Lindsey Graham: “I come before you to today to discuss one of our nation's most valued assets--our National Parks. Throughout the history…”

“I come before you to today to discuss one of our nation's most valued assets--our National Parks. Throughout the history of our country, visionary statesmen have arisen to remind us of the natural resource heritage on which our country rests. As early as 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of the challenge at hand: We must handle the woods, the water, the grasses so that we will hand them to our children and our children's children in better and not worse shape than we got them. It is a challenge we still face today, and will into the future, in our role as stewards of the world in which we live. Our system of National Parks and other public lands is the envy of the world. It serves as a model for other countries, as they also seek to preserve their natural and cultural heritage. No other country has set aside as full a spectrum of public lands--from wilderness to urban parks--for people to use and enjoy. But to just set them aside is, of course, not enough. The feature that makes these lands remarkable--that they are open and accessible to all Americans to enjoy--also threatens their existence in the future. Mr. President, we face an ironic question: are we loving our national parks to death? The simple answer to that question is yes. Earlier this year, the National Parks Conservation Association released its list of the Ten Most Endangered National Parks. We should all feel ashamed that they have so many endangered Parks from which to chose.”