[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 30, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1697-H1698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     GUNN McKAY NATURE PRESERVE ACT

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3909) to designate certain Federal lands in the State of 
Utah as the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3909

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Gunn McKay Nature Preserve 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act:
       (1) Preserve.--The term ``Preserve'' means the Gunn McKay 
     Nature Preserve as so designated by section 3(a).
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.

     SEC. 3. NATURE PRESERVE.

       (a) Designation.--The approximately 15 acres of National 
     Forest System land generally depicted on the map entitled 
     ``Proposed Gunn McKay Nature Preserve'' and dated March 2002, 
     are hereby designated as the ``Gunn McKay Nature Preserve''.
       (b) Management.--
       (1) Management plan.--Not later than 120 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 
     consultation with the City of Huntsville, Utah, and the Gunn 
     McKay Nature Preserve Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 
     corporation, shall develop a management plan for the 
     Preserve.
       (2) Cooperative agreement.--The Secretary is authorized to 
     enter into a cooperative agreement with the Gunn McKay Nature 
     Preserve Foundation, Inc. for the management of the Preserve.
       (c) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
     Preserve is hereby withdrawn from all forms of location, 
     entry, and patent under the public land laws, and the mining 
     and mineral leasing laws of the United States, including 
     geothermal.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3909 would designate approximately 15 acres of 
Forest Service land in the State of Utah as the Gunn McKay Nature 
Preserve in honor of my predecessor, who served in this body from 1971 
to 1981. Gunn passed away October of 2000.
  Several years ago, residents of Huntsville, Utah, learned that the 
U.S. Forest Service was planning to build a helicopter landing area. 
The site near the city limits was to have been on undeveloped Federal 
lands and used to facilitate fighting wildfires in the surrounding 
forests.
  Huntsville residents became concerned about helicopters landing and 
taking off in such close proximity in their neighborhoods. They 
proposed to the Forest Service that this open space instead be 
designated as a nature preserve. A non-profit organization was formed 
and the Forest Service agreed with the residents' proposal.
  In addition to designating 15 acres as the nature preserve, this bill 
authorizes the Forest Service to work with the city of Huntsville and 
the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve Foundation to develop a management plan.
  The preserve would be managed by the U.S. Forest Service in 
cooperation

[[Page H1698]]

with the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve Foundation. This area will not only 
serve as a buffer between the residential area of Huntsville and nearby 
Pineview Reservoir, but it will also stand as a fitting tribute to a 
man whose commitment to Utah's First Congressional District and 
preservation of Utah's natural beauty was outstanding. When visitors go 
to the preserve to contemplate the solitude, hike on the trails or just 
enjoy nature, they will also pass by a plaque in the entrance 
summarizing Gunn's life and many accomplishments.
  Just as the preserve will be managed in perpetuity, so will Gunn's 
memory live on.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3909.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my chairman in 
support of H.R. 3909, the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve Act, which was 
introduced by the chairman of the Committee on Resources, the gentleman 
from Utah (Mr. Hansen), in honor of former Congressman Gunn McKay.
  Congressman McKay represented Utah's First Congressional District 
from 1971 until 1980 when he was defeated by the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Hansen). The bill would designate 15 acres of land near 
Huntsville, Utah, as the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve. The land is 
presently managed by the Forest Service for recreational purposes. The 
Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the city of Huntsville, 
Utah, and the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve Foundation would develop the 
plan for the preserve. No new mining claims would be permitted within 
the area.
  This bill honors Congressman McKay, who died last year. I urge the 
adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman 
from Utah (Mr. Matheson).
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give my support to this 
legislation.
  When we talk about public land in Utah, we are used to speaking in 
terms of 100,000 acres or million-acre parcels. We speak in terms of 
mountain ranges, entire deserts, and swaths of forests. But today, we 
are giving our blessing to the setting aside of a relatively small but 
immensely beautiful and important piece of land.
  The creation of the Gunn McKay Nature Preserve would protect 15 acres 
of forest land in Huntsville, Utah. Mr. Speaker, Gunn McKay was a 
devoted member of the Utah delegation, and he served our State with 
honor and dignity from 1971 to 1981.
  He was a Coast Guard veteran, a school teacher, a successful 
businessman, and a chief of staff for Utah Governor Cal Rampton.
  Although he told the Democratic leader, ``I do not want to run for 
Congress; I have nine kids and a mortgage,'' run he did. A few terms 
later he was the senior member of Utah's congressional delegation, a 
member of the House Committee on Appropriations, and a champion for the 
people of his district.
  Congressman McKay was a true public servant. He was quoted in one 
newspaper article a few years ago saying, ``The greatest satisfaction 
was helping people who needed an advocate.''
  This refuge will not only serve as a lasting memorial to the work and 
dedication of Congressman McKay, it is also a testament to the 
statesmanship of the chairman, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen). 
Too often in politics we get caught up in petty political squabbles. We 
lose sight of the bigger picture, of getting important work done for 
the good of our constituents. The passage of this bill shows that the 
chairman has not lost sight of the goal. He is a true gentleman of the 
House, and he spent the last 20 years representing the State of Utah 
with the class and dignity that is true to the people who have elected 
him.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks. I also thank 
my colleague, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen), on this piece of legislation.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3909.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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