T. Gorton: “The effect of the Robb amendment would be to terminate all harvests on all public lands in the United States and much…”

“The effect of the Robb amendment would be to terminate all harvests on all public lands in the United States and much recreational activity that requires any kind of improvement. It requires between $5 billion and $9 billion worth of wildlife surveys beyond endangered species, surveys that are unnecessary and so expensive that it will not be wise to go ahead with any of them. The amendment does not require the Forest Service or the Secretary of the Interior to do anything. It simply authorizes them to conduct their business in the future as they have conducted it in the past. If they do not want to, if they want to go after these surveys, they still can. Section 329 is entirely discretionary and is entirely within the power of the administration to interpret as it wills.”