President Barack Obama signed into law today a conservation plan that will protect 2 million acres of wilderness and preserve monuments, trails and rivers across the country.

“Our lands have always provided great bounty,” Obama said today as he signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which won final approval last week. “What these gifts require in return is our wise stewardship.”

The measure combines in 1,294 pages more than 150 individual environmental bills to conserve water and protect 1,000 miles of scenic rivers. It also blocks mining and drilling on millions of acres of federal land.

The new law authorizes as much as $10 billion in spending for wildlife and land protection. It also adds 2 million acres, or about 800,000 hectares, in nine states to the National Wilderness Preservation System. That system currently consists of 10 million acres, or about 4 million hectares, in 44 states.

The measure is the culmination of years of effort by conservationists, sportsmen and localities to protect large and small swaths of land across the country.

The legislation also includes the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which provides funding for research on paralysis and money for rehabilitation and care of people who are paralyzed.

Wide Support

Obama signed the bill at the White House at a ceremony attended by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who introduced the president and 13 members of Congress, including Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Republican Senators Robert Bennett of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Obama said the bill has been “decades in the making” and has gained support from a wide spectrum of Americans, including conservative Republicans, liberal Democrats, small-business owners, ranchers, anglers and environmentalists.

Opponents of the plan have said it was not properly vetted for wasteful spending and that it would block access to tens of millions of acres of natural gas and oil reserves.

Representative Tom McClintock, a California Republican, has called the bill a “massive land grab.” He said on the House floor last week that the public good isn’t served by “mindless and endless acquisition of property” that blocks access to natural gas and other resources.

Protected Areas

Public land in Oregon , New Mexico , Colorado , California , Idaho , West Virginia , Virginia , Utah and Michigan will get the new wilderness protection. The legislation also will safeguard rivers in Oregon , Idaho , Arizona , Wyoming , Utah , California and Massachusetts .

Salazar said the “historical legislation” builds on the U.S. tradition of preservation, including Abraham Lincoln’s protection of the area now known as Yosemite National Park and Franklin Roosevelt’s initiative to put unemployed people to work by clearing trails and building campgrounds.

“Yes we are in a time of deep uncertainty and economic pain, but for Americans, moments of crisis are opportunities to rebuild, renew and restore the places we cherish. We now are at such a moment in our nation’s history,” he said.

He said previously that putting the wilderness areas off- limits to oil and gas drilling won’t hamper domestic energy production.

The legislation includes language from Representative Jason Altmire, a Pennsylvania Democrat, to allay concerns of sportsmen and gun-rights lobbyists that it might block hunting on federal land.