[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1890]]
                      LAS CIENEGAS ENHANCEMENT ACT

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                               speech of

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2006

  Mr. KOLBE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5016, the 
Las Cienegas Enhancement Act.
  I would like to thank Chairman Pombo of the Resources Committee and 
Chairman Walden of the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee for their 
leadership and support of this measure.
  The land exchange in this legislation releases an urban parcel of 
federal land in the path of development, and it puts into federal hands 
an outlying area important for its natural beauty and proximity to the 
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and the Coronado National 
Forest. It will provide hunters and visitors much-needed road access to 
the Whetstone Mountains, a ``sky island'' that is being surrounded by 
development.
  This exchange proposal has been developed through a 4-year 
consultative process. The exchange has the support of the Governor of 
Arizona, the City Manager of Tucson, the Arizona Game and Fish 
Department, conservationists and private landowners. The Pima County 
Board of Supervisors also supports the bill for helping protect open 
space in the Cienega Valley.
  The two parcels of land proposed in exchange are located near Tucson 
in the eastern half of Pima County.
  The Bureau of Land Management parcel is a federal inholding of 1,280 
acres located near Corona de Tucson, a community on the urbanized 
fringe of greater Tucson.
  The private parcel offered for exchange consists of 2,707 acres of 
upland Sonoran desert adjacent to the Coronado National Forest and 
close to both the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and the 
Cienega Creek Natural Preserve, which are administered by Pima County.
  Land appraisals will follow statutory procedures and be subject to 
approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
  Madam Speaker, I believe that this bill stands as a shining example 
of what can be achieved when local community groups and the BLM work 
together to maximize both the recreation and conservation goals of our 
federal lands, allowing the enhancement and protection of our lands, 
rivers, creeks, and wildlife that enrich our lives in the West.
  In sum, I am pleased to offer this bill as a capstone to my resource 
conservation efforts during 11 terms in Congress.

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