But he hasn't held a grudge, coming to Washington, D.C., this week to advocate a bill that would protect the same Utah wilderness where he nearly bled to death.

For Ralston, 31, it's all part of a calling, even though Utah's own congressional delegation is opposed to the legislation. The measure would designate more than 9 million acres of the state's public land as official wilderness closed to oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicle use.

"This is a chance for me to give back to an area that has given so much to me," said Ralston, holding up his artificial metal arm for emphasis. "I look at what happened to me as the greatest blessing in a way. It was a miracle."

It might also be a miracle for Ralston and other environmental activists to win widespread support for the bill, which has been introduced in every Congress since 1988 without achieving passage.

Scott Parker, chief of staff for Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said it doesn't set well with the Utah delegation that the bill was sponsored by a New Yorker, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, and that more than 3 million acres of the potential wilderness areas were inventoried by environmental groups rather than the federal government.

"A Utah wilderness bill should, at the very least, come from a member of Congress from Utah, be based on a legitimate inventory of public lands, and recognize legal and codified criteria for what constitutes wilderness," said Parker.

"This bill from New York meets none of those conditions."

Fred Piccolo, communications director for Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, agreed, saying his state has been targeted by "Eastern environmentalists" who don't care that the bill would obliterate many Utah jobs.

Supporters of the act counter that the legislation is the only way to stop a surge in oil and gas drilling that has led to 125,000 acres being leased near national parks in southern Utah.