[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1341-E1342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 4143, THE GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 
                        BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 1998

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area 
(GGNRA) is a true national treasure. It provides open space and 
recreation in the midst of a densely populated urban area, and it is 
one of our Nation's most used national parks. I rise today to urge my 
colleagues to support legislation which would expand the boundaries of 
the GGNRA to include an additional 1,300 acres of land adjacent to 
existing GGNRA parkland.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation has bipartisan support and the support 
of the entire Bay Area Congressional Delegation. Joining me as 
cosponsors of this legislation are Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congressman Tom Campbell, Congressman George 
Miller, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Congressman Pete Stark, 
Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and 
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
  H.R. 4143, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Boundary 
Adjustment Act, will permit the National Park Service to acquire 
carefully selected natural areas in San Mateo County, primarily in the 
area in and around the City of Pacifica. National Park Service 
officials in the Bay Area conducted a boundary study to evaluate the 
desirability of including additional lands in and around Pacifica 
within the GGNRA. During the preparation of the Park Service study, a 
public forum was held to gather comments from area residents, and local 
input was reflected in the final study. The Pacifica City Council 
adopted a resolution endorsing the addition of these areas to the 
GGNRA. The GGNRA and the Point Reyes National Seashore Advisory 
Commission also urged the addition of these new areas to the park.
  H.R. 4143 expands the boundary of GGNRA to permit the inclusion of 
lands directly adjacent to existing parkland as well as nearby lands 
along the Pacific Ocean. The upper parcels of land offer beautiful 
vistas, sweeping coastal views, and spectacular headland scenery. 
Inclusion of these lands would also protect the important habitats of 
several species of rare or endangered plants and animals. The 
legislation would also offer improved access to existing trails and 
beach paths and would protect important ecosystems from encroaching 
development.
  The GGNRA Boundary Adjustment Act would also permit the inclusion of 
beautiful headlands along the coast into GGNRA. The coastal headlands 
of San Pedro Point, the Rockaway Headland, Northern Coastal Bluffs, and 
the Bowl & the Fish would be included in the GGNRA under this 
legislation. These parcels would offer park visitors scenic panoramas 
up and down the coast, views of tide pools and offshore rocks, sweeping 
views of GGNRA ridges to the east, as well as additional access to the 
Pacific Ocean.
  Mr. Speaker, throughout my service in Congress, I have had a strong 
interest in preserving the unique natural areas of the Peninsula. In 
the early 1980's, I fought for the inclusion in GGNRA of Sweeney Ridge, 
which includes the site from which Spanish explorers first sighted the 
San Francisco Bay in the 18th century. The ridge affords a unique 
panorama of the entire Bay. The Interior Secretary at that time, James 
Watt, refused to include Sweeney Ridge in the GGNRA. In 1984, in the 
face of a long and hard battle waged by myself and former Congressmen 
Leo Ryan and Phil Burton, the Reagan Administration acquiesced, and 
Sweeney Ridge became a part of our protected natural heritage.
  In the early 1990's, I authored and secured passage of legislation to 
add the Phleger Estate to the GGNRA. The Phleger Estate includes over a 
thousand acres of pristine second-growth redwoods and evergreen forests 
adjacent to the Crystal Springs watershed in the mid-Peninsula. The 
Federal Government paid one-half of the cost of acquiring the Phleger 
Estate. The other half of the cost was paid for through private 
contributions raised by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). My 
distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, played a key role in 
winning congressional approval of the Federal Government's share of the 
purchase. The Phleger Estate is now part of the GGNRA and it has become 
an important hiking and recreation area on the Peninsula.
  Mr. Speaker, preserving our country's unique natural areas must be 
one of our highest national priorities, and it is one of my highest 
priorities as a Member of Congress. We must preserve and protect these 
areas for our children and our grandchildren today or they will be lost 
forever. Adding these new lands in and around Pacifica to the GGNRA 
will allow us to protect these fragile areas from development or other 
inappropriate uses which would destroy the scenic beauty and natural 
character of this key part of the Bay Area. I urge my colleagues to 
support passage of H.R. 4143, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area 
Boundary Adjustment Act.

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