[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE OMNIBUS NATIONAL PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS BILL OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES V. HANSEN

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 15, 1998

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I introduce 
today the National Parks and Public Lands Omnibus Bill of 1998. This is 
a very good and necessary bill that addresses a variety of important 
concerns and issues dealing with National Parks, wild and scenic 
rivers, heritage areas, National Forests, and many other public lands. 
This bill is a compilation of a number of resource related bills, most 
of which have gone through individual hearings and followed the 
legislative process. Numerous Members of Congress are to be commended 
and congratulated for their hard work on the single parts of this bill 
which, together, make this a landmark piece of legislation. The far-
reaching Omnibus National Parks and Public Lands Bill accomplishes many 
goals and addresses a multitude of public lands concerns to assure that 
our cherished parks and public lands, many of them national treasures, 
are protected, expanded, and improved. It also creates new and 
important historic sites, heritage areas, and wilderness areas so that 
the American public can enjoy, benefit, and use these extraordinary 
natural and historic resources.
  Furthermore, the wonderful natural and significant historic areas 
that the Omnibus National Parks and Public Lands Bill protects and 
creates, span the breadth of this great country of ours. In fact, it 
deals with resource issues and areas in over 305 States--from wild and 
scenic rivers in Massachusetts, to creating wilderness areas in 
California, to studying Midway Island, far out in the Pacific Ocean, 
from the Everglades of Florida to Mount St. Helens in the State of 
Washington.
  Of equal breadth and scope is the variety of issues and areas that 
this bill addresses. For example, the Omnibus Bill will assure a fair 
and equitable land exchange dealing with hundreds of thousands of acres 
of school trust lands in Utah while also authorizing an innovative 
approach to land management in Utah's spectacular San Rafael Swell 
area. It will create new trails across the United States and authorize 
the construction of a trails interpretive center. These trails will 
bring years of enjoyment to those who wish to hike across the entire 
United States or for those who just want to take a few steps on trails 
that the American pioneers made on their courageous treks to settle 
this country.
  In addition, this bill establishes new affiliated units of the 
National Park System, like a historic site which will honor America's 
most prominent landscape artist, Thomas Cole. Other affiliated areas 
include the unique and innovative Eastside Tenement Museum in the heart 
of New York City and the important Casa Malpais Indian ruins in the 
middle of picturesque rural Arizona.
  This bill also re-authorizes and extends a number of Commissions 
which were established to better manage many of our park units or 
affiliated areas, like the Delaware Water Gap and the Illinois-Michigan 
Heritage Corridor. Moreover, it expands many of the existing National 
Park units, like the unique and beautiful Arches National Park in Utah, 
the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Fort Davis Historic Site in Texas, 
the Morristown Historic Site in New Jersey, the George Washington 
Boyhood Farm in Virginia, and Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace in Kentucky.
  The Omnibus National Parks and Public Lands Bill of 1998 provides for 
many land exchanges which help Federal agencies better manage their 
resources, it authorizes a memorial to a great world leader, Mahatma 
Gandhi, it establishes a cave and karst research center. In addition, 
this bill makes needed technical corrections to previous laws, it 
establishes new heritage areas and new historic sites and even 
authorizes construction of a new visitor's center for the Independence 
Mall so that the public can better interpret and marvel at the history 
and people behind founding of this great country.
  The paragraphs above outline just some of the many things that this 
bill accomplishes. In fact, the Omnibus National Parks and Public Lands 
Bill of 1998 does more than any other single piece of legislation 
could, in order to ensure that the management and creation of America's 
parks and public lands remains a top priority of this Congress. It 
creates new National Park units, new wilderness areas, new historic 
sites, and new heritage areas. It expands existing National Parks, 
authorizes land exchanges and conveyances, and makes numerous and 
necessary technical changes to existing laws so that parks can operate 
more efficiently. In short, this bill assures that our country's 
magnificent historical, cultural, and natural resources and areas will 
be protected and managed effectively now and in the future.

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