Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 37, to sustain the economic development and recreational

use of National Forest System land and other public land in

the State of Montana, to add certain land to the National

Wilderness Preservation System, to release certain wilderness

study areas, to designate new areas for recreation, and for

other purposes;

S. 343, to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal

land in Clark County, Nevada,

for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the

Three Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes;

S. 364, to establish the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation

Management Area, to designate certain Federal land as

wilderness, and to improve the management of noxious weeds in

the Lewis and Clark National Forest, and for other purposes;

S. 404, to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the

Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie

National Forest;

S. 753, to provide for national security benefits for White

Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss;

S. 1169, to withdraw and reserve certain public land in the

State of Montana for the Limestone Hills Training Area, and

for other purposes;

S. 1294, to designate as wilderness certain public land in

the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee, and

for other purposes;

S. 1300, to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of

2003 to provide for the conduct of stewardship end result

contracting projects;

S. 1301, to provide for the restoration of forest

landscapes, protection of old growth forests, and management

of national forests in the eastside forests of the State of

Oregon;

S. 1309, to withdraw and reserve certain public land under

the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for

military uses, and for other purposes;

H.R. 507, to provide for the conveyance of certain land

inholdings owned by the United States to the Pascua Yaqui

Tribe of Arizona, and for other purposes;

H.R. 862, to authorize the conveyance of two small parcels

of land within the boundaries of the Coconino National Forest

containing private improvements that were developed based

upon the reliance of the landowners in an erroneous survey

conducted in May 1960;

H.R. 876, to authorize the continued use of certain water

diversions located on National Forest System land in the

Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-

Bitterroot Wilderness in the State of Idaho, and for other

purposes, and;

H.R. 993 and S. 507, to provide for the conveyance of

certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city of

Fruit Heights, Utah.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John_Assini@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact please contact David Brooks (202) 224-9863, or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 398, to establish the Commission to Study the Potential

Creation of a National Women's History Museum, and for other

purposes;

S. 524, to amend the National Trails System Act to provide

for the study of the Pike National Historic Trail;

S. 618, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct

certain special resource studies;

S. 702, to designate the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers

Valley National Heritage Corridor as ``The Last Green Valley

National Heritage Corridor'';

S. 781, to modify the boundary of Yosemite National Park,

and for other purposes;

S. 782, to amend Public Law 101-377 to revise the

boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to

include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other purposes;

S. 869, to establish the Alabama Black Belt National

Heritage Area, and for other purposes;

S. 925, to improve the Lower East Side Tenement National

Historic Site, and for other purposes;

S. 995, to authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial

Association to establish the National Desert Storm and Desert

Shield Memorial as a commemorative work in the District of

Columbia, and for other purposes;

S. 974, to provide for certain land conveyances in the

State of Nevada, and for other purposes;

S. 1044, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to install

in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of

Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words

that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United

States on D-Day, June 6, 1944;

S. 1071, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make

improvements to support facilities for National Historic

Sites operated by the National Park Service, and for other

purposes;

S. 1138, to reauthorize the Hudson River Valley National

Heritage Area;

S. 1151, to reauthorize the America's Agricultural Heritage

Partnership in the State of Iowa;

S. 1157, to reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National

Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area,

the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and the

Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area;

S. 1168, to reauthorize the Essex National Heritage Area;

S. 1252, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate segments of the Missisquoi River and the Trout

River in the State of Vermont, as components of the National

Wild and Scenic Rivers System;

S. 1253, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate certain segments of the Farmington River and Salmon

Brook in the State of Connecticut as components of the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other

purposes;

H.R. 674, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to

study the suitability and feasibility of designating

prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites on Rota,

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of

the National Park System;

H.R. 885, to expand the boundary of the San Antonio

Missions National Historical Park, and for other purposes;

H.R. 1033 and S. 916, to authorize the acquisition and

protection of nationally significant battlefields and

associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812

under the American Battlefield Protection Program, and

H.R. 1158, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to

continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades

National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake

Chelan National Recreation Area.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John_Assini@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact please contact David Brooks (202) 224-9863 or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at 2:30 p.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1240, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record may do so by sending it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Lauren_Goldschmidt@ energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Sam Fowler at (202) 224-7571, Dave Berick at (202) 224-2209, or Lauren Goldschmidt at (202) 224-5488.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 404) to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 404 would preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness area of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in my home State of Washington.

The Green Mountain Lookout was constructed in 1933 on the summit of Green Mountain for the purpose of fire detection. It was also used to look for enemy aircraft during World War II. While the lookout is no longer used for fire detection, it has, however, become a favorite destination for hikers.

Several years ago, after the lookout was damaged in a snowstorm, the Forest Service disassembled and removed the lookout by helicopter with the intent of replacing the foundation and reassembling the lookout. In 2009, the lookout was reassembled, again using helicopter.

