[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 64 (Thursday, May 15, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4575-S4576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE RIM ROCK RUN

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, the Mesa Monument Striders have held a 
road race inside the beautiful landscape of Colorado National Monument 
since 1993. Over the past 4 years, participation in the race has 
soared. This year, 250 Rim Rock Run participants will be shut out of 
the park in an effort by the National Park Service to snuff out a 
Colorado legacy.
  Yesterday, Deputy Regional Director, Robert Reynolds, upheld the 
ruling of the park's superintendent to prohibit the race--all in the 
name of traffic congestion. But this is a 2 hour race held on an early 
Sunday morning in November. This is a slap in the face to the State of 
Colorado and the spirit of recreation which national parks were 
established for. I have watched the culmination of this dispute evolve 
from an irrational rejection of a race permit to a national dispute 
over the unjustified actions of a bureaucracy that refuses to listen to 
the voice of the people.
  The people of western Colorado have bent over backwards to reach a 
compromise with the park's superintendent. Countless meetings have been 
held offering rescheduled times and dates or proposals to scale down 
the size of the race. The sheriff's department has committed their 
entire force to the security and coordination of the run. The local 
paper has arranged for a shuttle service to alleviate traffic 
inconveniences. It is clear to me that no amount of effort to 
compromise will sway the park service's decision to forbid the race.
  Well, I will not stand for this decision. I am requesting to meet 
with the acting director of the Park Service to demand a justification 
for this ludicrous ruling. Next month, this same Park Service is 
sponsoring the closure of a 13 mile stretch of George Washington 
Parkway for a road race right here in our Nation's Capital. This might 
inconvenience a few thousand drivers, but I don't see any Park Service 
officials challenging the legitimacy of this popular race. If this is 
the precedent we want to set for holding an event in a national park, 
then let's just call off the hundreds of events already planned this 
year in all national parks.
  This controversy is only the latest example of public land managers 
consistently trying to restrict public access to lands which were set 
aside for the public to use and enjoy. It is not an isolated case. I am 
convinced that this fight in Colorado is only symptomatic of a much 
larger problem.

  This is not finished. I will continue to fight this outrageous ruling 
until

[[Page S4576]]

someone listens. Closing a national monument road for a few hours to 
accommodate a simple 23-mile road race should not provoke this kind of 
controversy. Yet, the Park Service seems determined to continue the 
controversy by ignoring the runners, the local paper and the community. 
When will our National Park Service understand that they need to work 
with the people and not ignore them, especially when we have a 
community that is willing to do its fair share?
  I yield back the floor.
  Mr. HATCH addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

                          ____________________