[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 108 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1541-E1542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2004

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2691) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and 
     for other purposes:
  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support 
Representative Mark Udall's amendment to stop the giveaway of millions 
of acres of public lands across the West. The Udall amendment will 
restrict funding for a January 2003 rule published by the Bureau of 
Land Management that facilitates the construction roads across some of 
our most sensitive and pristine federal lands.
  The Bush Administration and Secretary Norton are currently engaged in 
an unprecedented assault on our nation's natural heritage. In their 
concerted effort to undermine the protection of America's public lands, 
they have gone farther than James Watt ever dared.
  This rule endangers our public lands across the West, including some 
of this nation's most outstanding national parks, wildlife refuges, 
wilderness areas, national monuments, and national forests. The 
uncontrolled road building that this rule invites would cause 
irreparable harm in sensitive watersheds, undeveloped fish and wildlife 
habitat, historical and archaeological resources, and sensitive 
coastlines and wetlands.
  As the sponsor of America's Redrock Wilderness Act, to protect Utah's 
wilderness quality public lands, I am particularly concerned about the 
potentially devastating impact of this rule in Utah. Approximately 10 
million acres of Utah's federal lands that are eligible for wilderness 
designation would be open to road right-of-way claims under BLM's rule. 
There are an estimated 15,000 road claims in Utah, and off-road-vehicle 
groups have targeted areas within my wilderness proposal for motorized 
vehicle access, including the Grandstaircase Escalante National 
Monument.
  These claims have nothing to do with legitimate access--this is about 
bulldozing and paving thousands of miles of new roads across some of 
this country's most pristine lands and protected areas. With this rule 
the Administration has provided opponents of wilderness with a tool to 
punch roads through pristine lands in an attempt to disqualify the 
impacted areas from future wilderness consideration by Congress.
  Encouraged by the Administration's rule, counties, organizations and 
individuals are asserting spurious road-building rights-of-way claims 
for cow paths, horse trails, river beds, dirt bike and off-road vehicle 
routes, as well as for dogsled trails and for overgrown and nearly

[[Page E1542]]

indistinguishable trails long ago abandoned by prospecting miners. 
These aren't legitimate roads.
  Back in May, along with Representative Udall, I sent a letter to 
Secretary Norton--signed by 100 members of the House, including the 
ranking member of this subcommittee, Mr. Dicks and the ranking member 
of the Resources committee, Mr. Rahall--urging the Administration to 
reconsider this rule. It has been nearly 2 months since we sent this 
letter and there has been no response.
  It's time for Congress to send Secretary Norton and the White House a 
clear message that they can't ignore--the assaults on our public lands 
and wilderness must stop. Let's ensure that our publicly owned lands 
throughout the West--including Utah's unique public lands--are 
protected for future generations of Americans. Support the Udall 
amendment and oppose the Taylor substitute.

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