[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 16 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S539-S540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          WILD MONONGAHELA ACT

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Wild 
Monongahela: A National Legacy for West Virginia's Special Places Act. 
This important piece of legislation sets aside over 47,000 acres of 
wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest so that our children and 
grandchildren will have the opportunity to enjoy the forest in its 
pristine state.
  West Virginians have a proud tradition of mining and logging that 
provides needed resources for our entire country. I have no doubt that 
this tradition will continue for many decades

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to come. However, at the same time, new development is coming to West 
Virginia. This is needed development that provides jobs for West 
Virginians and helps support our economy. But with this increased 
development comes a responsibility to set some part of our natural 
environment aside for those who come after us.
  The Monongahela Forest encompasses nearly 920,000 acres of land in 
the heart of the Appalachian Mountain Range and contains some of the 
most ecological and geological unique reaches of our State. There are 
currently five wilderness areas in the Monongahela including the 
Cranberry Wilderness and Dolly Sods Wilderness. This bill will create 
four new wilderness areas and expand three of the existing areas. All 
of the land being designated as wilderness was already being treated as 
either recommended wilderness by the Forest Service or as backcountry 
recreation.
  I want to extend my thanks to Congressman Rahall for his leadership 
on this bill and congratulate him on drafting legislation that has 
received the support of West Virginia's entire bipartisan congressional 
delegation. Like all members of the congressional delegation, I have 
heard from hundreds of West Virginians how wilderness is important to 
them. I have heard how wilderness is a major draw for the outdoor 
tourism industry and will provide jobs. I have heard from West 
Virginians who want to make sure that they will be able to continue to 
fish pristine streams and hunt in the forests. They want to experience 
the excellent hiking and backpacking the hills of West Virginia have to 
offer, and make sure their grandchildren have that same opportunity. 
But the reason I heard more than any others from West Virginians was 
the need to protect some small part of God's creation as His stewards 
on this Earth.
  This legislation has received support from diverse groups and people 
across West Virginia including the West Virginia AFL-CIO, the Fayette 
County Commission, West Virginia Council of Churches, and both the 
Pocahontas and Greenbrier County Conventions and Visitor Bureaus, just 
to name a few. I know that there will be people who feel that this 
legislation is too big and goes too far. At the same time I recognize 
those West Virginians who are disappointed that areas of the 
Monongahela Forest special to them were not included. But I believe 
this legislation strikes a careful balance that will protect West 
Virginia's forests and serve our State's interests for generations to 
come.

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