[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today the Senate passed the Interior 
Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2001. Included in that legislation 
is a rider that exempts the White Mountain National Forest in New 
Hampshire from the Forest Service's Roadless Initiative. While I 
supported the passage of the Interior Appropriations bill, I want to 
express my concern over this rider.
  I am concerned because the White Mountain National Forest is a 
national resource, and it is completely appropriate for the federal 
government to set forth policies to conserve and protect a national 
resource. Many of my constituents in Massachusetts hike, camp, sightsee 
and enjoy the great natural lands of the White Mountains. In fact, it 
was a Massachusetts Congressman, John Weeks, who sponsored the 
legislation creating the White Mountain National Forest. When the 
Forest Service sought comment on a new management plan for the forest, 
more than 54 percent of all comments were submitted by Massachusetts 
residents. Proponents of the rider have argued that its purpose is to 
protect local control of forest management. Certainly local residents 
should have input in the management of the forest. I urge local 
participation in decisions at Cape Cod National Seashore. However, it 
sets a bad precedent when one forest is exempted from a national policy 
to protect the national interest.
  Despite these concerns I did not move to strike this rider. The 
reason, ironically, is that I'm confident that the White Mountain 
National Forest will remain protected because of local input. Time and 
again, the local process, driven by the citizens of New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts, has resulted in sound management of the White Mountain 
National Forest. So, while I oppose the amendment for the precedent it 
will set, I expect and hope that it will have almost no impact on the 
health of the forest.

                          ____________________