[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9589-S9590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  VALUE OF PUBLIC LANDS, NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2002

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, last Saturday was National Public Lands 
Day. It was a time for volunteers in states and communities across the 
country to give something back to America's public lands. National 
Public Lands Day is the largest grassroots, volunteer effort mounted on 
behalf of America's public parks, rivers, lakes, forest, rangelands, 
and beaches.
  This year's National Public Lands Day theme was ``Explore America's 
Backyard,'' recognizing that many volunteers go to nearby public lands 
for recreation and to enjoy the outdoors. These volunteers will put in 
a day of real work on needed projects ranging from trail construction 
and repairs to habitat restoration to making public lands more 
accessible for disabled visitors.
  This year's signature event was held at Anacostia Park in Washington, 
D.C. where over 400 volunteers cleared brush, removed trash and debris, 
planted trees and grasses, and constructed benches and boardwalk 
trails. These volunteers were joined by key dignitaries: Washington, 
D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, the current Miss USA, Shauntay Hinton, 
National Park Service Director Fran Mainella, Forest

[[Page S9590]]

Service Assistant Chief Sally Collins, and Army Corps of Engineers 
Brigadier General Carl Strock.
  The first National Public Lands Day, in 1994, was sponsored by three 
Federal agencies and attracted 700 volunteers in three sites. This year 
marks the ninth annual event which involved approximately 70,000 
volunteers, who performed over eight million dollar's worth of 
improvements to our public lands at nearly 500 locations in every 
state. This effort involved over 19 Federal, State, local, and private 
partners on sites identified by eight Federal agencies.
  I believe National Public Lands Day is an opportunity to build a 
sense of ownership by Americans--through personal involvement and 
conservation education.
  In recognition of National Public Lands Day and this sense of 
ownership we should all have for our public lands, I want to spend a 
few minutes today and reflect on the value of our public lands and on 
what the future holds for them.
  There are around 650 million acres of public lands in the United 
States. This represents a major portion of our total land mass. 
However, most of these lands are concentrated in the West, where as 
much as 82 percent of a state can be composed of Federal land. In fact, 
63 percent of my own home State of Idaho is owned by the Federal 
Government.
  This can be beneficial, as our public lands have a lot to offer. For 
starters, there are numerous resources available on our public lands--
from renewable forests to opportunities to raise livestock to oil and 
minerals beneath the surface--public lands hold a great deal of the 
resources we all depend on to live the lives we enjoy.
  Having resources available on public lands affords us the opportunity 
for a return on those resources to help fund government services, from 
schools to roads to national defense, and ease the burden on taxpayers.
  Just as important, though, are the recreation opportunities our 
public lands offer. Every day, people hike and pack into the solitude 
of wilderness areas, climb rocks, ski, camp, snowmobile, use off-road 
vehicles, hunt, fish, picnic, boat, swim, and the list goes on. Because 
the lands are owned by all of us, the opportunity has existed for 
everyone to use the land within reasonable limits.
  However, times are changing. We are in the midst of a slow and 
methodical attack on our access to public lands. It started with the 
resources industries. It will not stop there. At the same time some 
radical groups are fighting to halt all resource management on our 
public lands, they are working to restrict and, in some cases, 
eliminate human access to our public lands for recreation.
  Yes, we must manage our public lands responsibly, which includes 
restrictions on some activities in some areas. What we must not do is 
unreasonably restrict or eliminate certain activities. Some people like 
to hike in backcountry areas where they can find peace and solitude 
while others prefer to ride ATVs into the woods. Some prefer to camp in 
more developed facilities while others prefer primitive spots. The 
point is that recreational opportunities on our public lands should be 
as diverse as the American public's interests.
  On the same note, we can use the natural resources we need in an 
environmentally responsible manner and still have plenty of 
opportunities to recreate. In fact, recreation, resource, and 
environmental interests can team together to help each other out. In my 
own State of Idaho, on the Nez Perce National Forest, representatives 
of these interests and many others have come together through a 
stewardship project. These groups are working with the Forest Service 
to implement a project that works for everyone and addresses all of 
their needs in some fashion. In order to achieve such success, each 
group has had to compromise to agree on a prescription that works for 
everyone. This is just one example of differing interests working 
together to help each other out and improve the opportunities on our 
public lands for everyone. We need to see more of this around the 
country.
  Public land management has become embroiled in fights, appeals, and 
litigation. The result is that the only ones who are winning are those 
who want to ensure we don't use our public lands. This must stop. 
Differing interests have to come together and realize that we all have 
one common goal--use of the land in a responsible manner. We can not 
continue to make the same mistakes of the past on our public lands.
  That being said, I would like each of my colleagues to think about 
how public lands benefit their state and how they might work to support 
the new generation that is working to make each day National Public 
Lands Day.

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