[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 134 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5799-S5800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 573--COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                             WILDERNESS ACT

  Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. 
Alexander, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Portman, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Burr, 
Mr. Harkin, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Markey, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Levin, Ms. Stabenow, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reid of 
Nevada, Mr. Walsh, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Murray, Mr. King, Mr. Coons, Mr. Casey, 
Mr. Schatz, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Tester, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Franken, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Warner, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
Cardin, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Hagan, and Ms. Warren) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 573

       Whereas September 3, 2014, marks the 50th anniversary of 
     the date of enactment of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 
     et seq.), which gave to the people of the United States the 
     National Wilderness Preservation System, an enduring resource 
     of natural heritage;
       Whereas great writers of the United States, including Ralph 
     Waldo Emerson,

[[Page S5800]]

     Henry David Thoreau, Willa Cather, George Perkins Marsh, Mary 
     Hunter Austin, David James Duncan, and John Muir, poets such 
     as William Cullen Bryant, and painters such as Thomas Cole, 
     Frederic Church, Frederic Remington, Georgia O'Keefe, Albert 
     Bierstadt, and Thomas Moran, helped define the distinct 
     cultural value of wild nature and concept of wilderness in 
     the United States;
       Whereas national leaders, such as President Theodore 
     Roosevelt, who reveled in outdoor pursuits, have sought to 
     ensure the wisest use of natural resources, so as to provide 
     the greatest good for the greatest number of people as 
     possible;
       Whereas luminaries in the conservation movement, such as 
     scientist Aldo Leopold, writer Howard Zahniser, teacher 
     Sigurd Olson, biologists Olaus, Adolph, and Margaret 
     ``Mardy'' Murie, and conservationists David Brower and 
     Marjory Stoneman Douglas, envisioned and ardently advocated 
     for a national system of protected wilderness areas and 
     believed that the people of the United States could and 
     should protect and preserve wilderness so that wilderness 
     lasts well into the future;
       Whereas legislators such as Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, a 
     Democrat from Minnesota, Senator Clinton P. Anderson, a 
     Democrat from New Mexico, and Representative John Saylor, a 
     Republican from Pennsylvania, introduced versions of the 
     Wilderness Act in each House of Congress and worked 
     tirelessly along with colleagues for 8 years to secure its 
     passage with bipartisan votes of 78 to 12 in the Senate and 
     373 to 1 in the House of Representatives;
       Whereas President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness 
     Act into law in the Rose Garden on September 3, 1964;
       Whereas, over the 50 years since the enactment of the 
     Wilderness Act, various Presidents from both parties, leaders 
     of Congress, and experts in the land management agencies 
     within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture have 
     expanded and improved the system of wilderness protection 
     created by the Wilderness Act;
       Whereas the Wilderness Act instituted an unambiguous 
     national policy to recognize the natural heritage of the 
     United States as a valuable resource and protect wilderness 
     for the good of future generations;
       Whereas wilderness provides billions of dollars of 
     ecosystem services in the form of safe drinking water, clean 
     air, and recreational opportunities;
       Whereas 44 States have protected wilderness areas; and
       Whereas President Gerald R. Ford stated that the National 
     Wilderness Preservation System ``serves a basic need of all 
     Americans, even those who may never visit a wilderness area--
     the preservation of a vital element in our heritage'' and 
     that ``wilderness preservation ensures that a central facet 
     of our Nation can still be realized, not just remembered'': 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.);
       (2) recognizes and commends the extraordinary work of the 
     individuals and organizations involved in building and 
     maintaining the National Wilderness Preservation System; and
       (3) is grateful for wilderness, a tremendous asset the 
     United States continues to preserve as a gift to future 
     generations.

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