[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 130 (Thursday, September 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10969-S10971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FEDERAL WILDLIFE REFUGES

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in the United States, there are 571 
Federal wildlife refuges. There is only one State that doesn't have 
any, and that, unfortunately, is the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  To look at a couple of States that are comparable in the size of 
population to my State, Oklahoma has 9, Louisiana has 16, Alabama has 
7.
  Mr. President, it is pretty clear that Kentucky, when it comes to 
Federal wildlife refuges, has not been treated properly down through 
the years. I have been working on this issue since 1989. I introduced 
the first bill to create the first Federal wildlife refuge in Kentucky. 
It is not easy to find appropriate spots in the east. Many of our 
friends out west have more public land than they want. But in the east, 
it is not so.
  We isolated--``we,'' working with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife 
Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--identified an area in 
Kentucky that makes sense. I introduced a bill which was reported out 
of the Environment and Public Works committee to authorize this refuge. 
It is my hope that the Interior appropriations bill will include both 
the authorization and appropriation to begin the acquisition.
  Let me just say that no land will be condemned under this proposal. 
Only land will be purchased from willing sellers. That is a little bit 
different from the way some Federal wildlife refuges have been created. 
As a result of that, there is very minor opposition in our State to the 
creation of our first Federal wildlife refuge.
  My dear colleague from Kentucky earlier today took to the floor to 
point out that this was not needed, and that we had another facility 
called the Land Between the Lakes--which is operated by the Tennessee 
Valley Authority; it is a wonderful facility; a wonderful place--but 
that it really needed the money; and, if he were given the opportunity 
to do so, would offer an amendment to take the money away from the 
Federal wildlife refuge and give it to the Land Between the Lakes.
  Mr. President, the Land Between the Lakes has already been given all 
the money they asked for. I am on the appropriations Subcommittee of 
Energy and Water which receives the request. We gave them all they 
asked for. They may ask for more someplace down the road, and it may be 
appropriate to give them more someplace down the road. But I do not 
think, particularly in these tight times, that it makes sense to throw 
money at a group, or a project, or an activity that is not asking for 
it.
  So, if this amendment is offered at some subsequent time, obviously I 
am going to oppose it. I find it somewhat astonishing that my colleague 
would find it inappropriate for Kentucky to finally--it came into the 
Union in 1792--to finally have a Federal wildlife refuge.
  It was suggested by my colleague that this was an incredibly 
controversial proposal. In fact, it is just the opposite. There are few 
who may oppose it, although if they own land in the area and don't want 
to sell they don't have to. And a wildlife refuge is a good neighbor. 
If you do not want to sell, it is a great neighbor to have right next 
to you. There is nothing that would keep any landowner in this area 
from keeping this property forever in this proposal.
  There are 57 conservation groups and sportsmen from Kentucky who 
support this.
  I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record, Mr. 
President.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Organizations That Have Endorsed the Creation of the Kentucky National 
                            Wildlife Refuge

       Appalachia Science in the Public Interest.
       Association of Chenoweth Run Environmentalists.
       Audubon Society of Kentucky.
       Bell County Beautification Association.
       Berea College Biology Club.
       Brushy Fork Water Watch.
       Community Farm Alliance.
       Daviess County Audubon Society & Kentucky Ornithological 
     Society.
       Department of Parks.
       Eastern Kentucky University Wildlife Society.
       Elkhorn Land & Historic Trust Inc.
       Floyds Fork Environmental Association.
       Friends of Mill Creek.
       Gun Powder Creek Water Watch.
       Harlan County Clean Community Association.
       Hart County Environmental Group.
       Highlands Group Cumberland Chapter Sierra Club.
       Kentucky Academy of Science.
       Kentucky Association for Environmental Education.
       Kentucky Audubon Council.
       Kentucky Citizens Accountability Project.
       Kentucky Conservation Committee.

