[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13439-S13440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. Enzi):
  S. 2229. A bill to withdraw certain Federal land in the Wyoming Range 
from leasing and provide an opportunity to retire certain leases in the 
Wyoming Range; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise because today is Wyoming's day, 
literally. It is a long awaited day, a day that is special, a day that 
is as special as the mountain range that this day centers on, and as 
special as the State for which this mountain range is named.
  This is a day of which I am proud to be a part, joining with the 
strong majority of Wyoming people who want the legislation I am 
introducing. It is the Wyoming Range Legacy Act of 2007.
  Energy development is a proud part of Wyoming, and it is an important 
part of our Nation. But equal to that energy heritage is tourism and 
recreation--also a proud part of Wyoming and an important part of this 
Nation.
  Wyoming is special. Reflecting both aspects of our economy, our 
people want a special balance between two of our top industries: energy 
and tourism and recreation.
  Some of Wyoming's significant and important energy contributions to 
this great Nation encompass thousands of acres for our natural gas and 
energy fields. Meanwhile, independent and strong stands an isolated 
mountain range 100 miles long and 12,000 feet high. This range is named 
for our great State. It is that independent and wild mountain range--
the Wyoming Range--that I want to focus on today, and well into the 
future, for the best future for Wyoming and for our people.
  As leaders, there are things we do, defining actions, actions that go 
well beyond everyday issues. They surmount the daily noise and the 
disagreements, and they rise to the level of something else: It is to 
doing the right thing.
  Today goes beyond the average day for Wyoming. As I said, today is 
Wyoming's day. It is a great day because it is today that a bill is 
introduced that will keep this special place on the map for tourism, 
for recreation, and for sportsmen forever.
  We, as a State--the Governor and I--come together, cooperatively, to 
join in the memory of our dear friend Craig Thomas to finish his work, 
to keep and enhance the tourism, recreation, hunting, and sportsmen 
economy of the Wyoming Range, to preserve a key part of Wyoming's 
heritage.
  This legislation, this initiative Craig Thomas was ready to introduce 
the week he passed goes to the very heart and soul of the great State 
of Wyoming. Indeed, this is a place where the heart and the soul of 
Wyoming run free and run wild.
  This is 1.2 million acres for Wyoming tourism, sportsmen, and 
recreationists. This will mean that new, future leasing for oil and gas 
will be welcomed elsewhere in the State, and the Wyoming Range will 
remain in the recreational-based economy that now exists.
  For those leases that have already been issued, this legislation 
provides a process for groups or individuals who are focused on 
conservation to buy back the value of those leases under voluntary 
purchase, and then retire them forever.
  We all must recognize that the issued leases do have a value because 
they are

[[Page S13440]]

now legal property. At the same time, we can encourage all at the 
table--leaders, conservationists, and the private sector--to work 
toward doing the right thing. That process is now appropriately outside 
of the legislation and is ongoing.
  For the recently issued leases that amount to some 44,000 acres, I 
have great confidence we will be able to work out creative solutions 
with respect on all sides.
  But let us look at the bigger picture in this bill, with emphasis on 
an important, central point: What was the last bold move for Wyoming 
tourism? I proudly say, 1.2 million acres for Wyoming tourism, for 
Wyoming sportsmen, and for Wyoming outfitters and guides--all of whom 
contribute millions to our economy.
  This is not a bill that ``locks up'' land. To the contrary, it is a 
bill for economic prosperity, for recreation, and for tourism. What we 
do in this important piece of legislation is to recognize an economic 
base and then enhance it. Let me repeat--because this is a very 
important point--we are taking the existing economic base and enhancing 
it in the Wyoming Range.
  The Wyoming Range is a recreational-based economic zone. Yes, there 
are symbolic reasons for this initiative. It is the Wyoming Range, 
after all. But there is hard math at the core of this legislation. 
Tourism and recreation in our Wyoming economy matters. And doing the 
right thing matters. It matters for future generations of Wyoming 
people who will someday hunt and fish and hike in these mountains. It 
is also a place where Wyoming's agricultural industry has thrived for 
years. With this legislation, grazing and Wyoming's cowboy heritage 
will continue to thrive.
  I want to read you something from 1961 that still applies very much 
today. It goes to the heart of maintaining proper balance and multiple 
use of our land:

       Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element 
     of time. As we peer into society's future, we--you and I, and 
     our government--must avoid the impulse to live only for 
     today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the 
     precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the 
     material assets of our grandchildren without asking the loss 
     also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want 
     democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to 
     become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

  Those words were spoken by President Dwight Eisenhower in his final 
address as he left the Presidency. The children who were listening to 
his words back then are now grown and have grandchildren of their own.
  The Wyoming Range--the range named for our beloved State--has 
symbolic meaning, inherent values. It is the heart and the soul of a 
great State, a spiritual heritage, now a physical reality.
  Mr. President, today is Wyoming's day, for the Wyoming range, and for 
the people who love it.
                                 ______