[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 49 (Thursday, April 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4129-S4131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Wyden, Mr. 
        Lautenberg, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
        Kennedy, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Feingold, and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 882. A bill to designate certain Federal land in the State of Utah 
as wilderness, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce America's Red 
Rock Wilderness Act of 2005. This legislation continues our Nation's 
commitment to preserve our natural heritage. Preservation of our 
Nation's vital natural resources will be one of our most important 
legacies.
  Unfortunately, remaining wilderness areas are increasingly threatened 
and degraded by oil and gas development, mining, claims of rights of 
way, logging and off-road vehicles. America's Red Rock Wilderness Act 
will designate 9.5 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land 
Management, BLM, in Utah as wilderness under the Wilderness Act. 
Wilderness designation will preserve the land's wilderness character, 
along with the values associated with that wilderness; scenic beauty, 
solitude, wildlife, geological features, archaeological sites, and 
other features of scientific, educational and historical value.
  America's Red Rock Wilderness Act will provide wilderness protection 
for red rock cliffs offering spectacular vistas of rare rock 
formations, canyons and desert lands, important archaeological sites, 
and habitat for rare plant and animal species.
  Volunteers have taken inventories of thousands of square miles of BLM 
land in Utah to help determine which lands should be protected. These 
volunteers provided extensive documentation to ensure that these areas 
meet Federal wilderness criteria. The BLM also completed a reinventory 
of approximately 6 million acres of Federal land in the same area. The 
results provide a convincing confirmation that the areas designated for 
protection under this bill meet Federal wilderness criteria.
  For more than 20 years Utah conservationists have been working to add 
the last great blocks of undeveloped BLM-administered land in Utah to 
the National Wilderness Preservation System. The lands proposed for 
protection

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surround and connect eight of Utah's nine national park, monument and 
recreation areas. These proposed BLM wilderness areas easily equal 
their neighboring national parklands in scenic beauty, opportunities 
for recreation, and ecological importance. Yet, unlike the parks, most 
of these scenic treasures lack any form of long-term protection.
  While my legislation would unambiguously protect Utah's red rock 
wilderness, the question of preserving these lands for future 
generations now also looms before the BLM. Not since the BLM conducted 
its inventories of Utah public lands in the early 1980s has the agency 
had such a promising opportunity to recognize and care for Utah's 
wilderness. Whether the BLM realizes this opportunity has yet to be 
seen.
  Today, nearly 6 million acres of wildlands that my legislation would 
protect are involved in the BLM's land use planning process. As I 
understand, the BLM will be making lasting decisions about what places 
should be preserved or developed, roaded or left unroaded, or 
designated for off-road vehicle travel. These policies will stand for 
as much as 15 to 20 years, a timespan long enough to leave a lasting 
mark on this landscape.
  We must be clear about the impact of these plans. Fundamentally, the 
administration is choosing how it will act as stewards for our wild and 
scenic places. These plans in Utah will profoundly influence many 
fragile desert lands that would be protected under America's Red Rock 
Wilderness Act. Places like the San Rafael Swell, the Book Cliffs, the 
Canyonlands Basin, and Moab/La Sal Region now hang in the balance.
  I believe Americans understand the need for wise and balanced 
stewardship of these wild landscapes. Unfortunately, the administration 
has proposed little or no serious protections for Utah's most majestic 
places. Instead, the BLM appears to lack a solid conservation ethic and 
routinely favors development and consumptive uses of our wild public 
land.
  The administration has a decidedly different approach on the fate of 
some of our remaining wilderness. Under the Price plan, the BLM leaves 
98 percent of the region's lands in America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, 
outside of already protected areas, open to oil and gas drilling. 
Sadly, the Green River, which cuts deep into the rugged Book Cliffs 
forming the sandstone cliffs of Desolation Canyon, and other natural 
wonders are being jeopardized by the BLM for a negligible amount of 
oil.
  The BLM has made important headway in protecting America's Red Rock 
Wilderness from off-road vehicle abuse, but more can still be done to 
safely and effectively plan for off-road vehicle recreation. Just 5 
years ago, 94 percent of BLM public land in Utah lacked protection from 
motorized vehicle abuse. As open BLM areas, many fragile lands in 
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act and elsewhere were vulnerable to off-
road vehicle abuse. Since this free-for-all era, BLM trail designations 
have helped to educate motorized users and direct use to appropriate 
areas. Stewardship over the long-term is still needed to ensure that 
our wilderness legacy remains intact.
  America's Red Rock Wilderness Act is a lasting gift to the American 
public. By protecting this serene yet wild land we are giving future 
generations the opportunity to enjoy the same untrammeled landscape 
that so many now cherish.
  I'd like to thank all of my colleagues who are original cosponsors of 
this measure this year, many of whom have supported the bill since it 
was first introduced. The original cosponsors of the measure are 
Senators Stabenow, Wyden, Feingold, Lautenberg, Bayh, Leahy, Lieberman, 
Boxer, Kennedy, Reed, Clinton, Corzine and Kerry. Additionally, I would 
like to thank The Utah Wilderness Coalition, which includes The 
Wilderness Society and Sierra Club; The Southern Utah Wilderness 
Alliance; and all of the other national, regional and local, hard-
working groups who, for years, have championed this legislation.
  Theodore Roosevelt once stated:

       The Nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources 
     as assets which it must turn over to the next generation 
     increased and not impaired in value.

