[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S12022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IMPORTANCE OF OPEN LANDS NEAR TETON NATIONAL PARK

 Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I rise today to speak for a few 
moments on an issue that is so very dear to the hearts of every citizen 
in my State--indeed most citizens of our Nation: I speak of the 
importance of open spaces.
  Now, I believe it is safe to say that some of us take our open spaces 
for granted--a charge that applies--especially so --to those of us 
inhabiting our Nation's western regions. Most of us, upon taking an 
objective look at our Western States, conclude the dire 
environmentalist warnings of imminent coast to coast asphalt are 
shrill, exaggerated and foundationless. And yet, as with any other 
hysterical manifestation, there is a kernel of truth hidden beneath the 
hyperbole.
  My State is blessed with many spectacular vistas, but perhaps none 
more so than the stunning Grand Teton mountains. Unless you have seen 
them yourself, you simply cannot appreciate their visual impact. They 
seem to come rearing up out of the prairie to tower high above our 
heads before plunging straight back down into the prairie again. In the 
valley beneath them lies the city of Jackson Hole. This is a city that 
has experienced booming growth in recent years as people from all over 
the Nation search for places to raise their families and make their 
fortunes that are not overtaxed, overregulated, or crime or pollution 
ridden. It has been both Wyoming's blessing and its curse to fit this 
bill so perfectly, and nowhere is this troubling dichotomy better 
exemplified than in the city of Jackson Hole.
  Traditionally a ranching area, that town has now become a tourist 
mecca. But as pleased as environmentalists are to see land use 
industries give way to tourism, this same phenomenon has resulted in 
the destruction of heretofore open ranchlands which have been sold off 
bit by bit to the developers. It is an unfortunate and oh-so slippery 
slope. For the more development which takes place in the valley at the 
base of the Tetons, the higher the land values--and their accompanying 
property taxes--climb. The higher the property and estate taxes climb, 
the more difficult it is for these generations old ranching families to 
stay in business. This represents a far more serious situation than 
many eastern Members of this body can possibly realize. Cattlemen have 
long been the hapless holders of one of the most razor thin profit 
margins of any industry in this Nation. Today, they are going out of 
business left, right and center, Mr President, and the last thing they 
do before they turn out the lights for good, is to sell off their 
property bit by bit to real estate developers who then build expensive 
homes that only the wealthy can afford--we call them ``log cabins on 
steroids.''. The view of those mountains is spectacular and these 
developers and real estate agents charge for it accordingly.
  Mr. President, the critical importance of preserving these incredible 
views--euphemistically referred to as ``view sheds'' by the land 
managers--available to all is of no small import to my State or the 
Nation. We need to be more business friendly. We need to keep our tax 
appetites under control. We absolutely need to reduce contrived 
regulation on our cattle industry and we need to ensure its access to 
Federal and State grazing lands and reasonable grazing fees. Above all, 
we must work to keep our ranchers ranching and our open lands open, in 
order to prevent the developers from overrunning this fragile and 
magnificent part of our Earth. 

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