Mark Hatfield: “the natural resources of my State are indisputably among the most significant and spectacular in the world. It has been…”

“the natural resources of my State are indisputably among the most significant and spectacular in the world. It has been almost 30 years since the enactment of the Oregon wilderness bill--the massive, 100,000-acre Mt. Jefferson Wilderness in central Oregon. I sponsored that bill and two other comprehensive pieces of legislation in 1978 and 1984, which increased Oregon's wilderness system fourfold, from 500,000 acres to 2.1 million acres. Throughout my years in the Senate I have attempted to protect Oregon's resources by following the philosophy of the one of our Nation's first and foremost conservationists, the original U.S. Forest Service Chief, Gifford Pinchot. Gifford Pinchot said: The conservation of natural resources [in this country] is the key to the future. It is the key to the safety and prosperity of the American people. Conservation is the greatest material question of all. This principle of conservation has led me to sponsor numerous land protection bills over the years.”