[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 8, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H7961-H7962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            STEENS MOUNTAIN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, last weekend I had the great 
fortune of visiting with the ranchers and individual citizens who live 
on and around Steens Mountain in Harney County.
  I traveled many miles over a majestic loop road that takes in the 
magnificent views of the vistas overlooking the Kiger Gorge and the 
Alvord Desert and the Little Blitzen Gorge. I also flew over these 
breathtaking areas and actually got on a horse and rode to the 
ridgetops of the Roaring Springs Ranch to look at the Steens Mountains.
  Many individuals who live on and around the mountain accompanied me 
as we looked at the management and multiple uses occurring on Steens 
Mountain. These farmers, ranchers, guides and others are the ones whose 
livelihoods would be significantly affected by actions of those who are 
thousands of miles away, those who perhaps have never seen the Steens 
or set foot on its soil.
  Let me tell my colleagues like Steve Hammond, who is the latest 
generation in his family to ranch and raise his family on the Steens or 
Fred Otley, who works early mornings and late nights on his family's 
ranch taking care of the cattle while handling the politics of the 
mountain, all the while seeking new and improved range management 
techniques or Dan Nichols, a rancher and county commissioner who is 
involved in the tourist industry through his family's bed and breakfast 
and an excellent one I must say, while still trying to manage the 
affairs of the county; Stacey Davies, a young ranch manager who with 
his wife Elaine is

[[Page H7962]]

raising their 6 boys on one of the largest ranches in Oregon and who is 
incorporating some research and science and active management 
principles that are an important part of the ecology of the mountain; 
John and Cindy Witzel, a young couple who know the mountain as well as 
part of their packing and guiding business.
  These are but a few of the many people with whom I spoke and met as I 
traveled around Steens Mountain this weekend. All of them know the 
mountain intimately, and each has a unique story to tell.
  The underlying reason for my visit to the Steens is that the 
Secretary of the Interior threatens to unilaterally put down some 
designation before he leaves office if the Congress does not do so 
before that time.
  Well, after visiting the mountain, I found myself asking from what or 
from whom are we trying to protect the Steens? Do we truly need a new 
designation? What will the effects of a designation be? Will the Steens 
be better off if they are declared a national monument that will 
thereby draw thousands if not tens of thousands of tourists to this 
very pristine and remote area of southeastern Oregon? How many more 
roads and restrooms and paving and guardrails and everything else would 
we need for the mountain to accommodate such an influx of tourists?
  I wonder if the visitor to Yosemite National Park would find it a 
better experience today than it was prior to the influx of probably 
hundreds of thousands of tourists.
  Steens Mountain is a patchwork of private and Federal lands. The 
management of the mountain depends on cooperative partnerships between 
those private landowners and the Federal land managers. The success of 
this partnership lies in the ability of the private landowners to work 
with their Federal neighbors and for their Federal neighbors to be good 
neighbors.
  There are many excellent management techniques being practiced on the 
mountain today from proscribed burns to stream restoration work and 
monitoring. The health of the mountain is in an upward trend with 
private land owners playing an active and an important role in 
promoting sound stewardship on the mountain.
  Before someone blindly places a Federal designation on the Steens 
Mountain for the sake of a designation, we need to carefully ask does 
the mountain need additional protections. From what I saw, I am not 
convinced it does.
  However, if it is determined that greater protections are warranted, 
let us take the time to carefully consider the needs of both the 
mountain and those whose livelihoods defend on it for ranching, for 
recreation, and for tourism. Let us not spoil Steens Mountain.
  The successful management of the Steens, with or without some form of 
national designation, depends upon the close cooperation of the private 
landowners and those in the community who live on and around the 
mountain. Now is not the time for the Federal Government to shove some 
designation down their throats.

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