A resolution commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

Mr. President, I recently received a letter from Mrs. Margaret Baker of Hillsboro, WV, who wrote of ``how important wilderness areas are to the quality of life in West Virginia.'' Writing about West Virginia's Cranberry Wilderness Area, she explains that, in this special place ``you can take your children here and actually see what nature looks like when it's not in a neatly labeled museum exhibit, when the animals aren't in cages and the trees aren't trimmed into perfect little bricketts of shrubbery.''

Mrs. Baker's letter continues:

My husband and I hike in the Cranberry Wilderness and

always see something that is astonishing, a forest of ferns,

an abstract art work of lichen or sunset colored mushrooms.

You can see a picture of a wilderness area but unless you

smell it, and feel the mud under your boots, experience the

light shining on it and hear the birds and crickets, you

can't really appreciate how amazing the offerings of the

planet are. I think West Virginians have a duty to preserve

this reminder of what is good and wholesome and worth being

optimistic about in our world. Help keep West Virginia wild.

I share that letter today for several reasons. The first is that Mrs. Baker's letter gives me the opportunity to boast of the natural beauty of West Virginia, which everyone knows I like to do. One should not doubt that areas like the Cranberry Wilderness are both beautiful and unique. This incredible area of 35,864 acres of broad and massive mountains and deep, narrow valleys is the State's largest wilderness area.

As Mrs. Baker's letter so movingly indicates, visitors to the Cranberry Wilderness directly and vividly experience nature. Its wildlife includes black bear, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, mink, bobcat, numerous varieties of birds, and many species of reptiles. The waters of the Cranberry Wilderness are home to brook trout and several species of amphibians. Vegetation in the area includes spruce and hemlock at the higher elevations and hardwood trees such as black cherry and yellow birch and thickets of rhododendrons and mountain laurel in the lower terrain.

How exciting and rewarding it is to know that individuals like Mrs. Baker are able to use and enjoy this great wilderness. I certainly agree with Mrs. Baker that we ``have a duty to preserve this [and other] reminders of what is good and wholesome.''

That brings me to my second reason for sharing Mrs. Baker's letter with you. This year, 2004, is the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964, which was enacted to ensure that special places like the Cranberry Wilderness would be protected for future generations. In an era of ``an ever increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization,'' the Wilderness Act declared that we must secure the land where ``the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man and where man himself is a visitor.''

My home State of West Virginia has certainly benefitted from the creation of wilderness areas, and the Cranberry Wilderness is just one of the five wilderness areas in my State. The others include Dolly Sods, Otter Creek, Laurel Fork North, and Laurel Fork South Wilderness Areas, and West Virginia remains wild and wonderful, in part, because of Congress's actions. Furthermore, our Nation's 662 wilderness areas have given Americans a freedom to explore. This freedom has been secured and protected so that future generations also may enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Covered from end to end, and on all sides, by the ancient Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia is exquisite in its natural splendor. It is the most southern of the northern; the most northern of the southern; the most eastern of the western; and the most western of the eastern States. It is where the east says ``good morning'' to the west, and where Yankee Doodle and Dixie kiss each other goodnight.

It is only fitting that, on the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, we cast our eyes backward so that we might have insight into how to better prepare for future events. On a whole range of important issues, the Senate has always been blessed with Senators who were able to reach across party lines and consider, first and foremost, the national interest.

Our late colleague, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was certainly such a person. He introduced the first wilderness bill in the Senate in 1956 and was there for its passage in 1964. Other former colleagues had this ability, including Senators Scoop Jackson, Clinton Anderson, Frank Church, Richard Russell, and Mike Mansfield. They understood the art of legislating, and they reveled in it. For this and other reasons, I am also honored to be associated with such Senators and to be the recipient of the Hubert H. Humphrey Wilderness Leadership Award that was presented to me earlier this month.

