[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14581-14584]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PROTECTING AMERICA'S PUBLIC LANDS

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam President, before the Democratic whip, 
the assistance majority leader, leaves the floor, I wish to acknowledge 
the great work he has done in standing up for consumers and protecting 
their interests, and it fits the purpose for which I rise today, which 
is to talk about protecting our public lands and the importance they 
hold for all of us as Americans. They are really at the heart of the 
way of life we hold so dear in Colorado. In addition, I would like to 
talk about how public lands are important to an issue that all of my 
colleagues care about; that is, creating jobs.
  I know many of my colleagues, including the Acting President pro 
tempore, understand the value of public lands, but I wish to take a few 
minutes and list some of the reasons I think they are a vital thread in 
the fabric of our country.
  First, we are a nation of explorers and risk-takers, constantly in 
search of the next challenge to overcome or the next mountain, 
literally, to climb. Public lands, especially in the West, are a 
reminder of this heritage. I wish to also acknowledge in the great 
Northeast of our country, where the Presiding Officer lives, that we 
have mountains and we have extensive public lands as well. I know that 
same spirit is infused in the people of New Hampshire.

[[Page 14582]]

  But our public lands also benefit our communities across the country 
through the clean air and the clean water they provide. In urban and 
rural areas alike, open spaces filter and clean our air and water, 
improve the environment for surrounding communities, while lowering 
stormwater management and water treatment costs.
  Access to the public lands and the many opportunities they provide is 
a key reason why many of us choose to live in the West. I know this is 
particularly true in Colorado, where public lands and outdoor 
recreation are truly in our blood. It is also one of the reasons 
Colorado is one of the most active and healthiest States in the country 
and why I have been encouraging children and families across the Nation 
to get outside and stay active, especially in our national parks.
  The public lands are also, to coin a phrase, in our wallets. When 
discussing public lands, we cannot forget their importance to our 
economy. Our public lands have long been a source of economic value, 
and multiple use is a key component of the management of our public 
lands. An example: Extractive industries, such as oil and gas 
development and mining, will continue to be an important part of our 
economy in the West. But these uses are certainly not the only economic 
uses of our lands. Outdoor recreation: hunting, hiking, biking--the 
list goes on and on--are a major use of our lands, and outdoor 
recreationalists not only enjoy our land, they also support a large and 
growing industry of supply stores, manufacturers, guides, hotels, and 
other important businesses.
  In fact, in this time of economic uncertainty, outdoor recreation and 
tourism are two of the bright spots in our economy. I wish to draw 
attention to the chart I brought to the floor for those viewing the 
floor of the Senate today. In 2006, the Outdoor Industry Foundation 
found that biking, hiking, and hunting and all the other outdoor 
recreational activities add $730 billion to our economy every single 
year.
  Perhaps most important, this is an area of our economy that continues 
to grow. It has grown by more than 6 percent in 2011 alone and has 
outpaced U.S. economic growth more generally. These numbers tell a 
powerful story of the outdoor recreation industry's contribution to our 
economy.
  We hear a lot about the problems government causes, and there are 
certainly areas we can reform. We can streamline government, make it 
more efficient. We can get government out of the way where appropriate, 
and we can increase oversight where necessary.
  But when I was traveling my home State of Colorado over the summer, 
as the Presiding Officer travels her State, I heard a lot about how 
government is working. I heard about partnerships between national, 
State and local governments, private businesses and local stakeholders 
to preserve and protect our natural resources. These efforts are 
improving the lives of Coloradans. They are creating jobs. They are 
making communities better places to live, and they are building future 
economic opportunities.
  I wish to share a couple examples in that vein. In July, I was in the 
town of Creede, which is in the historic San Luis Valley of Colorado. 
Among other stops, I met with the Willow Creek Reclamation Committee. 
This is a wonderful example--this committee--of citizens at the local 
level coming together to take on a problem to create solutions.
  In this committee, there are retired miners, artists, local 
businesspeople, ranchers, vacation homesteaders and Federal and State 
officials who are working together to clean up pollution in their 
