Tom Udall: “on March 8, 1964 The New York Times ran the following editorial: Behind the effort to enact the Wilderness bill and the…”

“on March 8, 1964 The New York Times ran the following editorial: Behind the effort to enact the Wilderness bill and the Land and Water Conservation Fund bill--the two most vital pieces of conservation and recreation legislation before Congress this year--is recognition of a dread alternative: once the primeval lands fall under the bulldozer's blade, they are forever lost. . . . Secretary of the Interior Udall has rightly called these bills ``pieces of landmark legislation which will be remembered for years to come.'' My father is still right. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act as well as the Wilderness Act is still remembered. And, I believe it is as important today as it was when he was Secretary of the Interior. I will let you in on what I think the secret is to the continuing importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. My father and others working on this bill were successful because these initiatives were the result of bipartisan input that looked ahead to the generations yet to come. Even the idea for creating a Land and Water Conservation Fund came from a bi-partisan commission.”