[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3982-S3983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        OMNIBUS PUBLIC LANDS ACT

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I was pleased to attend today's 
Presidential signing ceremony for the Omnibus Public Lands Management 
Act of 2009, H.R. 146. In signing the act into law, President Obama 
underscored the Nation's commitment to serve as a responsible steward 
of our public lands and cultural and natural resources.
  As a bipartisan package of more than 160 individual bills, the 
enactment of this act culminates many hours of congressional hearings, 
deliberation, and debate. As the former chairman of the Senate Energy 
and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, I was proud to 
have chaired hearings on individual measures in the act and to have 
worked with my colleagues in the House and Senate to put together a 
public lands package that confirms our Nation's desire to ensure that 
future generations will enjoy and benefit from the preservation of 
natural resources and historic sites.
  I join those who have praised this momentous act for setting aside 
more than 2 million acres of land as protected wilderness and more than 
1,000 miles of wild and scenic rivers. It is important to note that 
this act also is invaluable in protecting, preserving, and 
memorializing our country's cultural heritage and natural resources. 
This act contains four provisions that I sponsored during the 110th 
Congress which acknowledge the historical contributions made by Native 
Hawaiians as well as the need to preserve Hawaii's unique heritage and 
biodiversity for future generations: H.R. 3332, the Kalaupapa Memorial 
Act; S. 1728, the Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Commission 
Reauthorization Act; S. 2220, the Outdoor Recreation Act of 1963 
Amendments Act; and S. 320, the Paleontological Resource Preservation 
Act, which preserves fossils across the Nation. In addition, it 
includes a bill that I cosponsored, S. 1680, the Izembek and Alaska 
Peninsula Refuge Enhancement Act of 2008, which addresses the needs of 
a rural and indigenous Alaska Native community.
  Section 7108 authorizes a memorial to be established at Kalaupapa 
National Historical Park, which is located on a remote peninsula on the 
island of Molokai. This long overdue memorial will honor and perpetuate 
the memory of those Hansen's disease patients who were forcibly 
relocated to the Kalaupapa community, many of whom were buried with no 
marked grave. This measure authorizes a nonprofit organization, Ka 
`Ohana O Kalaupapa, consisting of the remaining Kalaupapa residents and 
the family and friends of current and past residents, to establish a 
memorial at a suitable location in the Park for the 8,000 residents who 
lived at the Kalaupapa and Kalawao communities. This monument empowers 
the people of Kalaupapa to share their story and the lessons learned as 
the community came together to overcome their hardships. Previously 
only recognized as a place of isolation, this monument will transform 
Kalaupapa into a place of healing, education, and contemplation 
connecting families to their ancestors.
  The Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Commission 
Reauthorization Act, section 7401, extends the authorization for the 
National Park's advisory commission through 2018. Located on the 
western coast of the island of Hawaii, Kaloko-Honokohau National 
Historical Park was established in 1978 to provide for the 
preservation, interpretation, and perpetuation of the Park's cultural 
and natural features. The Advisory Commission has played an integral 
role in advising the National Park Service to provide for the 
education, enjoyment, and appreciation of traditional Native Hawaiian 
activities and culture within the Park.
  The Kaloko-Honokohau Park is a unique part of the Hawaii National 
Park System as it is home to two types of fish ponds, as well as the 
`Ai `opio fish trap, a 1.7-acre pond comprised of a manmade stone and 
coral wall along the naturally curving shoreline. These are treasured 
sites not only from a cultural stand point demonstrating the ingenuity 
of Native Hawaiians in engineering these fishponds but also from a 
resource management perspective on how in the 21st century we can 
utilize such traditional knowledge to enhance our understanding and 
shape our management practices today.
  Recognizing the importance of the `Ai `opio fish trap, in 2008 the 
National Park Service Save America's Treasure program awarded a 
$350,000 grant to Project Ola `Ai `opio, a Park Service initiative to 
restore the fish trap. Ocean waves and erosion have endangered the 
structural integrity of the trap and the grant will be used to 
methodically stabilize the kuapa--fish trap walls--over a 12-month 
period. This award not only aids in preservation of the fish trap but 
also ensures that visitors will be able to appreciate Hawaii's unique 
historical and cultural heritage into the future.
  Section 13006 of the act contains my bill to authorize appropriations 
for fiscal years 2008 through 2017 in the amount of $5 million for the 
operation and maintenance of the National Tropical Botanical Garden. A 
congressional charter established the National Tropical Botanical 
Garden in 1964 to foster horticultural research, education, and plant 
preservation. This authorization enables the National Tropical 
Botanical Garden to meet its Federal mandate and preserve unique 
species found only in Hawaii for the benefit of future generations. The 
National Tropical Botanical Garden has proven itself to be a 
significant national and international resource. The tranquil beauty 
offered by its gardens, collection of rare and endangered plant life, 
focused library and herbarium collections, scientific research, 
conservation initiatives, and education programs have all benefited the 
United States.
  The National Tropical Botanical Garden is expressly mandated to 
foster and encourage research of tropical flora in agriculture, 
forestry, horticulture, medicine, and other sciences for the benefit of 
all the people in the United States. It is a national resource for 
biological science. Most recently, in 2008, it discovered Bilirubin, an 
animal pigment, in plants. This important discovery documented for the 
first time that an animal pigment is naturally occurring in the seed of 
the white bird of paradise tree.

