[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20702-20703]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 12th annual 
National Public Lands Day that is set to take place on Saturday, 
September 24, 2005. Across the Nation, nearly 100,000 people will come 
together on this day to get their hands dirty while protecting and 
improving our Nation's public lands. And today I would like to offer my 
heartfelt appreciation to every man, woman, and child that contributes 
to this vital campaign.
  In Nevada, where nearly 87 percent of our lands are managed by 
Federal agencies, the relationship between the people and our public 
lands is tangible and real. For ranchers, hunters, farmers, hikers, 
miners, and every Nevadan that has driven a lonely dirt road in search 
of solitude, our public lands represent an irreplaceable resource. That 
is why programs like National Public Lands Day--that remind us that we 
all reap the rewards of good stewardship, and that we suffer together 
when our lands are mismanaged or abused--are so important.
  Those individuals that will rise early in the morning on the 24th of 
this month to help with one of the more than 650 National Public Lands 
Day projects will be giving a gift of service to the local landscapes, 
to the local communities, and to people of the United States at large. 
I thank these volunteers, and the staff of the land management agencies 
who are tasked

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with the responsibility of protecting, managing, and maintaining these 
lands each and every day. Our public lands are one of the most 
important national legacies that we leave behind for future 
generations. Working together--at places like Lake Mead, Mount 
Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, Lake Tahoe, the Ruby Mountains, and the 
Black Rock Desert--we can make sure that this legacy is a strong one.

                          ____________________