[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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