[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E239-E240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WYOMING GRAZING PRIVILEGES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARBARA CUBIN

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 1997

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, Jackson Hole, WY, is one of the most 
beautiful and unique areas of our Nation. Over 3 million visitors per 
year come to hike, camp, ski, and sightsee amidst the grandeur of the 
Teton Range and the winding Snake River in Grand Teton National Park 
and the greater Yellowstone area beyond. Many wildlife species such as 
moose, bear, eagles, and trumpeter swan make the

[[Page E240]]

valley their home, while the largest elk herd in the lower 48 States 
annually migrates through it to winter on the wildlife refuge at its 
southern end.
  While much of the valley is protected for perpetuity in Federal 
ownership, some of the most valuable wildlife habitat, migration 
routes, and scenic vistas remain in private ownership as working ranch 
lands. Conservation groups in Jackson Hole and around the country have 
worked for years to help protect these ranches from development through 
the use of scenic easements and other means and are to be commended for 
their good work.
  Unfortunately, we now face a situation where some of the most scenic 
and valuable ranch lands adjacent to the park could be forced to sell 
and subdivide. In 1950, the law establishing Grand Teton National Park 
allowed local grazing permittees whose livestock had historically used 
the new park lands for summer range to continue that grazing for the 
life of the permittees' designated heirs. As a result, 14,000 acres 
were set aside, irrigated, and fenced for the benefit of these permit 
holders who, in turn, paid grazing fees at the required rate.
  Since that time, development pressures have grown enormously. One of 
these permit holders has already sold his ranch, which became a major 
subdivision of middle-class houses. Meanwhile real estate prices 
continue to skyrocket and intense development pressure has focused on 
the remaining permit holders.
  In June of last year, a dear friend of mine, Mary Mead, died in a 
tragic accident doing what she loved best: working on her cherished 
ranch. Mary was the designated heir to her family's grazing permit on 
the Grand Teton National Park. Legally, with Mary's death, the grazing 
permit would be terminated. However, without this permit the Mead 
family, along with former U.S. Senator Cliff Hansen--father of Mary--
would no longer be able to maintain their cattle operation and ranch. 
Without the park's summer range on which all of their cattle depend, 
the family would almost certainly be forced to sell their livestock and 
the ranch, which would in all likelihood be immediately subdivided and 
developed. This tragic loss would not only destroy open space and 
scenic vistas but could also adversely impact wildlife habitat and 
migration patterns as well as the integrity of the park's greater 
ecosystem.
  For these reasons, the family has requested consideration of an 
extension of their grazing privilege. In return, they are committed to 
working with the National Park Service and others to actively explore 
options to preserve their ranch lands. I, too, am dedicated to 
maintaining the highly valuable open space and ranching culture in this 
vicinity of the park. An extension of grazing privileges would allow 
time to explore a network of relationships and avoid the indiscriminate 
development that could occur on these pastoral lands.
  The legislation I am introducing today, written in cooperation with 
Superintendent Jack Neckles of Grand Teton National Park, authorizes a 
study which will determine the significance of ranching and the 
pastoral character of the land, including open vistas, wildlife 
habitat, and other public benefits. It calls for the Secretary of the 
Interior to work with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Governor of 
Wyoming, the Tenon County commissioners, affected land owners, and 
other interested members of the public, to submit a report to Congress 
that contains the findings of the study.
  With the participation of the interested parties I am hopeful that 
the study will find open spaces to be an essential dynamic for wildlife 
in and around the greater Grand Teton National Park system and for all 
of us who live and desire the wide open spaces.
  I commend this legislation to my colleagues and urge their support 
for its prompt enactment.

                          ____________________