Political Quotes

“Washington State is not unlike many other Western States in that a significant portion of its land is in public ownership. In many cases, the ownership is Federal, State, and private in the form of a checkerboard pattern across wide areas of the State. Because of this checkerboard land ownership in Washington State, land exchanges are quickly becoming an efficient way for landowners to do business with the Federal Government. There are several such exchanges to block up land in the works in the State of Washington. One such land exchange was announced on July 27 in Seattle by Agriculture Secretary Glickman. Secretary Glickman announced an agreement between the Forest Service and the Plum Creek Timber Co. to complete a major land exchange in the Wenatchee National Forest within 2 years. Last year, the Senate included $350,000 in its fiscal year 1996 Interior appropriations bill to facilitate this exchange. I support the exchange strongly and am glad that the Secretary has made it a high priority.”