[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 156 (Thursday, September 28, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6219-S6221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON AMERICANS OUTDOORS
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, in 1985, when I was Governor of
Tennessee, I got a call from Don Hodel, the Secretary of the Interior
for President Reagan. He asked me to be the chairman of ORRRC 2, a
follow-up (commission to the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review
Commission, which was led by Laurance Rockefeller a generation earlier.
I agreed in part because of my love for the outdoors, but also because
Don told me that Gil Grosvenor would serve as vice chairman of the
commission and Pat Noonan would serve on the board.
The chance to work with them and the National Geographic Society made
the request to serve as chairman of the commission even more
attractive. My first act as chairman was to change the name from ORRRC
2 to the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. The new name did
a better job of conveying our mission: ``to look ahead for a generation
and see what needs to be done for Americans to have appropriate places
to do what they want to do outdoors.''
More than a generation has passed now, and on this 30th anniversary
of the commission, we can look back on the recommendations of the
report and take an assessment.
Overall, the commission found that ``outdoor recreation occurs close
to home, in or near towns or cities where 80 percent of us soon will
live. So, more and more, the solutions must be found close to home. We
have concluded that the best way to assure that Americans will have
adequate outdoor recreation opportunities is through a prairie fire of
concern and investment, community by community. State and local
governments will play a major role, but implementation of our
recommendations ultimately will depend on the efforts of thousands of
individual citizens, nonprofit organizations, and businesses.''
The idea that outdoor recreation occurs close to home was especially
true for me.
I was one of the luckiest guys in the world growing up in Maryville,
in Blount County, TN.
When you grow up next to a national park, what do you do? You grow up
in the park. You spent your weekends and special times there, and most
all the memories I have are related to the Smokies.
When I was 15, my dad dropped me off at Newfound Gap on the day after
Christmas. I was with two other boys in 3 feet of snow, and my dad
said, ``I'll pick you up in Gatlinburg,'' which was 15 miles away. He
did, later that afternoon.
Then, later that same year, we were in Spence Field, and we made an
error in judgment. About 3 in the morning, I looked over, and I thought
one of my bunkmates was moving around, but it turns out it was a bear.
We left breakfast in our packs inside the tent, which is something you
should never do and something I have never done since. These are
memories that stick with us forever.
A generation earlier, in 1958, Congress created the Outdoor
Recreation Resources Review Commission to ensure America did not
neglect its heritage of the outdoors. The commission was chaired by
Laurance Rockefeller. Like me, Laurance Rockefeller was fascinated with
the natural world from a young age. His father, John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., was an enthusiastic supporter of park-building and historic
preservation. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., also had a hand in shaping my
childhood outdoor memories.
1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park, carving the
park out of land already owned by the Federal Government. In the
following years, Congress followed this model, protecting and
preserving Federal acres out West. In the early 20th century, citizens
in the eastern part of the country began to push for national parks of
their own. However, the land was already privately owned and would need
to be purchased and donated to the Federal Government before a park
could be created.
In the late 1920s, $5 million was raised to create a new national
park in the Smokies on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. The
two States had appropriated $2 million each for the effort and combined
that with $1 million in private donations, but that was only half the
money needed to purchase the land that was needed to create the new
park.
That is when John D. Rockefeller, Jr., stepped in and matched the
money that had been raised with a donation of $5 million through the
Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund. Rockefeller's donation assured
the purchase of the land and the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, where I spent my childhood and still live next to today.
Nearly 25 years after the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was
established, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s son worked with Congress to
find solutions to continue to protect our Nation's treasures. The
Rockefeller Commission advocated for a Federal national recreation
policy ``to preserve, develop and make accessible to all Americans the
resources needed for individual enjoyment and outdoor recreation.''
The Land and Water Conservation Fund and the National Wild and Scenic
Rivers System grew out of the recommendations of the report. Years
later, the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors reaffirmed our
commitment to these Federal programs, and we also took an important
step forward by recommending policies that States, towns, and
individuals could adopt. We focused on State and local action, calling
for investments from communities around the country to help keep our
outdoors great.