watershed.
  The narrow valley that is above Creede is lined with abandoned mines. 
While the area boasts some of the best examples of mining structures 
one will find in the Western United States, pollution from these 
abandoned mines hurts water quality. The pollution was so bad that 
residents in the area feared Creede would be placed on the National 
Priorities List for a Superfund cleanup, a prospect that any community 
that has faced it understands would hurt their tourism-based economy.
  So, in 1999, the residents formed this committee to do something 
about it themselves. They worked with the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, State agencies and many others and developed 
a plan to clean up their watershed.
  The plan they came up with is truly a comprehensive approach that 
recognizes the full value of their watershed to their community. What 
struck me most--and again I know the Presiding Officer senses and 
experiences the same spirit in her home State of New Hampshire--nobody 
was talking about whether they were a Democrat or Republican. They were 
not trying to wage political or partisan battles. They saw a problem 
affecting their livelihoods. They banded together as a community, 
partnered with the Federal, State and local government officials and 
they did something about it. Now their streams are healthier, their 
land is healthier, and their economy is healthier.
  I would like to bring some of that Creede pragmatism to Washington, 
DC. Our public lands are an invaluable natural resource. I hope we can 
come together in the Congress with policies and solutions to wisely 
utilize and conserve them.
  In that spirit, let me provide some additional examples of what we 
could do in the spirit of the people in Creede, CO. One incredibly 
successful government program that has been instrumental to the growth 
of outdoor recreation across the country is the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund or the LWCF. In fact, it has been proven over and 
over that every $1 of LWCF funding creates an additional $4 in economic 
value.
  LWCF was developed on the belief that as we develop and exploit our 
oil and gas resources, we should set aside also some land for hunting, 
fishing, and recreation for the enjoyment of future generations. So we 
as a country set up a mechanism whereby royalties from oil and gas 
leases were to fully fund LWCF projects.
  I have to say, instead of that mission being fully fulfilled, every 
year those dollars are taken out of LWCF for other unrelated government 
expenditures, leaving in its wake a huge unmet need in each State 
across the country. While royalties flow into the government coffers, 
LWCF has continually been raided, and its authorized $900 million of 
funding every year has been fulfilled only twice since 1964. Only twice 
since 1964 has that full $900 million been appropriated.
  Not only are we robbing future generations of critical open spaces 
and outdoor recreation, we are underinvesting in our assets, our public 
lands, that would drive job creation.
  I serve as the chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee. I have 
seen how these funds have been particularly useful to our parks, and 
there is no better example in my State than the creation of the Great 
Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. This magnificent park and 
preserve was made possible by LWCF appropriations that were obtained 
with very strong local support.
  Great Sand Dunes protects one of our Nation's great landmarks. It is 
also a source of tourist dollars for the surrounding rural communities. 
That is why I have joined with several of my colleagues, including 
Senator Bingaman, Senator Burr, Senator Baucus, the Presiding Officer, 
and others, to fight for full funding of LWCF.
  The point I wish to emphasize to my colleagues is that when we talk 
about natural resources, we are not just talking about beautiful 
landscapes and future generations. There are incredibly important 
economic benefits to preserving and protecting these lands.
  In that spirit, I wish to briefly discuss another key component of 
our public lands system--wilderness. Lands classified as ``wilderness'' 
are critical to our multiple-use management strategy. Some areas should 
be preserved as wilderness, just as some areas are better suited to 
mining, oil and gas development or off-road vehicle use.
  Wilderness provides opportunities for backpacking, fishing, hiking, 
grazing, and hunting, as well as protecting these precious landscapes 
for future

[[Page 14583]]

generations. Wilderness also provides opportunities for our veterans to 
reenter and reconnect and heal. I have a column from the Denver Post 
yesterday that speaks to the ways in which veterans can reconnect to 
their purpose in life and to reenter society. I ask unanimous consent 
that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  [From the Denver Post, Oct. 3, 2011]

         Guest Commentary: Vets Find Solace in Mountain Fishing

                          (By Shawna Bethell)

