[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BILL McDONALD

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to recognize 
my friend Bill McDonald, a constituent from Douglas, Arizona, who 
earlier this month was awarded a prestigious ``genius grant'' by the 
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. I can't think of anyone 
more deserving of this recognition, for I have seen the fruits of 
Bill's particular vision and genius first hand.
  Bill and I have a few things in common: We both grew up on family 
ranches in southeastern Arizona, and we both have an abiding faith in 
the bedrock values of hard work, individual liberty, and personal 
responsibility. We also share a love for the land which, in Bill's 
case, has sustained his family for five generations.
  To appreciate the true significance of the accomplishment for which 
Bill has been recognized, one must first understand that there is a 
real Range War raging through the American West today. It is a classic 
conflict that pits certain environmentalists against the cattle 
ranching industry, and federal land managers have been caught in the 
crossfire.
  Bill decided to reject the old paradigm and try something new. With 
true pioneering spirit, he established the Malpai Borderlands Group, a 
group of neighboring ranchers whose properties, along with adjacent 
public lands, comprise about one million acres of contiguous territory 
in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
  Under Bill's leadership, and in cooperation with various federal land 
management agencies, conservationists and scientists, the Malpai 
Borderlands Group ranchers have developed an innovative, voluntary land 
management strategy. They also have funded programs to identify and 
protect endangered species on their land.
  Through a unique, cooperative grass banking program, participating 
ranchers are permitted to graze their cattle on one another's property. 
This eliminates problems, such as erosion and habitat destruction, that 
can result from overgrazing.
  Group members also have pooled resources to support experimental land 
management programs, including the replanting of native grasses. And 
they have agreed to establish permanent conservation easements to 
prevent the open range from being subdivided for residential 
development.
  Bill and his neighbors have demonstrated that cattle ranching can be 
both economically rewarding and ecologically responsible. And the 
Malpai Borderlands Group that he founded is proof positive that 
ranchers, acting with enlightened self interest, can be the best 
stewards of the land they love.

                          ____________________