[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 15, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 15, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             GENERAL LEAVE

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks in 
the Record on the legislation now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 375 deals with two segments of the Rio Grande River, 
in northern New Mexico. it is similar to a companion bill introduced by 
our colleague, the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson].
  The Rio Grande is the fifth-longest river in North America and one of 
the great rivers of the Southwestern United States. It rises in 
southwestern Colorado and continues for more than 1,800 miles through 
Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. 
From El Paso to Brownsville, it marks our Nation's boundary with 
Mexico.
  A segment of the Rio Grande immediately south of the Colorado-New 
Mexico boundary was included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System when that system was first established by enactment of the Wild 
and Scenic Rivers Act.
  The two Rio Grande River segments covered by this bill are 
immediately downstream from that already-designated segment and are in 
a part of New Mexico increasingly popular for recreational uses, 
including river rafting.;
  Under the bill, one segment of 12 miles would be added to the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to be managed as a scenic river 
under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Another segment, covering an 
additional 8 miles, would be required to be studied for possible future 
designation, with a report on the results of the study required to be 
submitted within 3 years after enactment.
  Both segments are bordered by extensive tracts of public lands 
managed by the Bureau of Land Management [BLM], which will be 
responsible for managing the designated segment and for conducting the 
study. The designated segment is becoming increasingly popular for 
recreation, which of course would continue after designation but which 
BLM would manage to emphasize protection of the biological and other 
resources of the area.
  The bill would also withdraw the public lands in an area known as the 
5,600-acre Orilla Verde Recreation Area from disposal under the public 
land laws, from mineral entry under the mining laws, and from operation 
of the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, and would also authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior to contract with the Smithsonian 
Institution for completion of a study of prehistoric track ways 
required under section 303 of Public Law 101-578.
  In amending this bill, Mr. Speaker, the committee dropped the 
Senate's provision for a new advisory body consisting only of a village 
representative and a specified number of local landowners. Instead, we 
have substituted a requirement that the BLM Act to obtain local views 
and to give those views appropriate consideration in connection with 
the development of the management plan for the designated segment and 
in connection with the study of the other segment. We understand that 
BLM may well do this through establishment of a task force or working 
group, including the parties that would have been included on the 
statutory body provided for in the original Senate bill.
  We believe that instead of requiring the establishment of another 
permanent statutory body, it is better in this case to give more 
flexibility to the BLM on ways to assure that the villagers and 
landowners be actively involved in future decisions about these areas.
  The committee also increased the acreage of the adjacent public lands 
withdrawn from mineral entry and mineral geothermal leading, as 
suggested by the administration, to reflect the current total area BLM 
wants to manage for recreational uses.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. 
Richardson] for his hard work and leadership on this matter. With his 
help, the committee has been able to further improve the bill, and I 
urge its approval by the House.

                              {time}  1250

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 375 which, among other things, 
would designate a segment of the upper Rio Grande River in New Mexico 
as an addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
  This legislation, which was introduced by Senator Bingaman and has 
already passed the other body, has been explained in detail by Chairman 
Vento. Its major provisions would add a 12-mile segment of the Rio 
Grande to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System and authorize an additional 
8-mile segment be studied for possible future designation.
  Although this bill was amended in the House Natural Resources 
Committee, I understand it is still supported by the two New Mexico 
Senators, not to mention Mr. Richardson, who has worked hard on this 
issue in the Natural Resources Committee.
  I urge my colleagues to support S. 375.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] the principal sponsor of 
this legislation.
  (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both the gentleman from 
Utah [Mr. Hansen] and the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] for 
their very generous remarks. This is an important bill for New Mexico.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity today to support S. 
375, the Senate version of legislation I introduced (H.R. 1471) to 
grant wild and scenic river designation to a 12-mile segment of the Rio 
Grande in my district in New Mexico and study another 8 miles for 
possible inclusion in the future. I would like to thank Chairman 
Miller, Chairman Vento, and the Natural Resources Committee staff for 
their cooperation in moving this legislation through the committee and 
to the House floor today. I would also like to commend Senator Jeff 
Bingaman for introducing the Senate version of my legislation, which is 
the bill we are now considering.
  In bringing this bill to the House floor today, my staff has worked 
with those of Senator Bingaman, the staff of the Committee on Natural 
Resources, the Bureau of Land Management, private landowners in the 
area near the affected segment and local river protection groups such 
as Amigos Bravos in crafting a final product that will confer 
protection on the river and recognize the unique character of this 
beautiful river.
  The Rio Grande was one of the first rivers protected under the Wild 
and Scenic Rivers Act when it became law in 1968. S. 375 would confer 
this designation on an additional stretch of river downstream from the 
Taos Junction Bridge to the Village of Rinconada and require a study of 
the next 8 downstream miles for future designation. I hope that we can 
pass legislation to address these additional miles soon as well.
  As a westerner, I have a special understanding of the importance of 
water to the daily lives of my constituents. In New Mexico, water 
really is life, and the Rio Grande is truly connected to all of our 
lives. The segment we will designate today is an especially beautiful 
stretch of river with multiple scenic views and a history of relatively 
undisturbed natural beauty. In recent years, however, the same 
qualities that make this river so valuable are threatening the future 
health of the river.
  This bill will provide protection of this river segment from any 
federally built, permitted or licensed dam or other water resource 
project which would have a direct and adverse effect on the river. But 
designation will also signal that while we value the many wonderful 
uses of the river, we must realize that protection and preservation of 
this natural resource should be our ultimate goal. The prestigious 
national river protection group American Rivers named the Rio Grande 
the most endangered river in America in 1993. While S. 375 would only 
affect a small portion of this great American treasure, it will ensure 
that future generations can enjoy the beauty that is the natural 
heritage of New Mexico without the deleterious effects of development 
or overuse. Future generations deserve no less.
  I am pleased to recommend this bill to my colleagues in the House 
today, and I look forward to its enactment into law in the near future.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to again commend the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] and the gentleman from California, as well as the 
gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] and many others who have been active 
in important environmental legislation in the Committee on Natural 
Resources.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. 
Richardson]. These riverine systems are very important for watershed 
protection. The recognition of this as being a very endangered river is 
a positive step forward. There is much more to be done. There is more 
study provided. There is more action by this Congress necessary to 
protect these great riverine systems. This bill is a positive step, and 
I urge support for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fields of Louisiana). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 375, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof), the rules were suspended and the Senate bill, as amended, was 
passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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