Political Quotes

“Why didn't we get a land selection there? We thought we could trust the Forest Service. We thought we could work in harmony. We rue the day, but here it is, and we have to live with it. We have to come to the Congress and plead for understanding. We have to, as one State, take on the whole national environmental community that has one cause--stop development in Alaska, because of their membership and dollars. What we have attempted to do in this amendment is add more wilderness--1.5 million acres. We are adding to the Coastal Plain, as the chart indicates. What else do we do? We impose strict environmental protections in this legislation. I don't hear anyone on the other side of the aisle commenting as to the adequacy or inadequacy. We impose seasonal limitations to protect the denning migration of the animals. Some ask: What about the polar bear? Are we going to protect the polar bear? The polar bear, for the most part, den on the ice. They do not den on land. The greatest protection we have for the polar bear is the marine mammal law. Polar bears are marine animals. You can't take them as trophies. You can't shoot them. If you want to shoot them, you go to Russia or Canada. But you can't do it in Alaska. These bears get along pretty well. You have seen this picture time and time again. You have been very patient. These are a few of the bears. They do not happen to be polar bears. They are grizzly bears and brown bears.”