[[Page S10970]]

       Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Education & Resource Foundation.
       Kentucky Houndsmen Association.
       Kentucky Native Plant Society.
       Kentucky Society of Natural History.
       Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission.
       Lake Cumberland Water Watch.
       Land & Nature Trust of the Bluegrass.
       League of Kentucky Sportsman.
       League of Women Voters of Kentucky.
       Leslie County KAB System.
       Little River Audubon Society.
       Louisville Audobon Society.
       Louisville Chapter 476 of Trout Unlimited.
       Louisville Nature Center.
       Madison County Clean Community Committee.
       Madison Environment.
       Mall Interiors.
       Midway Area Environmental Committee.
       National Wild Turkey Federation.
       Oldham Community Center & Nature Preserve, Inc.
       Peterson's Fault Farm.
       Pleasant Hill Recreation Association.
       Pride Inc.
       Quail Unlimited.
       Rockcastle River Rebirth.
       Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
       Ruddles Mill Conservation Project.
       Scenic Kentucky.
       Shelby Clean Community Program.
       Shelby County Clean Community Council.
       Sierra Club Cumberland Chapter.
       Steve & Janet Kistler.
       The Nature Conservancy/Kentucky Chapter.
       The Wildlife Connection.
       Trout Unlimited/KYOUA Chapter.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, my colleague made reference to the 
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and said that was a bunch of 
``foreigners'' and didn't have a presence in Kentucky. He might want to 
know that there are several thousand supporters of this group in 
Kentucky. Just because it is called the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation 
does not mean it does not have a lot of Kentucky members. Mr. 
President, I have a letter from the Kentucky State chairman of the 
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
  I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation,

                                Bowling Green, KY, March 19, 1996.
     Senator Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator McConnell: Please accept this letter as my 
     support of your intention to propose legislation that would 
     establish and fund the Clark's River National Wildlife Refuge 
     in Western Kentucky. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to 
     establish this area as Kentucky's first National Wildlife 
     Refuge.
       I am the Kentucky State Chairman for the Rocky Mountain Elk 
     Foundation. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is one of the 
     cooperating partners that have helped to establish the Elk 
     and Bison Prairie at TVA's Land Between the Lakes. 
     Additionally, I am the Co-Chairman for the fund raising 
     committee charged with the effort of raising $244,000 for the 
     first phases of this very important project at Land Between 
     the Lakes. I am very happy to report to you that this project 
     is not even open to the public yet and we have already raised 
     $222,000 toward our goal. However, I certainly see a 
     distinction and a need for you to create Kentucky's first 
     National Wildlife Refuge at the East Fork of the Clark's 
     River. As you are aware, the NWR site evaluation team 
     determined that not only did this site best fit the Untied 
     States Fish and Wildlife Services biological and feasibility 
     criteria, this area was deemed most worthy of perpetual 
     protection from degradation and development that would be 
     afforded by establishment of a refuge.
       I am certainly one of the strongest supporters of LBL and 
     am aware of the budget problems that this agency faces. I can 
     assure you, as State Chairman for the RMEF that I donate 
     hundreds of hours of my time in support of LBL and the Elk 
     and Bison Prairie project. The bottom line is both of these 
     projects are very worthy projects and both of these projects 
     are worthy of your support, but in my opinion, the creation 
     of Kentucky's first National Wildlife Refuge should be 
     established at the Clark's River.
       I would be happy to discuss this issue with you personally 
     if you should have any other questions.
       Working for Wildlife.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Thomas M. Baker,
                                          Kentucky State Chairman.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in addition to that we worked with the 
Kentucky Farm Bureau. They typically don't endorse these kinds of 
projects. But what is interesting to note is that they chose not to 
oppose this one, and the reason they chose not to is because we worked 
with them on the ``willing seller provision'' so that nobody involved 
in agriculture in this area would be required to sell. It is very 
important to me that we protect farmers property rights.
  Mr. President, with regard to the Land Between the Lakes, which my 
colleague would give more funding than they asked for by taking it away 
from the Federal wildlife refuge, I would like to place in the Record a 
letter from the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Craven 
Crowell, who said, ``I want to express my sincere appreciation for your 
support for TVA's fiscal year 1997 budget. You played a significant 
role in achieving our goals.''
  In other words, with regard to LBL, TVA got everything it wanted.
  In addition to that, Mr. President, I would like to also have printed 
in the Record a letter I received yesterday from William Kennoy, who is 
the Director of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and a Kentuckian, who 
also confirms that the Land Between the Lakes operated by TVA was given 
all they asked for in this year's budget.
  I ask unanimous consent that it, along with the letters from Mr. 
Crowell and the Kentucky Farm Bureau, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                     Kentucky Farm


