[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 53 (Thursday, April 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1777-S1778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PROTECTING AMERICA'S PUBLIC LANDS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am gratified that the Presiding Officer 
today is from the State of Nevada--my friend, the junior Senator from 
Nevada. When I think of home, I think of the desert, and you can't talk 
about Nevada as a desert only, even though the vast majority of the 
State of Nevada is a very arid place. Nevada also has beautiful Sierra 
Nevada--the Ruby Mountains. We are the most mountainous State in the 
Union except for Alaska. We have 314 separate mountain ranges. We have 
32 mountains over 11,000 feet high. We have one mountain that we share 
with California that is almost 14,000 feet high. It is a beautiful 
State, but today I am going to focus on some of those arid places--the 
place where I was born and raised.
  Having been back here such a long time--37 years--I often think of 
the blue skies in Nevada. They hover over a beautiful canvas. No one 
can paint a picture as beautiful as these mountains, which are in the 
middle of the desert, Joshua trees, or sagebrush. It is that beauty 
that is drawing thousands of visitors to Nevada and Nevada's wilderness 
every year.
  Yesterday, the Reno Gazette-Journal had a tremendous article that 
reported just how important this quiet recreational industry is to our 
country. They said:

       The big time solitude found in the big empty spaces of the 
     western U.S. generates big money for regional economies. 
     That's according to a study that attempts to put a dollar 
     value on ``quiet recreation'' on Bureau of Land Management 
     property.

  That is an editorial comment by me: ``quiet recreation.'' People are 
now biking, packing, and camping. Quiet is what is referred to as when 
there are no motorized vehicles.
  To continue the quote:

       It found that sports like hiking and mountain biking on BLM 
     land generated more than $1.8 billion in spending in 2014, 
     that's roughly equivalent to two months of gambling revenue 
     in Las Vegas casinos.

  Our public lands are jewels that we must protect. To its credit, the 
Bureau of Land Management--when I was first elected here, the BLM was 
the hiss and cry of government. They were on par with the Internal 
Revenue Service. No one liked them, but now they are admired. They have 
done a remarkably good job in taking care of public lands. As I said, 
to their credit, the BLM and their dedicated employees do a remarkable 
job in safeguarding these national treasures so that all Americans can 
enjoy them.
  John Sterling, the executive director of The Conservation Alliance, 
told the Reno Gazette-Journal:

       The BLM is the final frontier for a primitive experience on 
     our public lands. They represent the future of outdoor 
     recreation.

  Unfortunately, there is a growing threat to these public lands and to 
the Americans who protect and preserve those areas. Most Americans are 
familiar with what happened earlier this year in Oregon when the 
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon was taken over 
when a dangerous group of militants staged an armed takeover of the 
refuge. They came with their canvas shirts, camouflaged pants, guns, 
assault rifles, and pistols that were obvious. They had their all-
terrain vehicles and set out to take over this Federal property, and 
they did. They damaged it to the tune of about--we don't know for 
sure--$20 million. They defecated on some of the ruins and different 
facilities. They stopped the Indians from being able to do their annual 
fishing.
  I am sorry to say this particular episode of domestic terrorism has 
roots in Nevada.
  Ammon and Ryan Bundy--who are now in jail, which is where they should 
be--are the sons of Cliven Bundy. They were two of the participants in 
the unlawful takeover. Cliven Bundy is, of course, a Nevadan and has 
been breaking Federal laws for decades. I have been disappointed that 
some of my colleagues have supported this outrageous lawbreaker.
  Teddy Roosevelt created the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 
Oregon. This radical President, Theodore Roosevelt--and I say that 
sarcastically because he was, in fact, a great President--created the 
refuge in 1908. Roosevelt used the tools at his disposal as President 
of this great country, including the Antiquities Act, in order to 
protect our national heritage so that generations of Americans could 
enjoy it, as they have for more than 100 years in Oregon. Congress 
created the Antiquities Act to empower the President to protect our 
cultural, historic, and natural resources when and where Congress 
cannot--or will not. These cultural resources are stunning. For more 
than 100 years Presidents have done just what Theodore Roosevelt did.
  Our current national parks were created using this authority--not all 
of them, but some of them. In fact, 16 Presidents--8 Democrats and 8 
Republicans--have used this authority to protect lands for the 
benefit of the American people. The younger George Bush used the 
Antiquities Act. Republican Presidents have been doing this a lot, but 
unfortunately many Senate Republicans want to undermine this act. They 
refuse to defend our cultural and historic antiquities that are being 
systematically destroyed. That is why the Antiquities Act was created--
to safeguard against these threats in the absence of congressional 
action. Take, for example, a stunningly beautiful place called Gold 
Butte, the area where Cliven Bundy illegally grazed his cattle for 
decades. It is a stunning landscape.

