Environmentalists say the U.S. Congress is on track to designate nearly as much land as pristine wilderness areas as has been done in the past five years. Areas designated as wilderness are subject to strict rules that ban motorized vehicles and emphasize quiet activities such as hiking.

By Hank Shaw, The Record, Stockton, Calif. May 21--SACRAMENTO -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain is coming to Stockton on Thursday, and both his fellow Republicans and local Democrats plan to give him a warm reception.

By Warren Cornwall, The Seattle Times Apr. 30--Washington is on the verge of getting its first new wilderness area in more than two decades, 106,000 acres of forest in the Cascade Mountains, just a short drive from Seattle.

By Lisa Vorderbrueggen Campaign managers have a saying: "Eighty percent of what we do is wasted. We just don't know which 80 percent." That old saw may prove especially prescient in the GOP campaign to unseat Democratic freshman Rep.

By Alicia Mundy, Seattle Times Feb. 21--WASHINGTON -- Last fall, two congressmen from Washington state eyed each other warily in a Capitol Hill corridor as they discussed a bill that would expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area in the Cascades. Rep.