000 acres of remote, rugged terrain in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest."

AP also noted that "The vote came two weeks after the House rejected the bill amid a partisan dispute over gun rights. The measure was brought up again in the Senate and approved last week, setting up Wednesday's vote."

AP explains as well that "Supporters called the bill landmark legislation that will strengthen the national park system, restore national forests, preserve wild and scenic rivers, protect battlefields and restore balance to the management of public lands. Opponents, mostly Republicans, called the bill a 'land grab' that would block energy development on vast swaths of federal land."