Restoring National Parks

Floor Speech

RESTORING NATIONAL PARKS -- (Senate - July 11, 2007)

Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, during the fall of 2006, Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks endured incredible devastation from tremendous wind and rainstorms. Mount Rainier National Park received almost 18 inches of rainfall in 36 hours. Rivers and streams all over the park overwhelmed their channels, with floods that exceeded anything the park had experienced in its 108-year history. Olympic National Park experienced a series of Pacific storms that brought significant road and trail damage. North Cascades National Park Complex experienced numerous winter windstorms, which resulted in abnormally large numbers of downed trees over trails and floods causing damage to several roads. The National Park Service estimated that damage to roads, trails, campgrounds, and buildings in all three parks exceeded $40 million.

Today I recommend to National Park Director Mary Bomar the awarding of National Park Service commendations to the entire staff of Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades National Parks for their commitment to repair and restore these parks. Their efforts exemplify the mandate of the National Park Service ``to provide for the enjoyment of [the parks] in such manner and by which means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.''

Immediately following the storm, the personnel of these national parks worked continuously, often during their days off, to repair roads, rebuild trails, clean up campgrounds, and repair facilities. The citizens of Washington have a great interest in ensuring that the health, public and economic benefits, and welfare of Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks are restored for present and future generations. Without the extraordinary efforts of Park Service employees, it is likely that the parks would be decades from completing repairs, to the extent that they would be completed at all.

It is my honor as a Senator of the State of Washington to recognize the heroic efforts of these men and women and express my gratitude on behalf of my constituents and all Americans that enjoy and treasure these parks as ``sanctuaries of enjoyment, recreation, learning, and personal renewal.''

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