I think it is an excellent bill, and I intend to work with Senators Smith and Craig and all of our colleagues here to see if we can move it just as quickly as possible.

These things need to be going in the same direction and not at cross purposes.

The real issue here is that Americans want green forests, not blackened ones.

If mediation this week fails, and the Biscuit recovery gets tied into a judicial slipknot, I will advance legislation as a solution.

This is, of course, a momentous year for wilderness in our State.

I would like to commend Senator Wyden for his acknowledgment of this and recognizing it by including over 120 miles of mountain-bike trails within this wilderness designation.

This is a logic-free zone in Washington.

I want each one of you to know that we will continue to work with you to try, with a delegation, to get a balanced bill.

So my view is, let's figure out where to put some of the matrix lands when we take it away from this.

I think, Mr. Chairman, I would like to be courteous to Senator Ensign and let him go.

This legislation, as proposed, impacts roughly 460 miles of snowmobile trails.

the Sandy City Council has unanimously endorsed the legislation for a small rural community

The bill creates a local contracting preference so as to try to keep jobs associated with the area in Clackamas and Hood River Counties.

Now, there's concern by the administration and others that a wilderness area in the gorge would be inconsistent with the Gorge Act.

The first thing Senator Smith and I hear whenever anything comes up is, 'Oh, my goodness, if you have a wilderness area, there's no way you can manage it to curtail the possibility of wildfire or disease outbreak.'

We're going to work with all the stakeholders. As I say, what I've tried to do since the original legislation is to incorporate all of the concerns we heard from the folks in the area.

I think the reality is, is people are not going to increase logging up on Federal lands on Mount Hood.

So your overall evaluation is that there will be plenty of opportunities for snowmobiling, even with this legislation?