                                             Bureau Federation

                                   Louisville, KY, April 20, 1996.
     Mr. Don Overby,
     President, Calloway County Farm Bureau, Almo, KY.
       Dear Donnie: This is to acknowledge and thank you and 
     Calloway County for your attendance and participation in the 
     Measure the Candidate training session held April 8. Also, I 
     wanted to reply to your question on the proposed Clarks River 
     National Wildlife Refuge.
       As I had mentioned, Laura Knoth has been working diligently 
     with Senator McConnell's staff to ensure Farm Bureau's policy 
     is contained in the language of the proposed legislation. 
     Specifically, language which protects farmer's property 
     rights. The following provisions, your Farm bureau policy, 
     have been successfully integrated into S. 1611, ``The 
     Kentucky National Wildlife Refuge Authorization Act:''
       Section 2:6 . . . the refuge should not restrict 
     agricultural and silvicultural activities on private lands.
       Section 6C(I) no activity carried out in the refuge will 
     result in the obstruction of the flow of water so as to 
     affect any private land adjacent to the refuge; and
       (ii) no buffer zone regulating any land use (other than 
     hunting and fishing) is established.
       On March 28, the Environment and Public Works Committee 
     passed S. 1611 by unanimous consent. As of this date, it has 
     not been placed on the Senate calendar to receive floor 
     action.
       Donnie, I have also enclosed for your review a copy of a 
     letter from Tom Bennett, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of 
     Fish and Wildlife Resources, which outlines significant and 
     unique criteria the Clarks River possesses for the proposed 
     wildlife refuge. I am hopeful that his information is 
     helpful. If you have any further questions, please do not 
     hesitate to contact Laura, or myself.
           Sincerely,

                                           Timothy A. Cansler,

                                        Director, National Affairs
     and Political Education.
                                                                    ____

                                       Tennessee Valley Authority,
                                Knoxville, TN, September 13, 1996.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator: I want to express my sincere appreciation for 
     your support of TVA's fiscal year 1997 budget. You played a 
     significant role in achieving our goals.
       We will wisely manage these funds for the benefit of the 
     people of the Tennessee Valley. We hope you will be pleased 
     with the results.
       Thank you for being a good friend to TVA.
       With warm regards,
     Craven Crowell.
                                                                    ____

                                       Tennessee Valley Authority,
                                Knoxville, TN, September 18, 1996.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator McConnell: Yesterday an article appeared in 
     the Paducah Sun referring to a letter I sent Congressman 
     Whitfield on funding for LBL. The letter was inadvertently 
     faxed without my authorization or signature.
       The level of funding provided in the Energy and Water 
     Conference report will fully meet TVA and LBL requirements 
     that we have requested of Congress.
       I am in the process of preparing an inventory of the needs 
     of LBL's infrastructure for the next few years but this is 
     not yet complete and we have, therefore, made no request to 
     Congress for this future funding.
       I understand TVA Chairman Crowell recently wrote you 
     expressing his appreciation for your support for TVA's Budget 
     and noted the ``significant role you played in achieving our 
     goals.'' You have been a strong supporter of TVA and we have 
     no desire to jeopardize that relationship because of 
     inaccurate comments through miscommunications. We appreciate 
     your dedication to LBL over the years.
           Sincerely,
                                           William H. Kennoy, P.E.


[[Page S10971]]


  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in conclusion, let me say that it is 
unusual, to say the least, for two Senators from the same State to 
differ on projects of this matter. I am sorry that seems to be the case 
here. But let me say in conclusion and in summary that there are 571 
Federal wildlife refuges in the Nation but not one in Kentucky. We are 
long overdue for our first Federal wildlife refuge. This proposal was 
developed over a number of years in cooperation with the Kentucky Fish 
and Wildlife Service, and over 57 sportsmen and conservation groups 
from across Kentucky feel that this great need should be met.
  No land under this proposal will be taken from anyone--only from 
willing sellers. It is my hope, Mr. President, that this proposal 
authorizing and appropriating some money to begin Kentucky's first 
Federal wildlife refuge will be a part of the Interior appropriations 
bill.
  I hope my colleague will not offer an amendment to strip out the 
money provided--whatever money is ultimately provided--for this first 
Federal wildlife refuge in order to give it to the Tennessee Valley 
Authority which says it does not need it.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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