Dale Bumpers: “one of the truly great ideas that somebody came up with back in 1872 was to establish the first national park. Ulysses…”

“one of the truly great ideas that somebody came up with back in 1872 was to establish the first national park. Ulysses Grant was President. Unhappily, that same year Ulysses Grant signed a bill called the mining law of 1872. But back to the point. President Grant established the first national park in this Nation. It has been a source of pride and usage and a great deal of euphoria for America's people ever since. We in the Senate and in the House profess our undying commitment to a National Park System second to none while we have routinely starved the park system to death. Now, US News and World Report, on top of report after report that has been issued over the past 10 to 15 years, in the current July 21 edition, has an article which I recommend to every Member of the Senate called ``Parks in Peril''. ``The national parks have been called the best America had. But their wild beauty and historical treasures are rapidly deteriorating''--repeat, rapidly deteriorating--``from lack of funds, pollution, encroaching development, overcrowding and congressional indifference.'' Mr. President, these parks are being encroached on by development; they are being stifled by pollution. On any given day in the winter, the pollution at Yellowstone National Park from snowmobiles alone is equal to the smog in Washington, DC. And the infrastructure is falling down.…”