Richard Pombo: “I really did enjoy the comments of the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), because I think that they hit on something that…”

“I really did enjoy the comments of the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), because I think that they hit on something that has been missing in this debate. We have spent a lot of time talking about two-cycle versus four-cycle and what happens with the noise and the pollution levels, and I think that is extremely important in terms of the debate, but one thing that has been missing in this entire debate was brought up by my colleague, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), and that is that all national parks, including Yellowstone, are not managed for their maximum environmental protection. Congress has directed that all parks are managed for two purposes, visitor use and enjoyment and resource protection. The Park Organic Act of 1916 mandates the agency to balance these purposes, so it is illegal for the Park Service to disregard visitor use. One of the things, one of the disturbing things that has happened with these amendments that have been brought up is they seem to constantly be trying to limit access, the American public to have access to these national parks and not allow them to get inside.”