Max Baucus: “we Americans are very lucky. We live in the most beautiful place on Earth. Our mountain chains, our Great Plains, our…”

“we Americans are very lucky. We live in the most beautiful place on Earth. Our mountain chains, our Great Plains, our national parks, our coasts and forests are a heritage no other country can match. It is our responsibility, through this annual bill, to protect our heritage, to manage it so ranchers and the natural resource industry workers prosper and, as much as possible, to hand it down to the next generation At the same time, in this bill, we have a responsibility to keep our promise to our more than 500 Indian tribes and an opportunity to support and stimulate the creativity of our artists and authors. Unfortunately, this bill falls far short. If we act now, in the coming debate--if we adopt some good amendments, we can create a very good bill, something we can all be proud of and, just as important, something President Clinton can sign, so we are not just wasting our time over here. But if we fail to improve this bill, we will have a bill that doesn't measure up and will not become law. Let me begin by saying that this bill is quite good in some areas. For example, one of the West's real glories is its fishing. Norman Maclean spoke for quite a few Montana families when, in the opening lines of his book ``A River Runs Through It'' he writes, ``In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.'' Today, this way of life is under threat.”