First, our commission recommended land trusts, ``private landowners
recognizing the opportunity to provide expanded recreation resources
and services to the public.'' Local land trusts have been one of the
fastest growing conservation tools in the past 30 years. These local
land trusts work with landowners who volunteer to preserve their
property through conservation easements. According to the Land Trust
Alliance's ``Land Trust Census,'' there are over 1,300 land trusts that
are active in the United States.
These 1,300 national, State, and local land trusts have conserved
more than 56 million acres as of the end of 2015, an increase of 9
million acres since 2010. In Tennessee, 15 active land trusts have
protected nearly 900,000 acres throughout the State. In 1999, Jeanie
Nelson and former Governor Phil Bredesen founded the land trust for
Tennessee. In less than 20 years, the land trust has
[[Page S6220]]
protected over 100,000 acres of Tennessee landscapes. In 2015, the
Foothills Land Conservancy, which ``is dedicated to protecting,
preserving, and enhancing the lands and environments of the Southern
Appalachian region,'' completed ``a record number 24 land partnerships
totaling 7,215 acres'' spanning five States and seven Tennessee
counties.
When our report came out 30 years ago, less than 5 million acres were
protected by State and local land trusts. Today more than 20 million
acres are protected by State and local land trusts. The explosion of
state and local land trusts has greatly increased access to our
country's outdoors.
Second, our commission recommended that ``local and state governments
create a network of scenic byways, compose of scenic roadways and
thoroughfares throughout the nation.'' We are seeing the benefits from
that recommendation today. In 1991, Congress created the National
Scenic Byways Program to recognize and protect roads for their
archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic
value.
Today, according to the Federal Highway Administration, there are 150
designated National Scenic Byways and American Roads in 46 States
throughout the Nation. Five of these national scenic byways pass
through Tennessee.
In the 1980's, as Tennessee was building new highways to attract the
auto industry, the State created 10,000 miles of State roads and scenic
highways. These roads, marked with mockingbird signs, prohibited new
billboards and new junkyards and allow people to enjoy the beauty of
the state as they drive across the country. These scenic byways bring
visitors to Tennessee and the beauty of our State keeps them coming
back.
Third, we recommended that ``communities establish greenways,
corridors of private and public recreation lands and waters, to provide
people with access to open spaces close to where they live, and to link
together the rural and urban spaces in the American landscape.'' Today,
there are almost 1,000 greenways and trails in Tennessee that provide
access to the outdoors to Tennesseans in their own communities.
A good national example of the popularity of greenways is the
dramatic increase in rails-to-trails projects across the country. In
communities throughout the Nation, unused railroad tracks and the land
surrounding the tracks are sold or donated and converted into to new
recreational trails.
According to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, there are over 22,000
miles of open trails that were converted from previous railroad tracks
and rights-of-way. In Tennessee, today there are over 30 rails-to-
trails projects that cover 125 miles.
Fourth, we recommended full funding of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, which was first proposed in Laurance Rockefeller's
Commission. The idea for the Land and Water Conservation Fund was very
simple. It was to say, ``When we have an environmental burden, we
should have an environmental benefit.'' If we are going to drill for
oil offshore for example, that is an environmental burden. We said
let's take some of those revenues and use them for an environmental
benefit.
So since the 1960s, we have used oil and gas revenues to conserve
important parts of America. Rocky Fork, in my home State of Tennessee,
is an excellent example of the productive use of LWCF funding. Ten
years ago, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, the
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Conservation Fund began working
with the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency,
and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to protect
Rocky Fork, a 10,000-acre tract in Tennessee within the Cherokee
National Forest.
In 2015, working together and using Land and Water Conservation Fund
dollars, Federal, State, and local partners saved the largest
unprotected tract of land in the Southern Appalachians from
development. To make sure everyone could enjoy this natural treasure,
the State of Tennessee used some of the land to create the Rocky Fork
State Park. The State park--with its proximity to the Appalachian
Trail, miles of native brook trout streams with cascades and
waterfalls, historic battle site, Black Bear Reserve, significant
wildlife habitat and scenic vistas--may 1 day be the State's most
popular park. It wouldn't have been possible without tree Land and
Water Conservation Fund.
