"I thank Senator Wyden for holding today's hearing and the opportunity to consider landmark legislation protecting America's Great Plains grasslands."
"Congressman Simpson deserves a tremendous amount of gratitude of the people of the State of Idaho."
"The effort to protect these ancient lands is citizen driven and buttressed, by the support of groups representing over 100,000 South Dakotans."
"These things are difficult, but not impossible."
"I also thank Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Murkowski for working with me and Senator Risch on this bill."
"We too, have traveled this path of collaborative conservation on the Owyhee Canyon lands."
"I'm interested more in hearing on the procedural basis, how we get to the consensus that we need."
"In May I introduced the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act to establish the first grasslands wilderness area in the U.S."
"I know that it's possible."
"While this bill is not perfect, and does need some more work, Senator Risch and I are going to continue working with the stakeholders from the motorized recreation community to address access issues."
"We have to undertake these efforts together in a consensus based manner. If we do not, we will never find our way forward."