[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4388-S4389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN PARK

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this year marks the 75th 
anniversary of Catoctin Mountain Park, one of Maryland's most 
spectacular national parks. Located in northern Frederick County in 
western Maryland, Catoctin, MD, is a popular wilderness refuge just a 
few hours away from the bustling urban centers of Baltimore and 
Washington, DC. People of all walks of life visit Catoctin Mountain, 
whether it is working Maryland and Pennsylvania families taking a 
weekend camping trip to Misty Mount or U.S. Presidents taking a weekend 
retreat to Camp David to work or relax without the distractions of 
Washington. I am proud to celebrate the diamond anniversary of this 
wonderful natural treasure in my home State.
  Catoctin Mountain Park is 5,810 acres of wilderness in the foothills 
of Maryland's Blue Ridge Mountains. The name Catoctin is what the 
Algonquians, the predominant Native American tribe of the Mid-Atlantic 
region prior to European settlement, called the region where Catoctin 
Mountain Park is located. The Algonquians were known to use rhyolite 
rocks found throughout the rocky terrain for spearheads and European 
settlers and Algonquians alike would fish for trout in mountain streams 
that also supplied water for early agricultural settlements in the 
valleys around the mountain.
  The growth of the settler population in Maryland during colonialism 
and postrevolutionary America, gave rise to agriculture and industry in 
western Maryland. The growing industrial age changed the ecological and 
social condition of the wilderness of the eastern United States and 
western Maryland was no exception. Logging activities for ship and 
structural building, iron ore extraction and the arrival of the Western 
Maryland Railroad drastically changed the culture and natural state of 
Catoctin.
  The Great Depression of the 1930s slowed economic progress and 
thwarted industrial growth across the country. The extractive 
industries of the Mid-Atlantic suffered greatly. The Franklin Delano 
Roosevelt's New Deal ushered in sweeping public works programs to help 
get Americans back to work building America's infrastructure and 
renewing the stewardship of our Nation's great resources. Catoctin 
Mountain Park is a testament to the success of the New Deal's Works 
Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
  In May of 1933 the Federal Emergency Relief Administration was 
appropriated $300,000,000 to be spent on public works projects designed 
to provide work for struggling Americans. In 1934 a land planning 
committee established under the Federal Emergency Relief Act was 
examining how to put fallow land to better use. Conrad L. Wirth, 
Assistant Director to the Chief Branch of Planning of the National Park 
Service served on the land planning committee. Based on the findings in 
a 1928 report of the Joint Committee on Recreational Survey of Federal 
Lands, Wirth decided one of the answers to the report's ``urgent need'' 
to ``provide quality outdoor recreation facilities at the lowest cost 
for the benefit of people of lower and middle incomes'' on natural 
areas near urban areas was to establish a recreational area in western 
Maryland proximate to Baltimore and Washington.
  By 1934, years of agricultural, logging and resource extraction 
activities had taken its toll on the economic value of the land 
comprising Catoctin. With $25 million transferred to Public Works 
Administration the Department of the Interior was able to purchase the 
``sub-marginal'' lands that now make up Catoctin Mountain Park. 
Catoctin was officially placed into the program in January of 1935 and 
within a year and a half, and hundreds of man hours of work, Catoctin 
Recreational Demonstration Area was officially opened on August 8, 
1936.
  In the years immediately following Catoctin's official placement 
under the National Park Service's jurisdiction, The Works Progress 
Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps provided work for 
hundreds of men looking to learn a trade, earn a wage and develop 
leadership skills. These programs are responsible for providing some of 
the base training these men needed before going off to fight in World 
War II. The programs themselves reforested the park and restored its 
natural beauty. The CCC planted thousands of Maples, Pine and Oak trees 
in the park. The CCC also helped restore mountain streams and create 
suitable habitat for native fish and wildlife to

[[Page S4389]]

return to the mountain. These hardworking men also built many park 
structures still in use today including the Blue Blazes Contact Station 
which is now the Catoctin Mountain Park Visitor Center, Camp Round 
Meadow and Camp Misty Mount.
  The legacy of the hard work of these Depression-era CCC and PWA 
workers lives on today and will continue to be enjoyed for years to 
come.
  President Roosevelt personally experienced the success of the CCC and 
WPA at Catoctin on many occasions. This is because one major component 
of the Works Progress Administration's at Catoctin was to build Hi-
Catoctin camp for Federal Government agents, now known as Camp David.
  FDR hosted Winston Churchill at Catoctin in May of 1943 and every 
President since FDR has made use of Camp David. Perhaps most famously 
is President Jimmy Carter who brought Egyptian President Anwar Sadat 
and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David where he 
brokered the Camp David Peace Accords in September of 1978. But many 
Presidents and their families go to Camp David, for the same reason 
everyone else does, to simply enjoy the spectacular outdoor 
recreational opportunities the park has to offer.
  More than 80,000 visitors a year come to Catoctin Mountain Park to 
experience the park's extensive trail system, scenic vistas, and 
terrific camping opportunities. When hiking around Chimney Rock or the 
old Whiskey Still or Sawmill it is not uncommon for visitors to see 
white tail deer, wild turkey, coyotes, dozens of species of songbirds 
or even the occasional black bear.
  With further dwindling resources for the National Park Service it has 
become increasing challenging for the NPS to manage the park resources. 
Invasive species like the emerald ashe bore threaten the health of the 
park's forest and the sustainability of park habitat for the wildlife 
that make the park so popular. It is essential that Congress and the 
Federal Government recognize the importance of preserving these natural 
resources. That is why I have been a staunch champion for robustly 
funding the National Park Service because I believe the treasures the 
NPS work to protect for the public's enjoyment and enrichment is 
invaluable and it is the responsibility of the Federal government to do 
this work.
  Despite tough fiscal times, the leadership at Catoctin Mountain Park 
is doing an outstanding job providing fun and educational activities 
for park visitors and have put together a wide range of special 
programs and activities to celebrate the park's 75 anniversary.
  I congratulate Catoctin Mountain Park and the National Park Service 
for 75 wonderful years and encourage my colleagues to take a trip to 
experience this wonderful located in the backyard of your home away 
from home just outside of Washington.

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