Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008

Floor Speech

CONSOLIDATED NATURAL RESOURCES ACT OF 2008 -- (Senate - April 10, 2008)

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Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I rise to speak a few minutes about the public lands bill we just voted out of the Senate with a pretty resounding majority of Members.

Within that public lands bill we just voted on is the only wilderness designation, the one my colleague from Washington just described--the Wild Sky Wilderness area. And I am here to not only congratulate her on this important legislation but to also speak because so much was said prior to the vote about why we would have such legislation on the Senate floor, and about the issue of Federal lands in individual States.

I think my colleague from Washington just articulated exactly why such an important piece of legislation is needed, the fact that it is the designation of a wilderness area that she has been trying to get ever since I have been in the Senate. In fact, she mentioned 9 years she has been working on that legislation. Since at least 2001, I have seen this legislation in various forms move through either the House or the Senate. I am sure her enthusiasm today is about the prospect of the Senate and the House, under Democratic control, actually getting this legislation passed.

But let me make a couple of points because my colleague, Senator Murray, brought up this issue, the specifics of Wild Sky's designation. It is a beautiful place. I have had the opportunity to hike there and to see the beauty firsthand. But people don't understand the designation of these Federal lands. I will say right now that I know how much Federal land is in Washington State. We have 12.2 million acres out of over 42 million acres. That is 29 percent of our State. I understand other States may not like that kind of designation, but for us in Washington State it has been part of our lifestyle and part of what we want to preserve.

In fact, Mount Rainier, one of our most visited special places, over 1 million people visit it on an annual basis. And a little company some people may have heard of, REI, based in Seattle, has outdoor recreational gear and does about $1 million worth of business annually. So there are people who very much believe in the outdoors.

I am sure the Presiding Officer knows very well that the beauty of special places is worth preserving, and it is a great boon to our economy.

Senator Murray did an unbelievable job in shepherding this legislation through the Senate and working with her colleague in the House, Congressman Larsen, now for 7 years. There were many times in which she could have gotten detoured by various Members. Actually, this has passed three times in the Senate on the consent calendar but has been either delayed in the House or a Member held it up, and really held up an opportunity for many people to enjoy what our State has, in a very bipartisan way, been supporting.

In Washington State, many people are conservationists. Before they are Republicans or Democrats or Independents, they are conservationists first. Senator Murray has had to persevere with this legislation through various individual Members holding it up. So I say a special thanks to her. And I know if Scoop Jackson were alive, Scoop Jackson would be here to also congratulate her, as someone who did the original wilderness designation. She would be very honored to know that someone such as Scoop, in writing this original legislation, had the issues of Wild Sky very much in mind.

Madam President, how much time do I have?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has spoken for 3 minutes.

Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for an additional 1 minute.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I want to also mention another piece of the underlying legislation because, again, some people have questioned, why do a public lands bill of this nature. Another piece of this legislation that I have worked on with my colleague, Congressman Inslee of Bainbridge Island in our State, is to preserve an area known as the Eagledale Ferry Dock site on Bainbridge Island as a unit of the national monument designation under our national park system.

People may say, well, why designate this particular area? During World War II, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps, and the first place from which they were forced to leave and to go to the internment camps was from this site on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. On March 30, 1942, 227 residents of Bainbridge Island were asked to report to this ferry dock site and were taken to internment camps in Minidoka, ID, and Tule Lake in northern California.

So this is what this lands bill is about. It is about protecting wilderness and making designations of sites that should be remembered. So I am very proud we got this bill off the floor, and I hope we will see immediate action by the House.

I thank the Chair.

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