Jack Kingston: “The gentlewoman had mentioned also about some of the putting common sense into some of the environmental laws. One of…”

“The gentlewoman had mentioned also about some of the putting common sense into some of the environmental laws. One of the things that happened in California that we know of, Riverdale, California, the endangered kangaroo rat. Now, you know, my view is I do not want to lose a species. I am committed to the Endangered Species Act. Riverdale, CA had kangaroo rat, and the EPA would not let them cut fire breaks in the residential area because it would endanger the habitat of the kangaroo rat. So what happened? A fire came and it destroyed 30 homes. But in addition to that, it also destroyed 25,000 acres of kangaroo rat habitat. So we have got lose-lose policy for both the private property owner and the kangaroo rat. We see this kind of impracticality over and over again. In fact, I think it was in Arizona, may have been New Mexico, where the Boy Scout was lost last year in a wilderness area. They discovered him I think 48 hours later, and the Park Service would not let a helicopter land there because it was a motorized vehicle. And under the Wilderness Act, you cannot have any sort of motorized vehicle in the park area. So here is this kid 14 years old, 12 years old, I am not sure of the age, and he is hungry, he is starving, he has been sleeping on rocks, and the helicopter comes and it won't rescue him. You know, it is just out of balance.”