As we look back 40 years, we can see how the seeds of legislation have blossomed. This certainly rings true of the

passage of the Wilderness Act. Through four Congresses, Members on both sides of the aisle worked through the key challenges and made the right compromises rather than simply succumbing to the purely political tactics and rhetoric that seem to dominate today. The debate on the Wilderness Act should serve as a great example of how Members of both parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives can come together to pass historic pieces of legislation.

It is hard for me to believe that 40 years have passed since Congress first approved the Wilderness Act. It is also hard to believe that only Senators Inouye and Kennedy and I remain in the Senate as Members who voted for that original legislation. Yet today we can proudly say that the original designation of 9.1 million acres in that first bill has expanded to more than 105 million acres in 44 States. I believe that this landmark legislation should serve as a lesson for those who are seeking guidance regarding other important measures before this and future Congresses.

In closing, I am reminded of the immortal words of one of America's foremost conservationists and outdoorsmen, John Muir:

Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting

at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything

seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us

God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way

who gains the blessing of one mountain day: whatever his

fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich

forever. . . . I only went out for a walk, and finally

concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found,

was going in.

Mr. President, as founder of the Senate Wilderness Caucus, I am submitting a Senate resolution today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964, which was signed into law on September 3, 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. I thank the following colleagues for their support as cosponsors: Senator Sununu, Senator Hagel, Senator Durbin, Senator Boxer, Senator McCain, Senator Murray, Senator Lugar, Senator Warner, Senator Chafee, Senator Snowe, and Senator Collins.

The Wilderness Act became law seven years after the first wilderness bill was introduced by Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota. The final bill, sponsored by Senator Clinton Anderson of New Mexico, passed the Senate by a vote of 73-12 on April 9, 1963, and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 373-1 on July 30, 1964. The Wilderness Act of 1964 established a National Wilderness Preservation System ``to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.'' The law gives Congress the authority to designate wilderness areas, and directs the Federal land management agencies to review the lands under their responsibility for their wilderness potential.

Under the Wilderness Act, wilderness is defined as ``an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable.'' The creation of a national wilderness system marked an innovation in the American conservation movement--wilderness would be a place where our ``management strategy'' would be to leave lands essentially undeveloped.

The original Wilderness Act established 9.1 million acres of Forest Service land in 54 wilderness areas. Now, after passage of 102 pieces of legislation, the wilderness system is comprised of over 104 million acres in 625 wilderness areas, across 44 States, and administered by four federal agencies: the Forest Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service in the Department of the Interior.

As we in this body know well, the passage and enactment of the Wilderness Act was a remarkable accomplishment that required steady, bipartisan commitment, institutional support, and strong leadership. The United States Senate was instrumental in shaping this very important law, and this anniversary gives us the opportunity to recognize this role.

As a Senator from Wisconsin, I feel a special bond with this issue. The concept of wilderness is inextricably linked with Wisconsin. Wisconsin has produced great wilderness thinkers and leaders in the wilderness movement such as Senator Gaylord Nelson and the writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold, whose A Sand County Almanac helped to galvanize the environmental movement. Also notable is Sierra Club founder John Muir, whose birthday is the day before Earth Day. Wisconsin also produced Sigurd Olson, one of the founders of the Wilderness Society.

I am privileged to hold the Senate seat held by Gaylord Nelson, a man for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect. Though he is a well-known and widely respected former Senator and former two-term Governor of Wisconsin, and the founder of Earth Day, some may not be aware that he is currently devoting his time to the protection of wilderness by serving as a counselor to the Wilderness Society--an activity which is quite appropriate for someone who was also a co- sponsor, along with former Senator Proxmire, of the bill that became the Wilderness Act.

The testimony at congressional hearings and the discussion of the bill in the press of the day reveals Wisconsin's crucial role in the long and continuing American debate about our wild places, and in the development of the Wilderness Act. The names and ideas of John Muir, Sigurd Olson, and, especially, Aldo Leopold, appear time and time again in the legislative history.

