[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 19, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S5802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 2440. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of certain land 
adjacent to the Walnut Canyon National Monument in the State of 
Arizona; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
authorize a special land resource study for the Walnut Canyon National 
Monument in Arizona. The study is intended to evaluate whether Federal 
and State lands adjacent to the monument should be managed as part of 
the monument, and to provide recommendations for management options.
  For several years, local communities adjacent to the Walnut Canyon 
National Monument have debated whether the land surrounding the 
monument would be best served by protection from future development and 
managed by the U.S. Forest Service or the National Park Service. The 
Coconino County Board and the Flagstaff City Council have passed 
resolutions concluding that the preferred method to determine what is 
best for the land surrounding the Walnut Canyon National Monument is by 
having a Federal study conducted. The recommendations from such a study 
would resolve the question of future management and whether the 
monument should be expanded.
  The legislation also directs the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to provide recommendations for management 
options for maintenance of the public uses and protection of resources 
of the study area.
  This legislation would provide a mechanism for determining the 
management options for one of Arizona's high uses scenic areas and 
protect the natural resources of this incredibly beautiful monument. 
Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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