[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E611-E612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO COOPERATION IN RESTORATION OF DAMAGED PUBLIC LANDS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, the public lands are the property 
of all the American people, and we all have a stake in their condition. 
That's why it's encouraging to see various groups working together to 
remedy problems on those lands.

[[Page E612]]

  Just last week, for example, members of the Longmont-based Trailridge 
Runners Four-Wheel Drive Club joined Sierra Clubbers, other 
environmentalists, and U.S. Forest Service employees to help restore a 
degraded meadow in the Lefthand Canyon area of the Arapaho-Roosevelt 
National Forest, in Colorado. Volunteers helped grade and reseed areas 
of the meadow that have been eroded by four-wheeling activities. The 
impetus for this was a $250,000 grant procured by the four-wheel group.
  Their efforts drew the attention of the Daily Camera in Boulder, 
which praised them in an editorial that rightly noted the ``The land 
doesn't care if we're Democrats or Republicans, recreationalists or 
preservationists, bird watchers or mountain bikers. And no matter how 
gingerly we tread, all who use public lands contribute to the impacts. 
And coming together to help heal the land beats pointing fingers any 
day.''
  I join in congratulating this exemplary cooperative effort. For the 
benefit of our colleagues, I am attaching the full text of the Camera's 
editorial.

        [From the Boulder, Colorado Daily Camera, Apr. 21, 2004]

                          Seeds of Cooperation


              Land is the beneficiary of volunteer efforts

       Especially when budgets are tight at the local, state and 
     federal levels, our public lands can use all the help they 
     can get.
       So it's nice to know that volunteers are so often willing 
     to invest their own sweat, time and scraped knuckles in 
     personal stewardship when public money isn't there. They 
     can't fill all the gaps, but every bit helps.
       And it's even better when disparate groups--even 
     antagonists--can all agree that whatever their differences, 
     it's the land that matters. That was the case Saturday, when 
     members of the Longmont-based Trailridge Runners Four-Wheel 
     Drive Club joined Sierra Clubbers, other environmentalists, 
     and U.S. Forest Service employees to help restore a degraded 
     meadow in Lefthand Canyon.
       The impetus for this laudable cooperation was a $250,000 
     grant procured by the four-wheel group. Volunteers helped 
     grade and reseed areas of the meadow that have been eroded by 
     four-wheeling activities.
       Groups that often come under fire for most environmental 
     degradation--though the culprits are usually a small 
     minority--increasingly recognize the value of reaching out 
     and caring for the land. In this case, it's four-wheelers, 
     but on Boulder Open Space, dog advocates routinely hold mass 
     poop baggings, and a group of trail runners last fall pitched 
     in a remarkable 180 hours of trail work in exchange for 
     permission to hold a grueling race up Mt. Sanitas.
       The land doesn't care if we're Democrats or Republicans, 
     recreationalists or preservationists, bird watchers or 
     mountain bikers. And no matter how gingerly we tread, all who 
     use public lands contribute to the impacts. And coming 
     together to help heal the land beats pointing fingers any 
     day.

                          ____________________