[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6754]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        KEEP PUBLIC LANDS PUBLIC

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, the new administration has certainly had 
its hands full reviewing hundreds of hastily conceived and poorly 
drafted regulations issued in the waning hours of the Clinton 
administration.
  For example, the Clinton roadless initiative proposes to protect the 
environment by slamming the door and locking up 58 million acres of 
public land from public access. Certainly we need to protect our public 
lands and our sensitive lands, but this rule does not only prohibit the 
construction of new roads in these areas, it also closes thousands of 
existing roads used by Americans to enjoy firsthand the beauty of our 
public lands. Closing off public lands should be made only on a case-
by-case basis and not by hurried and executive edicts.
  Protecting our pristine environment does not justify banning 
Americans from accessing and enjoying these lands. We must revise any 
roadless initiative which would force Americans to experience the 
beauty of our lands by looking into a photograph instead of 
experiencing and appreciating nature's magnificence in a firsthand 
measure.

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