But in 2010, Mr. Speaker, an environmental group from out of State, from the State of Montana, filed and won a lawsuit claiming that the repairs violated both the Wilderness Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. As a result, a Federal judge in Seattle ordered the Forest Service to remove the historic lookout. Elimination of this popular hiking destination by this order would have begun this summer. This bill puts a stop to that nonsense and it protects the lookout.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Too often, lawsuits from extreme groups seek to close off public access to public lands, and too often bureaucracies are happy to comply with eliminating existing recreation from public lands. At times they even take the lead in pushing such restrictions. Credit, however, is due to the Forest Service for using common sense in this case. In other cases, such as the subsistence cabin of the Alaska Native veteran addressed also in this bill, or the halting of stocking fish in the North Cascades, which is the subject of another bill, common sense hasn't always prevailed, so it falls to Congress to fix the problem.

The House has already acted once on this piece of legislation regarding the Green Mountain Lookout, in February, by protecting this lookout. By voting on this Senate bill today, the House will send the measure to the President to be signed and to become law.

The Senate approved the measure by unanimous consent last week at the request of our Senator from Washington, Senator Patty Murray. This action was prompted by a visit from Senator Murray to the Washington State communities affected by the tragic mudslide that claimed the lives of over two-dozen citizens. The Senator called me a week ago last Saturday morning. When she asked what she and her congressional colleagues could do to help, the mayor of Darrington, one of the communities that is affected, asked for enactment of this bill to save the lookout. It is a small action that cannot undo the tragedy, but it will help protect a recreation and economic asset in this corner of Washington State.

It goes without saying to all affected by the mudslide that our hearts go out to those of you who lost loved ones, and our sincere thanks is owed to all who have assisted in the rescue, search, recovery, and rebuilding of that area.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my optimism that this is just the first of other bills affecting public lands that will become law this year. There has been bipartisan communication between the House and the Senate on finding agreement on a number of bills of local importance to communities across the country--bills to solve problems, foster economic development, and to protect historic and special places. Had not the special circumstances prompted action on this bill today, I am confident it would have become law soon enough. Senator Murray and I, along with Senator Cantwell, also from Washington State, have been discussing a number of bills of interest to our particular State. I hope and believe these will be among those that can be accomplished later on this year. It takes one step at a time, so I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the President for his signature.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), who is the author of the House version of the Alaska provisions in this Senate bill.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I advise my friend from Arizona I am prepared to close if he is prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This is a good piece of legislation. I want to congratulate my colleagues from the western part of the State for introducing it and persevering on it.

It is just one of those issues, as I mentioned in my opening statement, where we many times in the West get influenced by somebody out of State. This is just one of those classic examples. There is no reason why the lookout should not be there for the people that surround the community of Darrington, and for the people that hike in that area.

But so many times I have come to the floor, and colleagues on my side, arguing about lawsuits, especially from the environmental emphasis. This is just one more example that we are correcting. In fact, I hope we can have more of those in the future.

This is a good piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker. I urge adoption of the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their help in considering the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act today, a bill close to the hearts of many of my constituents who have been struck by a terrible tragedy.

As many in this Chamber know, on Saturday, March 22, on a mountainside in my district near the towns of Oso and Darrington, an enormous landslide occurred, almost unthinkable in size and scope, wiping out an entire neighborhood and destroying an important stretch of State Route 530, the primary transportation artery between Arlington and Darrington, and other communities to the east.

At least 33 people have lost their lives, and more are still missing. The damage and loss caused by this disaster are heartbreaking, but the community response has been equally inspiring. People throughout the region have come together to support each other and do their part to aid in the search and recovery.

In the days after the tragedy occurred, members of the community and the mayor of Darrington asked for support on issues important to the region. One of their requests to our congressional delegation, to Senators Murray and Cantwell and Congressman Larsen and myself, was for our help to pass this bill.

Last year, I introduced the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act in the House, and, with unanimous Senate passage last week, we are one step closer to providing this community with a piece of good news about a treasured local landmark. The Green Mountain Lookout, located in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, was built in 1933 as a Civilian Conservation Corps project to detect fires and spot enemy aircraft during World War II. The lookout is a popular destination for hikers near and far, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also an important, historic, and unique part of community of Darrington.

Unfortunately, severe weather caused the Green Mountain Lookout to fall into disrepair in 2001, and the U.S. Forest Service began taking steps to preserve the historic structure for future generations. However, an out-of-state group filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service for using machinery to conduct repairs and, unfortunately, a U.S. District Court ordered the Forest Service to remove the lookout. If Congress does not act soon, the lookout will be removed for good.

This lookout is a local landmark for the Darrington community and the Pacific Northwest, and is also a critical tourist attraction and economic driver in the region. At a time when this community is faced with a long, difficult road to recovery, we must do everything we can to help, including supporting the region's economy, and, in this case, protecting the Green Mountain Lookout saves a cherished landmark and supports outdoor recreation and tourism, both critically important to the local economy.

