[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


     INTRODUCTION OF THE GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS AND TECHNICAL 
                            CORRECTIONS BILL

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                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2008

  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I am proud to introduce today the Golden 
Gate National Parks and Technical Corrections bill. Our National Parks 
are some of America's greatest treasures, and they have been designated 
that way to ensure they are preserved for our future generations. In 
California, we are very proud of our Golden Gate National Recreation 
Area, with parks spanning across San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin 
Counties. They are a national treasure deserving of the highest 
National Park Service designation which this legislation will ensure. 
The Golden Gate National Parks offer a unique historical perspective on 
the story of California and the Nation, and unparalleled natural beauty 
in an unlikely setting close to a major metropolitan area.
  One hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Muir 
Woods the Nation's tenth National Monument to honor the conservationist 
John Muir and preserve a beautiful natural space. Today, I would like 
to recognize the establishment of the Golden Gate National Parks, which 
will contain the Muir Woods National Monument, as the 59th National 
Park. In honor of renowned environmentalist Edgar Waybum, and my friend 
and predecessor in Congress, the late Congressman Phillip Burton, who 
dedicated their careers and lives to preserving these remarkable 
natural and historical spaces for our and future generations to enjoy, 
I dedicate this bill.
  The Golden Gate National Parks offer residents of and visitors to the 
San Francisco Bay Area the opportunity to escape from the city and 
connect with nature and our Nation's history. The Golden Gate National 
Parks are home to sites utilized by the Coastal Miwok and Ohlone 
people, the Spanish missionaries and military, Mexican settlers, Gold 
Rush prospectors, and Civil War military units. There remain many 
historic sites preserved within the Parks, including the Cliff House 
Restaurant and the Sutro Baths in San Francisco, as well as 
decommissioned army bases and fortifications dating back to 1776 and 
used by our Nation from the Civil War to the Cold War. This bill will 
strengthen the ability of the San Francisco Maritime National 
Historical Park and the Presidio, two of the Golden Gate National 
Parks, most historic areas, to preserve historic spaces and provide 
world-class services to visitors from throughout the world.
  The Golden Gate National Parks also offer visitors access to an 
amazingly diverse natural area. Encompassing almost 60 miles of bay and 
ocean shoreline, the Golden Gate National Parks contain windswept 
beaches, salt-water marshes, stunning cliffs, and the world's only 
coastal old-growth redwood forest. The Parks contain expansive forests 
and costal lands, such as Sweeney Ridge in San Mateo County and Muir 
Woods in Marin. There is also an abundance of plant and animal life in 
the Parks with over 1,200 identified plant and animal species, 
including 33 threatened and endangered species.
  In the years since the establishment of the Golden Gate National 
Recreation Area almost 40 years ago, the park units have collectively 
been referred to as Golden Gate National Parks. As natural and historic 
sites have been added to this park system the need has grown to 
recognize the system of parks for what they are, which is one of our 
Nation's great natural treasures. This bill recognizes the importance 
of Golden Gate National Parks to the history and future of our Nation 
and rewards it with a designation befitting its place among the most 
spectacular National Parks in our Nation.

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