  Enactment of this legislation will help us realize Roosevelt's 
vision. In order to protect these precious resources in Utah for future 
generations, I urge my colleagues to support America's Red Rock 
Wilderness Act.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am very pleased to again join the 
senior Senator from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, as an original co-sponsor of 
legislation to designate more than one million acres of Bureau of Land 
Management, BLM, lands in Utah as wilderness.
  I had an opportunity to travel twice to Utah. I viewed firsthand some 
of the lands that would be designated for wilderness under Senator 
Durbin's bill. I was able to view most of the proposed wilderness areas 
from the air, and was able to enhance my understanding through hikes 
outside the Zion National Park on the Dry Creek Bench wilderness unit 
contained in this proposal and inside the Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument to Upper Calf Creek Falls. I also viewed the lands 
proposed for designation in this bill from a river trip down the 
Colorado River, and in the San Rafael Swell with members of the Emery 
County government.
  I support this legislation for a number of reasons, but most of all 
because I have personally seen what is at stake, and I know the 
marvelous resources that Wisconsinites and all Americans own in the BLM 
lands of Southern Utah.
  Second, I support this legislation because I believe it sets the 
broadest and boldest mark for the lands that should be protected in 
Southern Utah. I believe that when the Senate considers wilderness 
legislation it ought to know, as a benchmark, the full measure of those 
lands which are deserving of wilderness protection. This bill 
encompasses all the BLM lands of wilderness quality in Utah. 
Unfortunately, the Senate has not always had the benefit of considering 
wilderness designations for all of the deserving lands in Southern 
Utah. During the 104th Congress, I joined with the former Senator from 
New Jersey, Mr. Bradley, in opposing that Congress's Omnibus Parks 
legislation. It contained provisions, which were eventually removed, 
that many in my home state of Wisconsin believed not only designated as 
wilderness too little of the Bureau of Land Management's holding in 
Utah deserving of such protection, but also substantively changed the 
protections afforded designated lands under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
  The lands of Southern Utah are very special to the people of 
Wisconsin. In writing to me over the last few years, my constituents 
have described these lands as places of solitude, special family 
moments, and incredible beauty. In December 1997, Ron Raunikar of 
Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times wrote:

       Other remaining wilderness in the U.S. is at first 
     daunting, but then endearing and always a treasure for all 
     Americans. The sensually sculpted slickrock of the Colorado 
     Plateau and windswept crag lines of the Great Basin include 
     some of the last of our country's wilderness, which is not 
     fully protected.
       We must ask our elected officials to redress this 
     circumstance, by enacting legislation which would protect 
     those national lands within the boundaries of Utah. This 
     wilderness is a treasure we can lose only once or a legacy we 
     can be forever proud to bestow to our children.

  I believe that the measure being introduced today will accomplish 
that goal. The measure protects wild lands that really are not done 
justice by any description in words. In my trip I found widely varied 
and distinct terrain, remarkable American resources of red rock cliff 
walls, desert, canyons and gorges which encompass the canyon country of 
the Colorado Plateau, the Mojave Desert and portions of the Great 
Basin. The lands also include mountain ranges in western Utah, and 
stark areas like the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. These 
regions appeal to all types of American outdoor interests from hikers 
and sightseers to hunters.
  Phil Haslanger of the Capital Times, answered an important question I 
am often asked when people want to know why a Senator from Wisconsin 
would co-sponsor legislation to protect lands in Utah. He wrote on 
September 13, 1995 simply that:

       ``These are not scenes that you could see in Wisconsin. 
     That's part of what makes them special.''

  He continues, and adds what I think is an even more important reason 
to act to protect these lands than the landscape's uniqueness:


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     ``the fight over wilderness lands in Utah is a test case of 
     sorts. The anti-environmental factions in Congress are trying 
     hard to remove restrictions on development in some of the 
     nation's most splendid areas.''

  Ten years later, Wisconsinites are still watching this test case. I 
believe that Wisconsinites view the outcome of this fight to save 
Utah's lands as a sign of where the Nation is headed with respect to 
its stewardship of natural resources. What Haslanger's comments make 
clear is that while some in Congress may express concern about creating 
new wilderness in Utah, wilderness, as Wisconsinites know, is not 
created by legislation. Legislation to protect existing wilderness 
simply ensures that future generations may have an experience on public 
lands equal to that which is available today. The action of Congress to 
preserve wild lands by extending the protections of the Wilderness Act 
of 1964 will publicly codify that expectation and promise.
  Finally, this legislation has earned my support, and deserves the 
support of others in this body, because all of the acres that will be 
protected under this bill are already public lands held in trust by the 
Federal Government for the people of the United States. Thus, while 
they are physically located in Utah, their preservation is important to 
the citizens of Wisconsin, as it is for other Americans.
  I am eager to work with my colleague from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, to 
protect these lands. I commend him for introducing this measure.
                                 ______