[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 163 (Friday, October 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15375-S15376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               BLM LANDS

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, October 22, which is just around the 
corner, is a pretty important day in Montana, and I will tell my 
colleagues why in just a minute. But I will say it is one of the 
reasons why I am dead set against S. 1031, a bill to transfer the lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the States.
  Let me say a word about multiple use. When Congress passed the 
Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976, it defined multiple use 
as ``the management of the public lands so that they are utilized in 
the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the 
American people.''
  That is what the statute says.
  Let me tell you about what it means to Montanans--citizens of a State 
with nearly 30 million acres of Federal public lands. To many 
Montanans, it means jobs, jobs from the timber that we harvest, 
minerals that we mine, oil and gas that we extract, livestock that we 
graze and city slickers that pay for a week under the big sky with our 
outfitters and our guides.
  And to all Montanans, folks who earn their living off the land and 
the majority who live and work in towns, these lands represent what we 
love most about our State. These lands provide recreation, an escape 
from work, a reminder that we live in the last best place.
  It means teaching your kids to hunt like your dad taught you. It 
means being able to take your family out for a weekend and hike and 
camp and explore in the most beautiful, pristine places known to man.
  Montanans head to the Pryor Mountains hoping to catch a glimpse of 
the wild horse herds; they float the historical Whitecliffs of the 
Missouri River; and they fish the blue-ribbon Madison River.
  This weekend in particular reminds Montanans of just how lucky we all 
are to have so much Federal lands available to us. It is the start of 
the big game hunting season.
  Montanans head to the Missouri Breaks in search of trophy mulies, set 
up their elk camps in the Centennial Mountains, or take a trip to their 
favorite spot to go antelope hunting, shoot upland game birds, 
pheasant, or ducks.
  Montanans are lucky because these Federal lands are near our homes. 
Within an hour's drive from any town in Montana, these lands provide 
full access and outstanding opportunities for a successful hunt. In 
fact, there were more than 375,000 hunting trips on Montana's BLM lands 
in 1994.
  Just think of that, 375,000 hunting trips on Montana's BLM lands in 
1994.
  There is, however, a bill pending in the Senate which takes this away 
from Montanans. It is S. 1031. It directs the 

[[Page S15376]]
Secretary of the Interior to give all the BLM lands to the States who, 
in turn, may deal with them as they see fit.
  Montana may choose to manage these 8.8 million acres of BLM lands 
much the same way they are currently managed. Of course, that would 
mean coming up with the $34 million in funding that the U.S. Government 
currently spends each year to manage BLM lands in Montana. Finding an 
additional $34 million a year is a real stretch to our State when our 
total State budget is under $2 billion a year.
  Of course, Montana has other options, as do other States, under this 
legislation. The State could simply not pay for range improvements, 
weed control, recreation, and wildlife projects that are currently 
being paid for and carried out by the BLM.
  Montana can also choose to raise some quick revenue by putting these 
lands on the auction block and selling them to the highest bidder. 
Sleeping Giant, the Terry Badlands, the Missouri Breaks, Beartrap 
Canyon, the Pryor Range, the Centennial Mountains sold. Once public 
lands and streams, then fenced off; ``no trespassing'' signs put out. 
This bill takes away what Montanans love most about our State: Open, 
easy access to public lands to hunt, fish, hike, birdwatch, snowmobile, 
four-wheel drive.
  I want to put my colleagues on notice that S. 1031 is a bad deal. It 
is bad for Montana. It is bad for the West. It is bad for the Nation. 
Our public lands are the key to perpetuating our outdoor heritage.
  As Teddy Roosevelt said, ``The Nation behaves well if it treats the 
natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next 
generation increased, not impaired, in value.''
  That is what Teddy Roosevelt said. S. 1031 ignores future generations 
and yanks their inheritance out from under them.
  Marion and Rose Coleman of Laurel, MT, recently wrote me and said 
this:

       Please stop S. 1031 for the benefit of the 22 members of 
     our family who love to hunt, fish, and camp on public lands.

  I am here today to let Marion and Rose Coleman, and all Montanans, 
know that I intend to fight this bill every step of the way. It is 
anti-hunting, anti-Montana.
  If it ever reaches the floor in anything close to its present form, 
it is dead on arrival. That is something I will guarantee my 
colleagues, and, more importantly, that is something I will guarantee 
the people of Montana.
  Mr. KERREY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Nebraska [Mr. Kerrey] is recognized for 20 minutes.

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