Political Quotes

“I rise today to discuss a draft legislative proposal I have developed and am soliciting comment from people in my State to add 160,000 acres of new wilderness in the Mount Hood National Forest. The year 2004 is momentous for wilderness in Oregon. It marks the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 20th anniversary of the last Oregon wilderness bill. Perhaps most importantly, 2004 marks the bicentennial of the single most important exploratory committee ever launched by the Federal Government and that is the Lewis and Clark Expedition. One way to mark this very special time would be to enact a new Oregon wilderness bill, which I could conceive of as the Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2004. In tribute to the great river-dependent journey of Lewis and Clark, I believe it would also be appropriate to add four free-flowing stretches of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic River System. In the last few years, Congress has protected some of my home State's most important treasures: Steens Mountain is now home to 170,000 acres of wilderness. The Little Sandy watershed is now part of the Bull Run Management unit and will help provide drinking water for over 700,000 Oregonians. Soda Mountain has been designated a national monument. Fort Clatsop National Memorial has been expanded, and this year it may be designated as Oregon's second national park.”