[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20908]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



THE INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS BILL AND THE CONSERVATION AND REINVESTMENT 
                                  ACT

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President. I would like to say a few words about the 
Interior Appropriations bill and CARA. The Interior Appropriation is a 
good bill. CARA is a great bill. CARA brought together a variety of 
supporters from all parts of the country to develop a program that 
would provide for wildlife protection, urban parks, green space, 
coastal impact protection and would guarantee funding for the 
development of recreation areas for years to come.
  Elements of CARA have been included in the Interior bill, although 
the funding for these provisions is paltry by comparison to the House 
and Senate CARA bills. Other provisions may find a home in other 
appropriations packages, but one of the most important elements may be 
orphaned in the end. That is the provision for wildlife and habitat 
protection. Just as we are cheering our success in securing a place for 
wildlife, as we celebrate a growing population of eagles on the Potomac 
River, we are failing to fund the programs that make this possible. 
State wildlife agencies have clearly demonstrated their ability to 
bring back populations of threatened and endangered species, such as 
the pronghorn and the bald eagle. But they lack the resources to repeat 
the success on thousands of other species.
  The purpose of CARA was to provide the ounce of prevention that keeps 
species from becoming threatened. CARA was to protect both game and 
nongame populations. By providing dependable state based funding we 
could ensure on-the-ground protection of wildlife, and continued 
maintenance of habitat for all wild species. It is important to note 
that there is an educational component in Title III of CARA. We are 
increasingly becoming an urban nation, and it is important to provide 
an introduction to wild places and wild things to our children. This 
introduction will help them become the next generation of good land 
stewards.
  Virginians have come out for CARA. Rarely have I heard from so many 
different groups who support a piece of legislation. I would like to 
submit for the Record a list of the Virginia groups who support this 
legislation and to thank all of the groups for the remarkable job they 
have done in promoting CARA and the principles of outdoor recreation 
and education. I am highlighting Title III in my remarks simply because 
it is being ignored in the Interior Appropriations bill. But each and 
every title in CARA was thoughtfully deliberated and negotiated. Rarely 
have I seen such care taken in developing a bill, and even though 
efforts to allay the concerns of some western Senators were not 
successful, they were genuine, and I hope useful for future 
discussions.
  The Interior bill does provide substantial funding for the Lands 
Legacy program, and this is important. The bill also provides a good 
deal of funding for Virginia projects that are particularly worthy. But 
we could have done better, we could have done more. And I regret that 
the Senate has not yet risen to the occasion, that we did not complete 
this important work. Senator Landrieu, like the gracious lady that she 
is, has not asked CARA sponsors and supporters to withhold our support 
for the Interior Appropriation, and for the sake of the Virginia 
projects in the bill I will vote for the Appropriation. But, I will 
pledge to keep working for the passage of CARA in the final days of the 
session.
  I ask unanimous consent that this statement be included in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 Virginia Organizations Supporting CARA

       AFS--Virginia Chapter; American Bass Association; Anderson 
     Cottage Bed & Breakfast; Augusta Bird Club; Burke Center 
     Wildlife Committee; Carl Zeiss Optical, Sports Optics; Clarke 
     County Citizen Council.
       Duck Island Enterprises, Inc.; Evergreen Bed & Breakfast 
     Inn; Fair View Bed and Breakfast; For the Birds, Inc.; 
     Friends of Dragon Run State Park; Friends of Shenandoah 
     River; Friends of the North Fork Shenandoah.
       Friends of the Rivers of Virginia; High Meadows Inn; IWLA--
     Maury Chapter; IWLA--Virginia Chapter; James River Basin 
     Canoe Livery, Ltd. Laurel Creek Nursery; Loudoun Wildlife 
     Conservancy; Lynchburg Bird Club; Mattaponi River Company; 
     Mill Mountain Zoo.
       More Critters & Company; NAS--Cape Henry Audubon Society; 
     NAS--Fairfax Audubon Society; NAS--Virginia Beach Chapter; 
     Natural Resources Technology; New River Free Press; New River 
     Valley Bird Club; New River Valley Environmental Coalition 
     Newport House Bed & Breakfast.
       North Bend Plantation; North Fork Nature Center; Piedmont 
     Productions; Prince William Natural Resources Council Public 
     Lands Foundation; Resource Management Associates; Responsive 
     Management; Ridgerunner Forestry Services; River Place at 
     Deltaville.
       Selu Conservancy; The Alleghany Inn; The Conservation Fund; 
     The Friends of the North River; The Mark Addy; The Opequon 
     Watershed, Inc.
       The Ornithological Council; The River'd Inn; The Wildlife 
     Center of Virginia; Thornrose House Bed & Breakfast; Trout 
     Unlimited (National); TWS--Southeastern Chapter; TWS--
     Virginia Chapter; TWS--Virginia Tech Student Chapter.
       Valley Conservation Council; Virginia American Bass 
     Association; Virginia Association of Soil & Water 
     Conservation District Virginia BASS Federation, Inc.; 
     Virginia Game Warden Association; Virginia Herpetological 
     Society; Virginia Society of Ornithology; Virginia Tourism 
     Corporation; Virginia Wildlife Federation; Virginia's Explore 
     Park; Virginians for Wilderness; Western Virginia Land Trust.

                          ____________________