[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H526-H527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON LAND CONVEYANCE
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 714) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of
Bureau of Land Management land in Douglas County, Oregon, to the county
to improve management of and recreational access to the Oregon Dunes
National Recreation Area, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 714
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN
DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON.
(a) In General.--
(1) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
convey, without consideration and subject to valid existing
rights, to Douglas County, Oregon (referred to in this
section as the ``County''), all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to the parcel described in paragraph
(2) for use by the County for recreational purposes.
(2) Parcel.--The parcel referred to in paragraph (1) is the
parcel of land consisting of approximately 68.8 acres under
the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land
Management, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``S.
714, Douglas County, Oregon Land Conveyance'', dated May 21,
2003.
(b) Purposes of Conveyance.--The purposes of the conveyance
under subsection (a) are to improve management of and
recreational access to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation
Area by--
(1) improving public safety and reducing traffic congestion
along Salmon Harbor Drive (County Road No. 251) in the
County;
(2) providing a staging area for off-highway vehicles; and
(3) facilitating policing of unlawful camping and parking
along Salmon Harbor Drive and adjacent areas.
(c) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the
parcel to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be
determined by a survey--
(1) that is satisfactory to the Secretary; and
(2) the cost of which shall be paid by the County.
(d) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may
require such additional terms and conditions in connection
with the conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary
considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United
States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).
General Leave
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 714, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 714, introduced by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, and
amended by the Senate, would provide for the conveyance of 69 acres of
BLM land in Douglas County, Oregon, to improve management of and
recreational access to the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area.
Mr. Speaker, the intended effect of transferring this tract of BLM
land would be to move recreational traffic off of Salmon Harbor Drive
and out of the nearby communities. Currently, OHV users illegally park
on Salmon River Drive, creating a public nuisance and safety hazard.
The legislation would allow for a staging area for off-highway vehicles
and provide improved access to the Oregon Dunes for other visitors,
such as hikers and backpackers.
Mr. Speaker, S. 714, as amended, is supported by the administration,
has broad bipartisan support from the Oregon delegation, and I urge
adoption of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my strongest support
for this proposed bill, Senate bill 714, as it was originally
introduced by the good Senator from the State of Oregon, Mr. Wyden.
Mr. Speaker, the transferring of a small parcel of land to Douglas
County will resolve a difficult safety issue that has arisen regarding
the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. The land in question has
been identified by the BLM for disposal. The Committee on Resources
approved similar legislation during the previous Congress, and now
Senate bill 714 passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
I also want to commend the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) for
his sponsorship of this bill, which is a companion bill that was
introduced as well, and I certainly commend him for his tireless
efforts on behalf of this legislation and his commitment to resolving
this problem not only for his constituents, but others who want to
visit his beautiful area.
I urge my colleagues to support this Senate bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time, and I thank my colleagues for considering this legislation today
and certainly hope that it is successfully passed by the House later
this evening.
Mr. Speaker, this is an issue upon which I and other members of the
Oregon delegation have been working for a number of years. The issue of
Winchester Bay, Salmon Harbor, and the Dunes access, which is an
extremely popular OHV area, has been a growing problem because of the
growing popularity. This is sort of a bright light on the coast of
Oregon where the economy has been lagging and so many other industries
are in a depressed state. The tourism and the support this provides for
local community and small businesses is very welcome.
What has been happening is that, because of a county campground
nearer to the harbor and other camping, a number of people have been
driving their OHVs actually on the road to access the nearest point
into the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. That causes obviously
congestion, conflicts with other vehicles on the road, and in some
cases has been very problematic in the community and been a law
enforcement problem on some of the big holiday weekends. This could be
easily rectified, and hopefully will be today, by transferring this
parcel of land.
I visited the parcel in question. It is extraordinarily underutilized
at the moment. It is virtually unpoliced because of the cutbacks in BLM
law enforcement and Forest Service law enforcement because of the
Federal budget. There have been problems there with illegal camping,
with the use of
[[Page H527]]
fires in areas that are not contained, and with the dumping of trash.
If we are successful in implementing this legislation today, we will
see control pass to the county who will properly police it, who will
develop it into a regular campsite, and who will provide excellent
access for OHV users without having to drive on the public roads. They
will be directly adjacent to the Dunes National Recreation Area.
This legislation, as passed by the Senate, is identical to
legislation introduced into the House, H.R. 514, by myself and the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden). So since this is identical, and I
believe it enjoys extraordinary widespread and bipartisan support, as
the gentleman from Arizona already pointed out. I would recommend this
legislation to my colleagues and urge that everyone vote in its favor
so that we can enhance these recreational opportunities and protect the
public health and safety and do just a little bit to help the economy
of the south coast of Oregon.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his generous grant of time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume to again commend the gentleman from Arizona for his management
of this proposed bill, and also thank my good friend, the gentleman
from Oregon, for his insights and understanding of the bill and what it
will do to benefit the people of Oregon.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional 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 Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the Senate bill, S. 714, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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