As chairman, I also called on my fellow Governors to establish State-
level outdoor commissions. Twenty-five States responded by establishing
commissions or holding Governors' forums. Seven additional States had
recently completed conferences on the topic in anticipation of a
national study. The purpose of my call to the Nation's Governors was
``to stimulate action at the local and state levels on behalf of the
outdoors. More than 2,000 people testified at hearings or participated
in meetings sponsored by States in 1986.'' The Tennessee State-level
outdoor commission, Tennesseans Outdoors, sought to ``look 40 years
down the road, to consider what people will want to do outdoors, and to
see that there will be places for them to do those things.''
The Tennessee Commission recommended setting aside special places
throughout the State, making the most of the State's resources,
ensuring a quality environment, spreading the word on the importance of
the outdoors and recreation, and providing stable funding for important
conservation and outdoor recreation projects. Specifically, one of the
report's recommendations was for cities to promote urban open space
preservation and riverfront planning. Today all of my home State's
major metropolitan areas have taken steps to implement this
recommendation.
In 2004, Memphis adopted the Memphis Riverfront Master Plan, and the
city has been making progress on riverfront redevelopment. Just 3
months ago, the Big River Crossing--the longest public pedestrian and
bike bridge across the Mississippi River--opened in Memphis.
In 2005, the city of Chattanooga completed the 21st Century
Waterfront Project, which redeveloped 129 acres ``along the river to
create multiple public spaces and opportunities for citizens to enjoy
Chattanooga's waterfront.''
In 2006, Nashville began the process to revise the Nashville
Riverfront for the 21st Century to ``provide new public attractions,
parkland and waterfront access, giving residents and visitors a reason
to come and enjoy both banks of the Cumberland River.''
Also in 2006, Knoxville adopted the Knoxville South Waterfront Vision
Plan to implement an improvement strategy for 750 acres along the 3-
mile shoreline of the Tennessee River that flows through Knoxville.
Last year, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation called for the State to
create a forum on Tennessee's great outdoors to ``assess the current
status of our state's natural resources, identify critical challenges
facing their management and conservation, and develop strategic
solutions to ensure their persistence well into the future.''
When advocating for a new forum, Mike Butler, the CEO of the
Tennessee Wildlife Federation, acknowledged the success of the
implementation of many of the recommendations of the Tennesseans
Outdoors report, but also recognized that much has changed over the
last 30 years and ``these changes have had a profound effect on our
natural resources and outdoor recreation needs.'' Mike understands the
need to reexamine the issues facing our State's great outdoors and to
work together to maintain and expand the benefits that our outdoors
provide.
Like the State of Tennessee, 30 years ago, we looked at ways to help
our future generations enjoy the great American outdoors like we did.
Our report stated: ``We have learned over the course of our study of
urgent needs for action to protect our outdoor recreation estate.
Preservation of fast-disappearing open space, investment in
rehabilitation of deteriorating facilities, getting ahead of urban
growth as it races across the land--these are actions which cannot
wait, but must be taken now, for tomorrow they will be more expensive,
or in some cases, impossible.''
From land trusts to greenways to scenic highways, many of the
recommendations have been implemented, and we, as a country, have been
able to preserve some of our open spaces and protect our outdoor
recreation estate.
[[Page S6221]]
One way to illustrate the success of these programs is to take a look
at the economic benefit of today's outdoor economy. According to an
Outdoor Industry Association economic study in 2012, outdoor recreation
generates $646 billion in consumer spending and 6.1 million direct jobs
each year. In Tennessee, outdoor recreation generates $8.2 billion
annually in consumer spending and supports 83,000 direct jobs across
the State.
Our work is not done. Theodore Roosevelt once said that nothing short
of defending this country in wartime ``compares in importance with the
great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our
descendants than it is for us. . . .''
On the 30th anniversary of the Americans Outdoors Commission report,
I look forward to continuing to work to protect and preserve the great
American outdoors and leave future generations a more beautiful nation.
____________________