Senator Clinton Anderson of New Mexico, chairman of what was then called the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, stated that his support of the wilderness system was the direct result of discussions he had held almost forty years before with Leopold, who was then in the Southwest with the Forest Service. It was Leopold who, while with the Forest Service, advocated the creation of a primitive area in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico in 1923. The Gila Primitive Area formally became part of the wilderness system when the Wilderness Act became law.

In a statement in favor of the Wilderness Act in the New York Times, then-Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall discussed ecology and what he called ``a land ethic'' and referred to Leopold as the instigator of the modern wilderness movement. At a Senate hearing in 1961, David Brower of the Sierra Club went so far as to claim that ``no man who reads Leopold with an open mind will ever again, with a clear conscience, be able to step up and testify against the wilderness bill.'' For others, the ideas of Olson and Muir--particularly the idea that preserving wilderness is a way for us to better understand our country's history and the frontier experience--provided a justification for the wilderness system.

In closing, I would like to remind colleagues of the words of Aldo Leopold in his 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac. He said, ``The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not the television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little is known about it.'' We still have much to learn, but this anniversary of the Wilderness Act reminds us how far we have come and how the commitment to public lands that the Senate and the Congress demonstrated forty years ago continues to benefit all Americans.

Mr. President, September 3, 2004, marked the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. I have introduced a resolution, S. Res. 387, commemorating this important milestone, and I hope the Senate will approve this resolution, which has 18 cosponsors, before we adjourn for the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the many people who have

helped us preserve over 106 million acres of wilderness for future generations to hike, to hunt, to fish, and to enjoy.

People such as Howard Zahniser, Olaus and Mardy Murie, Ceila Hunter, and Bob Marshall had the vision to protect our wild places. Legislators such as John Saylor and Hubert Humphrey listened to them and made their vision a reality.

As a Senator from Wisconsin, I feel a special bond with this issue. My State has produced great wilderness thinkers and leaders, such as the writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold, whose ``A Sand County Almanac'' helped to galvanize the environmental movement; like Sierra Club founder John Muir; and like Sigurd Olson, one of the founders of the Wilderness Society.

Senator Clinton Anderson of New Mexico said that his support of the wilderness system was the direct result of discussions he had held almost 40 years before with Leopold. And then-Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall referred to Leopold as the instigator of the modern wilderness movement.

For others, the ideas of Olson and Muir--particularly the idea that preserving wilderness is a way for us to better understand our country's history and the frontier experience--provided an important justification for the wilderness system.

I am privileged to hold the Senate seat held by Gaylord Nelson, a man for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect. He is a well-known and widely respected former Senator and two-term Governor of Wisconsin, and the founder of Earth Day. What I find so remarkable is that, even after a distinguished career in public service, he continues to work for conservation. He is currently devoting his time to the protection of wilderness by serving as a counselor to the Wilderness Society--an activity which is quite appropriate for someone who was a co-sponsor, along with former Senator Proxmire, of the bill that became the Wilderness Act.

I am proud of Wisconsin's part in making this legislation law, and I am proud to carry on that tradition through the Senate Wilderness Caucus.

I also wish to thank my colleagues the senior Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, and the senior Senator from Hawaii, Mr. Inouye, all of whom served in the Senate in 1964 and voted for the Wilderness Act.

That Act was the first piece of legislation in the world to preserve wild places. Forty years after the act passed, wilderness still enjoys widespread, bipartisan support. Just recently the Bush administration announced its recommendation for wilderness designation of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, a place that is near and dear to my heart and to the hearts of many Wisconsinites. I thank my former staffer Mary Frances Repko, who for 9 years worked tirelessly to promote, protect, and push for a wilderness study for the Apostles Islands, and to preserve America's public lands.

In closing, I would like to remind colleagues of the words of Aldo Leopold in his 1949 book, ``A Sand County Almanac.'' He said, ``The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not the television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little is known about it.'' We still have much to learn, but this anniversary of the Wilderness Act reminds us how far we have come and how the commitment to public lands that the Senate and the Congress demonstrated 40 years ago continues to benefit all Americans.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, forty years ago this month, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which set aside some of the most quintessential American landscapes in this vast country. This visionary law first protected about 9 million acres of public lands. Today, as a result of a bipartisan commitment by successive Congresses and Presidents, 105 million acres of land are protected in 44 States.