This bill is simple. It would allow routine maintenance while keeping this iconic structure where it is meant to be, and always has been, on Green Mountain near Darrington. Local governments in the area, my constituents, as well as a number of environmental and historic preservation groups, support saving the lookout. This bill also saves money because it would cost more money to remove the lookout than to keep it where it is.

The Green Mountain Lookout represents a significant piece of the Pacific Northwest's history. It deserves to be protected for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy for many years to come.

This bill can't undo what has been done. But, as the mayor of Darrington told me, it can be a piece of good news and a victory for an inspiring community that has gone through so much.

Today, I ask all Members of the House to vote for this bill and do their part to support this remarkable community and this historic landmark.

Madam President, I come to the floor this afternoon to request unanimous consent to pass a bill that is a very small step in what will be a very long recovery process for a community in my home State of Washington that was devastated by a landslide less than two weeks ago.

This is the Green Mountain Lookout bill, which will be passed shortly. It is not going to rebuild anybody's home--which needs to be done--or provide desperately needed human aid that we are supporting through our recent Federal disaster designation. What this small, little bill does is provide a glimmer of hope for the long-term recovery of this region, and in particularly of the community of Darrington.

For years now, along with Senator Cantwell, I have fought to pass this bill through procedural and political hurdles because I know what it means to Snohomish County and that region of my State. The Green Mountain Lookout is more than a hiking destination. It is part of the Pacific Northwest heritage. It is a cherished historical landmark. It is a place where parents have brought their kids for generations to appreciate the splendor of the great outdoors in the Northwest, and it is a place that has been a vital source of tourism-related income for the people who have been impacted by this deadly landslide that struck this region.

I was in Darrington this weekend and had an opportunity to sit down with the mayor and many of the town officials--a town of about 1200 people--and they told me tremendous stories about the families that have been lost, about people who had driven to the store on that Saturday morning and now only had what they wore when they left their homes a few hours earlier. I heard about the needs this community is going to have for a long time and the emotional impact.

After finishing our official meetings, the mayor took us aside and told me, Senator Cantwell, and Congresswoman DelBene that the one glimmer of hope he thought he could provide for this community was passage of this Green Mountain Lookout bill that we are going to pass in just a few moments.

So I want to extend truly heartfelt thanks to both Senator Landrieu and Senator Murkowski, who have been incredibly understanding, and to all the Members of the Senate who have been helpful in going through the process of getting the bill to the floor today. They know what it means when communities large or small are impacted by a disaster of this size, and both of them know that the Federal Government needs to be there quickly to provide support.

Madam President, the people of Oso, Arlington, and Darrington have a very long road to recovery ahead, so I was very pleased when the President granted a major disaster declaration just last night which will be vital to meeting many of the immediate human needs that we are going to be facing.

It is important that these communities know we are in it for the long term as well. Even a small step like this one that supports the region's tourist economy and brings that little bit of hope is critical to showing them that all of us and the Federal Government will be there for them. So as they mourn their loved ones and work hard to recover and ultimately rebuild, I am proud that we will not forget them.

With that, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 338, S. 404.

I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Thank you, Madam President.

I know the town of Darrington will thank you as well.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the full committee, the ranking member of the full committee, and the ranking member of the subcommittee for helping to bring S. 404 to the floor, the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act.

The lookout symbolizes a unique and vanishing part of the Pacific Northwest's heritage, and this bill symbolizes Congress' solidarity with a hard-hit part of our State.

The Green Mountain Lookout is one of few surviving fire lookouts in the West. It is one of only six such lookouts within a wilderness area. It was an early warning station during World War II to alert citizens to possible aerial invasion.

The communities in nearby Darrington and Oso are recovering from last month's tragic landslide that has taken the lives of dozens of people and shut the communities off from much of the outside world. First responders, FEMA, and other Federal agencies have been extraordinary in their efforts to help with recovery.

Passing this bill invests in a longer-term economic recovery of the region. Many of the people in these communities rely on outdoor recreation and the tourism that it brings for their livelihoods. Part of that economy is based on access to its historic and beautiful location, like Green Mountain Lookout.

Keeping the lookout in place means Darrington has one more reason to tell people from across this country that Darrington is open for business. With the summer recreation season coming up, protecting Green Mountain Lookout sends a message from Congress to these communities as well that we are with you.

For 12 years, I represented these communities in Congress and for 3 years before that on the local county council. I introduced legislation identical to this bill in June 2012 right after an ill-advised court decision suggested that Green Mountain Lookout should be taken down.

I was pleased that Senators Murray and Cantwell followed that with the introduction of companion legislation in December of 2012.

In February 2013, Congresswoman DelBene reintroduced this bill, along with our Senate colleagues.

I appreciate my colleagues' willingness to protect the lookout, and I appreciate the support of Chairman Hastings, Ranking Member DeFazio, and

others to put this bill on the President's desk.

By protecting the lookout, we will protect the economic livelihoods of many of those who have struggled after last month's tragic landslide.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and to vote for S. 404.