       You know immediately when you are in the presence of grace. 
     Perhaps in a cathedral of limestone and jeweled glass where 
     centuries of ritual have left the scent of myrrh. Or, equally 
     so, perhaps in the cleft of a canyon surrounded by high-
     country mountains where waterfalls arc from cut stone.
       Perhaps it's where--against the roar of fast-moving water--
     you hear the quiet voices of two men: one of wisdom and one 
     of youth, speaking quietly of water and fish, war and 
     healing, the conversation flowing easily between the two--a 
     common experience binding them.
       There is with fly-fishing a serenity that comes, when the 
     mechanics of the process no longer take thought or effort, 
     and the mesmerizing rhythm of a cast settles into mind and 
     memory. When all else slips away, and the fishing becomes the 
     mission in front of you, then comes peace. Or at least, this 
     is what I'm learning.
       In late June, Project Healing Waters--a nationwide fly-
     fishing program for wounded soldiers and veterans--brought 15 
     participants from Colorado's Fort Carson and Fort Huachuca in 
     Arizona to fish in the cold spring-melt waters around 
     Silverton. The program is based on the principle of shared 
     time and skill between experienced fly-fishermen and our 
     recently returned soldiers.
       Programs vary from region to region, but the basic premise 
     is that during winter months, soldiers are taught to tie 
     flies and build fishing rods, then in the spring and summer 
     months, they are taken out to learn the art of fly-fishing--
     each component lending itself to a specific method of 
     healing, whether it is learning physical dexterity with 
     damaged limbs or prostheses, or giving soldiers a focus 
     outside their memories or mental trauma.
       On the day I was invited to join them, I had the 
     opportunity to witness one of those moments of grace, when a 
     local fisherman and a young soldier shared a conversation. It 
     was not a monumental event, nor was the speech eloquent and 
     tried. Instead, it was simply quiet. And the young man who 
     had been solemn and withdrawn, moving along the stream bank 
     with his head lowered, opened to a man who had seen his own 
     war 40 years before.
       I had been told in my initial interview with Gary Spuhler 
     of Colorado Springs, coordinator of the Rocky Mountain 
     Region's chapter of PHW, that he got involved because he 
     wanted to make things better for our returning soldiers, 
     better than the way his generation had returned from Vietnam.
       And I think the country as a whole, carrying the regret of 
     that treatment, is reaching out more readily to today's 
     veterans, but listening to the gentle ebb and flow between 
     the two men--the seasoned, high-country fisherman and the 
     young soldier, moving easily from fishing to military life to 
     hope for the future and healing, against the backdrop of 
     broad, sheltering landscapes--I recognized something rare.
       We are in a time when Congress is ever trying to decimate 
     protections for our wildlands while at the same time these 
     lands are lending solace to those who have been sent to war 
     in the name of our country. It is not a stretch to say that 
     these rivers and streams are part of what is giving back to 
     the veterans who are coming home.
       Each fisherman I spoke with, experienced or beginner, spoke 
     of the sound of the water, the scent of the air, and how the 
     rest of the world falls away when they are out there, taking 
     with it the trauma they carry with them.
       There is a healing power that comes from the mountains and 
     streams, and there is healing in taking the time to listen to 
     our military men and women.
       Project Healing Waters, combining the two, gives us all a 
     lesson worth learning.

