[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 45 (Monday, March 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E376-E377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                OUR HERITAGE FORESTS: AN AMERICAN LEGACY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 19, 2012

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following article, which is 
authored by my friend Jason Hartke, and discusses the important role of 
our nation's Roadless Areas. Roadless Areas protect 58.5 million acres 
of pristine wild forests and provide clean drinking water to over 60 
million Americans.

                Our Heritage Forests: An American Legacy

                           (By Jason Hartke)

       ``If there is one thing that should unite us as a country 
     across generations, parties, an time, it is love of the 
     land.'' President Clinton made this remark at the National 
     Arboretum on January 5, 2001, where he announced the Roadless 
     Area Conservation Rule which protected the last, best wild 
     lands in the nation. This initiative encompassed 58.5 million 
     acres of forests in 39 states. Combining this accomplishment 
     with the 22 National Monuments that he designated and 
     protected, President Clinton left office having saved more 
     land in the contiguous United States than any administration 
     since Theodore Roosevelt.

[[Page E377]]

       Yet, like liberty, the price of environmental protection is 
     eternal vigilance. The individuals and organizations who are 
     fighting to protect these magnificent forests have embraced 
     the dream of President Clinton and millions of people across 
     this country. They will not stand aside while the fight for 
     America the Beautiful is in the balance. From the time of 
     Teddy Roosevelt, leaders have stepped forward to ensure that 
     future generations will inherit an epic legacy of timeless 
     beauty.
       In this initiative, as in others, President Clinton 
     operated on the principle that economic progress and 
     environmental protection can and must go hand in hand. He 
     made this point clearly in a speech at Reddish Knob in the 
     George Washington National Forest where he called on the 
     Forest Service to formulate a policy to preserve the roadless 
     areas: ``It is no longer necessary to grow a modern economy 
     by destroying natural resources and putting more greenhouse 
     gases into the atmosphere. In fact, we can create more jobs 
     by following a path of sustainable development.''
       President Clinton realized that the country was changing. 
     People were attracted to pristine environments where they saw 
     opportunities for outdoor recreation. Whether it be hiking, 
     camping, fishing, hunting, wildlife photography, or other 
     forms of outdoor activities, people are increasingly seeking 
     out places where they can find solitude, enjoy the wonder and 
     contentment found in nature, and in their own individual way, 
     experience a renewal of the human spirit. To accommodate 
     these popular activities, companies are finding an ever 
     growing and powerful market, giving a helpful hand to local 
     economic interests.
       While standing up for the public good is always the right 
     thing to do, it is rarely the easy thing to do. Despite the 
     fact that President Clinton's executive action was steeped in 
     precedent, pioneered by Theodore Roosevelt and other 
     presidents throughout the 20th century, his action was 
     immediately challenged in lawsuits that have spanned the last 
     decade. Some of the opposition may have arisen from the 
     mistaken belief that the Roadless Rule was a last minute 
     action in the final days of the Clinton Administration. In 
     truth, the final adoption of the Rule was the culmination of 
     an exhaustive rule- making procedure, including a thorough 
     and well reasoned environmental impact statement.
       As early as December of 1997, one hundred and sixty nine 
     scientists wrote to President Clinton urging him to develop a 
     science based policy for roadless area protection. The public 
     response was enormous. The forest protection idea sparked the 
     largest grassroots environmental campaign in US history, 
     eliciting an unprecedented one million six hundred thousand 
     comments from the public. More than 1.2 million Americans 
     provided comments over a 60 day period alone. Of those 
     comments, an amazing 96% of the citizens voiced support for 
     protecting these irreplaceable natural treasures.
       Other opposition wrongly assumed that these forests were 
     crucial to the viability of the logging industry. Yet here 
     again, the truth was that these roadless regions accounted 
     for a very small percentage of the logging industry, while 
     the cost of extraction meant that any effort to log in these 
     areas would have to subsidized.
       These old forests are important to people who do not 
     directly use the forests. Scientists have accelerated their 
     documentation of the massive value of free ecological 
     services that are derived from forests. These services help 
     to clean our drinking water, prevent soil erosion, clear the 
     air of pollution, and sequester carbon that otherwise would 
     contribute to climate change.
       The old dichotomy between preservationists and utilitarians 
     is increasingly becoming blurred due to the ubiquitous use of 
     these free ecological services. It turns out that everybody 
     has a stake in these ancient forests, because the magnificent 
     landscapes are essential to the integrity of the great life 
     support systems of the planet.
       Although forests are under the control of sovereign 
     nations, they also represent a trust responsibility to the 
     world. Deforestation, for example, is one of the biggest 
     contributors to adverse climate change. Forests soak up 
     prodigious amounts of carbon dioxide. Therefore, every person 
     on the earth and all future generations are affected by every 
     forest on earth, regardless of which country they call home.
       The eminent historian, Dr. Douglas Brinkley, observed in 
     his book, The Wilderness Warrior, that Theodore Roosevelt's 
     conservation record became ``the template future presidents 
     followed.'' His historical perspective rings true.
       President Clinton, shortly before he left office, reflected 
     on the environmental policies of his Administration: ``We had 
     done our best to be faithful to Roosevelt's conservation 
     ethic and to his admonition that we should always be taking 
     what he called ``the long view . . . Working together, we can 
     ensure that not only our generation, but each generation to 
     come, will have the resources to leave an even better land 
     for those who follow.''
       President Clinton's leadership by example, practicing at 
     home what he advocates abroad, adds to our credibility in the 
     international community and gives hope to people everywhere 
     that living up to our global responsibilities does not 
     impede, but rather sustains economic opportunity and 
     vitality.
       Saving the beauty, diversity, and life of the planet is not 
     bad economics; rather, it is fundamental to human survival 
     and the advance of civilization.

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