California is blessed to have nearly 14 million acres permanently protected as wilderness for the public to enjoy and as a legacy for future generations. These areas include some of the most spectacular lands and diverse ecosystems, including forests, deserts, coastal mountains and grasslands.

Americans have long recognized the need to protect our public lands and their vast resources. John Muir, along with U.S. presidents from both parties, including Teddy Roosevelt, foresaw the need for us to protect these precious lands, lest they be lost forever.

Wilderness provides a place of refuge from urban pressures. Millions of Americans retreat to wilderness to fish, hunt, horseback ride, cross-country ski, hike and pursue other recreational breaks from everyday life.

Wilderness protects watersheds that provide clean water to our cities and farms. Forests cleanse our air and provide habitat for countless plant and animal species, many of which are endangered. Wilderness provides something else that is harder to measure, solitude and peace. California's population of nearly 36 million will balloon to 50 million in the next 20 years, so space will become even more precious.

I am pleased to cosponsor Senator Feingold's resolution honoring the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. I am also pleased to be the author of the California Wild Heritage Act, which would protect approximately 2.5 million acres of public lands as wilderness. The areas that would be protected by this legislation include: the King Range on the Lost Coast in Northern California; the White Mountains in eastern California, home to the ancient Bristlecone Pines; and Eagle Peak in San Diego County, which includes the headwaters of the San Diego River and is home to great plant and animal diversity.

These and many other areas deserve the protection that was envisioned back in 1964, when the Wilderness Act was signed into law.

I believe that our beautiful and varied landscapes help make us the people that we are. Today, we look back and are thankful for those who worked to set aside the rich tapestry that is our wilderness heritage. But looking back is not enough. We must also dedicate ourselves to securing the irreplaceable remaining unprotected wilderness areas as our legacy for those who follow us.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

From the days of the earliest settlers, wilderness has always been a defining part of our national heritage. Simply put, the American wilderness helped shape the American values of freedom, opportunity and independence.

As it did in 1964, Nevada still contains many of the wildest and least traveled places in the lower 48 States. The remote and untamed areas of Nevada represent a reservoir of challenges and opportunities for hunters, fishermen, birdwatchers, photographers, and other outdoorsmen.

We all play a stewardship role, and I am proud of the job our nation has done and continues to do in upholding these uniquely American values.

In particular, I would like to recognize four individuals from my home State of Nevada who are true wilderness heroes.

Marge Sill has advocated protecting wild places for more than 4 decades. She worked to pass the 1964 Act, as well as every Nevada wilderness bill since then. Marge helped establish the Friends of Nevada Wilderness, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and has mentored multiple generations of wilderness advocates.

Hermie and John Hiatt have been leaders in Nevada conservation efforts for more than 2 decades. Their tireless advocacy for wilderness and environmental protection particularly in southern and eastern Nevada serves as inspiration for many. Their interest in and knowledge of the science behind conservation serves Nevada well.

Finally I would like to recognize Roger Scholl, who played a key role in the development of the 1989 Nevada Wilderness Protection Act. In a quiet but effective and reasonable manner, Roger has consistently sought to develop consensus wilderness proposals. From Mt. Moriah and the Schell Creek Range in White Pine County to Mr. Rose and High Rock Canyon in Washoe County, Roger's work on wilderness issues has benefited Nevada and our Nation. His counsel has served me well.

Through the work of these Nevadans the number of Nevada wildernesses has grown from one, the Jarbidge Wilderness, to more than 40 in 40 years. I commend them for their work on behalf of Nevada and the Nation.

As President Lyndon Johnson said upon signing the Wilderness Act, ``If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning.''

With stewards such as these four great Nevadans, If know that our Nation's great wilderness heritage will be secure for generations to come.