EDITORIAL: In our backyard

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A large area of Jefferson County – within Olympic National Park – is now named after one of the more famous Republicans in Washington state.

On Aug. 18, dignitaries gathered at Hurricane Ridge to officially mark the renaming of 1.7 million acres of wilderness as the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness.

Evans is a Republican who served three terms as governor of the state of Washington. He also served as a state senator, the president of The Evergreen State College and as a U.S. senator.

He has been a class political act – or classic, perhaps, as it is an honor in some circles to be called a “Dan Evans Republican.”

It’s worth noting that the name change was introduced in Congress by two Democrats, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and it was sponsored by members of the House, including U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Democrat who represents Jefferson County.

There are some things in the world that transcend politics – the eclipse of the sun on Monday, the tides that impact ferry service, and an agreement that the forestlands we hike in and gaze upon in wonder are worth saving and protecting.

Dan Evans’ name graces a beautiful and remote part of our backyard not just because he’s a politician who fought to preserve and protect the land, but because Evans himself enjoyed it.

A decade ago, The Leader published a story about Evans taking a 6-mile hike up Marmot Pass, which has a 6,000-foot elevation. And this was when he was in his 80s.

Evans started hiking as a Boy Scout and has never stopped enjoying the world around him, that story noted.

As governor, Evans was known for being a moderate, for caring for people and the environment, and for shunning extremism.

The world could use more people like Dan Evans. Politics could use more people like Dan Evans.

It’s nice to know a peaceful place in Jefferson County has been named after a man who literally has walked the talk.

– Allison Arthur