[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E215-E216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  KOOTENAI VALLEY RESOURCE INITIATIVE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. C.L. ``BUTCH'' OTTER

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 2004

  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the 
House a shining example of our great experiment in democracy. The 
Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative came to life in 2001, the result of 
collaboration between the Boundary County Board of Commissioners, the 
City of Bonners Ferry, and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. The mission of 
the KVRI is to act as a locally based effort to improve coordination, 
integration, and implementation of existing local, state, and federal 
programs that can effectively maintain, enhance,

[[Page E216]]

and restore the social, cultural, economic, and natural resource bases 
in their community. Mr. Speaker, after personally viewing this group in 
action, I am happy to report this is a successful endeavor.
  The KVRI membership consists of private citizens and landowners, 
local governments, federal and state agencies, an environmental 
advocacy group, and Indian Nation, and representatives of business and 
industry within the lower Kootenai basin of Idaho. The Initiative is a 
sign of tremendous change in Boundary County. It signals a move from 
combat to collaboration and should serve as a model for other 
communities around the country with severe contention over natural 
resource issues. The members of the KVRI work hard to find areas of 
common concern with which they, as a community, can pursue solutions to 
challenges such as fisheries recovery, flood flow elevations, TMDL 
planning, and the development of a wetland conservation strategy.
  Mr. Speaker, the collaborative spirit of the KVRI, and its members' 
determination to find common sense solutions that move the community 
forward, should serve as an inspiration to us all. I would like to 
thank the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative for demonstrating how 
this great experiment in democracy is supposed to function.

                          ____________________