Bruce F. Vento: “Mr. Speaker, S. 375 deals with two segments of the Rio Grande River, in northern New Mexico. it is similar to a…”

“Mr. Speaker, S. 375 deals with two segments of the Rio Grande River, in northern New Mexico. it is similar to a companion bill introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson]. The Rio Grande is the fifth-longest river in North America and one of the great rivers of the Southwestern United States. It rises in southwestern Colorado and continues for more than 1,800 miles through Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. From El Paso to Brownsville, it marks our Nation's boundary with Mexico. A segment of the Rio Grande immediately south of the Colorado-New Mexico boundary was included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System when that system was first established by enactment of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The two Rio Grande River segments covered by this bill are immediately downstream from that already-designated segment and are in a part of New Mexico increasingly popular for recreational uses, including river rafting.; Under the bill, one segment of 12 miles would be added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to be managed as a scenic river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Another segment, covering an additional 8 miles, would be required to be studied for possible future designation, with a report on the results of the study required to be submitted within 3 years after enactment.”