[[Page S3983]]

  The National Tropical Botanical Garden is a national resource for 
education and career development. Over four decades, it has developed a 
full spectrum of educational offerings that provide opportunities for 
the next generation of scientists. Over 5,000 school-aged children are 
educated each year in conservation principles and practices. The 
Horticultural Internship Program trains undergraduates in horticulture, 
botany, and conservation.
  In addition, the National Tropical Botanical Garden is a national 
resource for medical research. Its researchers have developed and hold 
patents on a potential anti-HIV drug called Prostratin that is 
currently going through clinical trials and are also working to find 
the cause for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Once a year, it 
holds a course accredited by the American Medical Association that 
provides 16 credits to medical professionals in herbal remedies derived 
from plants. By enacting this provision into law, I am hopeful that the 
National Tropical Botanical Garden will be able to continue with its 
important work for years to come.
  The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, title VI, subtitle D, 
helps protect and preserve the Nation's important fossil resources that 
are found on Federal lands for the benefit of our citizens. As a matter 
of clarification, this bill covers only paleontological remains on 
Federal lands and in no way affects archaeological or cultural 
resources under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 or 
the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
  The provision to preserve paleontological resources, in its original 
and amended form, never intended to undermine the current practice of 
casual collecting that is being enjoyed on Federal lands. 
Notwithstanding the educational benefits and the major fossil 
discoveries made by amateur collectors and curio hunters, this title 
addresses the increasing problem of intentional fossil theft on Federal 
lands. Vertebrate fossils are rare and important natural resources that 
have become increasingly endangered due to an increase in the illegal 
collection of fossil specimens for commercial sale. Recognizing that 
there was no unified policy regarding the treatment of fossils by 
Federal land management agencies, I worked to include this provision in 
the act to help protect and conserve fossil specimen, a valuable 
scientific resource. This act will provide uniformity to the patchwork 
of statutes and regulations that previously existed. Further, it will 
create a comprehensive national policy for preserving and managing 
fossils and other artifacts found on Federal land, and will prevent 
future illegal trade.
  Title VI, subtitle E, the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Land 
Exchange, addresses the needs of a rural and indigenous Alaska Native 
community. This subtitle allows developing a road that would provide 
dependable and safe year-round access for the residents of King Cove in 
Alaska to the nearby Cold Bay Airport. I believe that the 800 residents 
of King Cove, most of which are native Aleut, have an absolute right to 
a reliable means of transport that is accessible under all weather 
conditions. This provision will help address many of the community's 
safety, health, and medical concerns. The United States has a 
responsibility to its indigenous people, and I am proud this provision 
will enable this community and appropriate State and Federal 
stakeholders to move forward on this initiative.
  Passage of this act was an extensive, challenging, but ultimately 
fulfilling journey, and I am pleased with today's enactment of the 
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 into law. I am confident 
this act will promote and strengthen opportunities to preserve Hawaii's 
and the Nation's environmental and cultural heritage. This landmark Act 
will serve as a stable foundation for us to continue to build upon.

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