Nick Rahall: “I wish to commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, the gentleman from…”

“I wish to commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), for his excellent leadership on this issue. He is the sponsor of it. I rise as chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources to lend my strong support thereto. The National Landscape Conservation System was administratively established 8 years ago. It is comprised of Western public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management that have been placed in conservation status either by presidential proclamation or by acts of Congress. The BLM refers to the NLCS as 'Landscapes of the American Spirit.' And the agency is enthusiastic about this system. And rightly so because it works. It works to highlight some of the unique features of these lands, and it helps BLM shed its imagine of simply being the Bureau of Livestock and Mining. The pending legislation is supported by the Bush administration. I know that may raise some suspicion in certain quarters, but I can assure those of my colleagues who may have reservations with the bill due to this fact that the Natural Resources Committee has thoroughly examined the legislation. And under Chairman Grijalva's leadership, I'm here to assure you that there are no hidden provisions of this legislation to grow even more oil rigs on our already pressed public lands or to overthrow past presidential proclamations creating national monuments.”