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If a version of the bill is approved by the Senate, DeGette’s legislation would offer permanent safeguards for more than 600,000 acres of land in Colorado. The bill offers land protections in three states, Colorado, California, and Washington. Almost 1.4 million acres in total would be declared federally protected wilderness and about 1,000 miles of rivers would be added to the National Wild and Scenic River Systems if the bill makes it through the Senate.

A push to protect 1.4 million acres of land as wilderness in Colorado, California and Washington advanced in Congress on Wednesday, one of the biggest efforts in a decade to save wilderness that could give the public more opportunities for hiking, rafting and camping away from roads and other development.

“We have been working on this legislation for more than 20 years,” DeGette said in a statement. “The areas that will be protected under this bill are some of the most beautiful and pristine landscapes that our country has to offer. And by officially designating them as wilderness, as this bill does, we will finally be providing them the permanent protection they deserve.”