[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2466) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and 
     for other purposes.

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my support for the 
amendment offered by the gentleman from California.
  Mr. Chairman, we don't need any more timber roads. Construction of 
timber roads uses U.S. taxpayer dollars to pay for the business costs 
of the timber industry, and results in the degradation of soil, water 
quality and wildlife habitat.
  We have over 440,000 miles of roads in our National Forests, the vast 
majority of which are for logging. If you pull out your calculator, Mr. 
Chairman, you'll find that 440,000 miles is enough to encircle the 
globe 17 times; that's ten times more road miles than we have in the 
Interstate Highway System.
  These timber roads initiate erosion of soil, deposit sedimentation 
into streams, damage water quality, degrade fish habitat, fragment 
wildlife habitat, disrupt wildlife migration routes, and destroy the 
quiet beauty of our National Forests. The taxpayer ends up paying the 
cost for these damages--and too often the damage cannot be undone. 
These timber roads also give timber companies subsidized access to our 
natural resources. I don't think that's smart horse-trading, Mr. 
Chairman.
  Over the recent recess I took a three-day hiking and horseback trip 
through some of the beautiful federal lands in my home state of 
Colorado. Over each hilltop, crossing each stream and river, coming 
across beautiful vistas, one after another--I found myself thinking 
what an unforgivable crime it would be to squander these resources. The 
next time my colleagues return to their districts, I urge them to take 
to the natural areas, and see first hand what I'm speaking about. I 
returned from my trip resolved to redouble my attempts to conserve 
these resources for future generations.
  And I believe a good place to start is to eliminate the subsidized 
creation of more timber roads. I urge my colleagues to support the 
Miller amendment to protect roadless areas in our National Forest 
System.

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