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. It is an inspiring column. It speaks to the 
power of wilderness and wilderness activities in the context of our 
veterans returning home from standing for us in places such as 
Afghanistan and Iraq.
  Speaking of wilderness opportunities, just this last week I 
introduced the San Juan Mountain Wilderness Act, along with Senator 
Bennet. It is similar to a bill I introduced in the last Congress. My 
bill would designate--we have a photograph of this wonderfully 
inspiring area. This bill would designate 33,000 acres in southwestern 
Colorado as wilderness. It would also designate about 2,000 acres as a 
special management area and withdraw over 6,000 acres from mineral 
entry lands within the Naturita Canyon area.
  This bill is the work of extensive input and collaboration among and 
across every imaginable stakeholder group. I wish to particularly note 
the efforts of former Congressman John Salazar and his staff, who 
worked with the affected Colorado county commissioners, interested 
citizens, and my staff in developing this legislation over the last 4 
years.
  It is crafted to take into account the various ongoing uses of these 
lands, such as for water supplies and recreation, while also providing 
strong managerial protection for these sensitive lands. I do not have 
to tell you, when we see this photograph, among many, that this region 
of Colorado is blessed with stunning beauty.
  Much of the land proposed for wilderness and other protections in our 
legislation are additions to existing wildernesses such as the Mount 
Sneffels Wilderness Area and the Lizard Head Wilderness Area. The bill 
also establishes a new area called McKenna Peak. This peak presides 
over imposing sandstone cliffs which rise 2,000 feet above the 
surrounding area. It also provides important winter wildlife habitat 
for large numbers of deer and elk, which then draw many hunters from 
all over the country every year. Over 30,000 recreational user days are 
recorded annually during hunting season in this one game management 
unit. That is a significant number of recreational user days.
  The bill would also establish the Sheep Mountain Special Management 
Area. Since helicopter skiing currently exists in this area, the 
legislation designates the area in a way that protects its wilderness 
character but still allows this use to continue. This is, in my 
opinion, the type of flexibility that is a key for sound wilderness 
protection proposals and is a shining example of how protection can 
coexist with responsible use.
  What I am saying is, the bill has been carefully tailored and crafted 
to apply deserving protections to these lands. This is how wilderness 
should and can be done. Between all the benefits--clean air and water, 
recreation and economic growth--one would think Congress could work 
together and enact commonsense public lands legislation such as my San 
Juan Wilderness bill.
  But I am frustrated. I know the Presiding Officer is frustrated this 
Congress has not recognized the opportunities that are before us. 
Instead of what I saw happening on the ground in Creede, CO, it seems 
as if our politics inside the beltway are getting in the way of moving 
our country forward. A prime example of politics getting in the way, at 
least in the Senate--I will come back to why I say just in the Senate--
is a bipartisan bill I have introduced called the Ski Area Recreation 
Opportunity Enhancement Act. I worked closely with Senator Barrasso on 
it. We have an additional 10 cosponsors across the country. In the 
House of Representatives, Representative Bishop and Representative 
DeGette have championed this bill.
  Our bill would simply clarify that the Forest Service may permit 
year-round recreational activities, where appropriate, on ski areas on 
public lands.
  It includes no new Federal spending. I think that is an attractive 
element of the legislation. It would increase the money coming into the 
Federal Treasury because it would likely increase permit fees.
  The bill would boost year-round activity in ski resorts on public 
lands, providing more opportunities for outdoor recreation, creating 
jobs in the process and aiding the rural economies that surround ski 
areas.
  The bill is so bipartisan and strongly supported that it passed the 
House last night by 394 to 0. No House Members voted against the bill.
  Despite bipartisan and bicameral support for the bill, and the fact 
that it would create jobs, I have not been able to get this bill to a 
vote on the floor of the Senate. I am tempted to ask unanimous consent 
that the bill pass, but I will continue to work in the regular order to 
move the bill to the floor of the Senate and on to passage.

[[Page 14584]]

  I had a long career--if you want to call it that--as a high-altitude 
mountain climber before I came to the Congress. That experience 
prepared me to serve in the House and in the Senate in unexpected ways.
  In 1992 I was on the south face of Mount McKinley, known to the 
people of Alaska as Denali, as well. We were 10 days into what was 
supposed to be a 7-day climb. We were out of food. The only way to get 
down was literally to go up and over the top of Mount McKinley.
  The lesson I learned in that successful climb was, when you are faced 
with 20-below temperatures and high winds, the only way home is over 
the top. You have to work together to accomplish the impossible. When 
you do work together to accomplish the impossible, you find a way to 
make it happen.
  In some ways I believe that is the choice Congress has to make as we 
face these challenging times. We can either work together and find a 
way up and over the summit--passing legislation that will create jobs, 
fix our budget problems, and start working on the problems Americans 
face every day--or we can keep fighting with each other, in effect, 
starving the country of the leadership I know Congress can provide and 
that we must provide in these challenging times.
  Madam President, I close my remarks today by asking my colleagues to 
join me in passing this straightforward, bipartisan, and commonsense 
ski areas bill and to support full funding for the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund. I also ask my colleagues to work with me to enact 
locally developed wilderness proposals, such as the San Juan Wilderness 
Act.
  As we tackle unemployment and how to grow the economy, let's not 
forget the important role our public lands can and will play in the 
future.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________