  Is this worth protecting? This chart shows the beautiful landscape. 
Look at it. This picture is not doctored up; that is the way it is. The 
sky isn't as blue as I have seen it so many times. We don't get a lot 
of clouds in Nevada, especially in this part of Nevada. We don't get 
many storm clouds. It doesn't happen often, but this is part of the 
greatness of Nevada.
  Look at that. Is that worth preserving? Of course it is. This State 
has such magnificent areas. There are sandstone formations just like 
these petroglyphs, which date back thousands of years.
  Take a look at this. This is a picture of petroglyphs. These Indian 
writings and drawings are centuries old. They are in an area we want to 
protect--Gold Butte. Look at that. The picture shows panel after panel 
of this magnificent part of history. But because of the trouble caused 
by the Bundys and their pals, the Federal employees have been prevented 
from doing their job of safeguarding these antiquities. About 19 of the 
vandals have been indicted. Most of them are still in jail where they 
belong. These employees have been under constant physical and mental 
threat for doing what the American people have asked them to do--that 
is their job.
  Petroglyphs are being destroyed, drawn over, shot at, and stolen. 
This is an example of one panel they have destroyed. Look at what they 
have done. We can see that there are bullet holes. There is graffiti 
all over these beautiful Indian writings. These are not bricks that 
have been put in place. This is the way that nature has created this 
land, and they are destroying it. Look at what they have done. They 
have also cut pieces out of this and hauled them away. It is a crime, 
but they are criminals. They don't mind doing it, and that is what they 
do. What a shame.
  This is only one example, and it is right here in the middle of the 
picture. It was, frankly, a vulgar drawing. They knew what they were 
drawing. They were telling everybody how they felt about this 
antiquity. We can see the bullet holes here. They used it for target 
practice.
  The final picture I will show is the damage that was done to the 
Joshua trees. I know a lot about Joshua trees because where I lived and 
had my home for many years--and I still own quite a bit of property in 
Searchlight--has one of the thickest Joshua tree forests in

[[Page S1778]]

the world. These trees are stunning. They grow about two inches a year. 
They last for up to 150 years. People don't understand that these trees 
are so terrific. These trees have been brutalized by these criminals. 
They chopped this one down. One of my staffers said: Well, maybe they 
used it for firewood. Well, folks, have you ever tried to start a fire 
with cantaloupe? You can't burn this. I guess you can burn anything, 
but you will not stay warm. They are soft inside. It is not something 
you can burn.
  We don't know how old the tree in this picture was, but it was 
probably 80 or 100 years old. Look at that beautiful tree behind it. It 
is really unfortunate, but that is what they are doing. They are just 
destroying these beautiful trees.
  One of them who was part of the Oregon crowd had a brand. He went out 
branding everything with his brand. He stamped his brand on different 
things that should be protected. This is sad.
  I have tried to protect Gold Butte for a long time, and the reason we 
haven't been able to do anything up to this point is that the Bundy 
boys and their pals kept everybody off of that property, and that is 
why I am grateful for the Antiquities Act. Because of this legislation, 
the Bundys are in jail.
  I will reach out to the White House--and there is no guarantee we 
will get it done, that's for sure--to see if President Obama will 
protect this area. He has the authority, as any President does, to stop 
this sort of destruction and stop it now. Threats to our public lands 
are threats to our economy, our environment, and our culture. When we 
preserve our lands, we preserve America, and that is what we are trying 
to do: Preserve this beautiful place.
  I say again: Is this worth protecting and preserving? Of course it 
is.
  Mr. President, please announce the Senate business of the day.

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