[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21356]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 21356]]

           THE PEOPLE OF RURAL OREGON AND THE STEENS MOUNTAIN

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, last week I spoke in this Chamber 
of the damage that has been inflicted by this administration upon the 
people and communities of rural Oregon. I spoke specifically about 
communities such as John Day and Roseburg, communities where the 
failure of this administration to keep its word with regard to timber 
harvests has brought great harm to families, communities, schools, and 
to their roads.
  I am grateful to this Senate and the Senator from Washington for his 
leadership on this issue and voting last week to put the interests of 
children and families above a survey of fungus, snails, and slugs.
  I return to the floor today to share with my colleagues a story about 
another rural Oregon community, one that is facing an uncertain future 
because of possible actions by this administration.
  I traveled this past weekend to the community of Burns, OR, in Harney 
County. Harney County is small in population and large in area. About 
8,000 people live in this county. It is roughly the size of the State 
of Massachusetts. It includes part of the largest Ponderosa pine forest 
in the whole Nation. It includes over 100,000 head of beef cattle on 
vast open ranges. It includes the Steens Mountain.
  I would like to speak to you about the Steens Mountain and what this 
administration proposes to do with it.
  Let me begin by saying that to fly over the Steens Mountain, and to 
tour it on the ground and from the air, as I did last Saturday, is to 
see some of the most breathtaking scenery in this country or any other; 
and to stand on the ridgetops of the Steens is to view unspoiled vistas 
of the Kiger Gorge, the Alvord Desert, and other true national 
treasures. From its peak you can see the States of Idaho, Nevada, 
California, and nearly all of Oregon. It is a very special place.
  The Steens Mountain has remained unspoiled for one simple reason: The 
people of Burns and Harney County love Steens Mountain. Through unique 
partnerships between the Bureau of Land Management and private land 
owners, who own almost 30 percent of the mountain, they have found a 
formula that has worked. Harney County residents take great pride in 
their stewardship of the mountain that one rancher referred to, to me, 
as a ``tough old girl.'' At the heart of their stewardship is the 
commonsense principle of multiple use.
  Their pride is very justifiable. According to the Bureau of Land 
Management, over the past 30 years essentially 100 percent of upland 
and riparian conditions on the Steens Mountain that needed improvement 
has, in fact, been improved.
  I traveled to the Steens in response to a trip that Secretary of the 
Interior Bruce Babbitt made there several weeks ago. After touring the 
mountain and praising what had been accomplished by local citizens, 
Secretary Babbitt also announced that only Uncle Sam could be trusted 
with the future of the mountain. He said that before this 
administration left office, he wanted to designate the mountain as a 
national conservation area or as a national monument; no matter what 
had been done before and how well it looked, still we cannot trust 
local citizens; we need to trust those with the wisdom of the 
bureaucracy in the beltway. Such a designation, as he proposed, would 
have far-reaching impacts, not only on the future of the mountain but 
on the future of those who live and work in its shadow.
  Such an announcement would run counter to the significant efforts of 
the Southeastern Oregon Resource Advisory Council. It is known locally 
as the RAC. The council is made up of individuals from conservation 
groups, resource groups, public bodies, and Federal agencies that have 
assumed the responsibility of exploring the proposal for a Steens 
Mountain National Conservation Area. This cooperative approach is the 
type of open and public process that I support and one that should be 
supported by this administration. But this group now labors under the 
certainty that, no matter what they decide, a decision has already been 
made here that the administration will make a designation.
  I plan to meet with Secretary Babbitt in the very near future. I hope 
to do it with my colleague from Oregon and Congressman Walden who 
represents this area. When we do, we will share the frustrations 
expressed to each of us by citizens of Harney County when we have 
visited there. They have asked me why this administration is trying to 
impose a solution where there is no problem. The old adage that this is 
``a solution looking for a problem'' has never been more true than when 
applied to the Steens Mountain.
  They asked me why this administration does not trust them to continue 
with their excellent management techniques and innovative practices 
that have been at the heart of their stewardship. They asked me why 
this administration would be promoting a designation that would 
undoubtedly bring more visitors to the area, thereby harming the very 
environment they supposedly seek to protect. And they asked me if the 
Secretary's promise to work with them in the months ahead was real or 
whether this administration has already made up its mind.
  I would also like to put on the record the taunting that is being 
made to the administration by some members of the environmental 
community from organizations that support more Federal involvement on 
the Steens Mountain. It was said in the open, in the presence of the 
media, that Secretary Babbitt and this administration were being urged 
to find a legacy other than the impeachment scandal. They were 
literally saying: Grab private land, and you can grab a better legacy 
for yourself. They were urging a version of a domestic ``wagging of the 
dog.''
  I pray that this is not so because this is not the basis for good 
land management. Oregon does not need such an insult as was being urged 
upon this administration by some in the environmental community.
  The bottom line is that I believe the future of the Steens Mountain 
in Harney County is in much better hands with the folks who live 
there--folks such as County Commissioner Dan Nichols and ranchers such 
as Fred Otley and Stacey and Elaine Davies--than it is, than it ever 
will be, in the hands of Federal bureaucrats who reside within the 
beltway.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. GORTON. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Voinovich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
for 5 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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