thank you very much and that means call the subcommittee meeting to order today we're going to have six bills and we're going to begin with our first panel of distinguished colleagues but let me go over some of the legislation we'll be dealing with today the legislation i've introduced h r fifty eight eighty three the grand grand canyon watersheds protection act would withdraw approximately one million acres of federal lands surrounding the grand canyon national park from future also as a mention of the denial or weak effort at the government to government consultation by our federal government despite these horrific this horrific legacy and the potential impacts to one of the most treasured national parks in the nation the forest service now pursuing a policy to allow exploration for uranium to proceed under a categorical exclusions from the national environmental policy act which resulted in very limited environmental analysis and even less public involvement or notice that our oversight hearing the superintendent of the grand canyon national park testified that not even the national park service was consulted on this latest uranium exploration plan we believe this has to stop r fifty eight eighty three is necessary to prevent further degradation of the environment of the canyon and especially to protect the people who live in and near the canyon from the nate dangers of this radioactive metal the legacy of uranium mine is still not behind us and until we have learned to safely mine and process as material there was no place this is no place to be moving forward with new mines i'd like to welcome all our witnesses who will testify in h r fifty eight eighty three today former grand canyon national park superintendent rob berger and roger clark from the grand canyon trust other bills include h r five seventy three sponsored by our good friend from indiana this bill would expand the definition of lands that are considered can continuous to the boundaries of the indiana doomsday national lake shore so that the national park service could accept several and to dissipate the donations a chart of thirty seven  approximately ten acres of national forest system lands in montana to jefferson county for the use of cemetery a chart thirty eight zero nine names a new management entity for the delaware and lehigh national heritage area one of the nation's oldest heritage areas which has an exceptional to track record for success and accomplishment h r forty one ninety nine would add two sites to the right family mansion known as hawthorne hill and the right company factory to the da aviation national historic part this bill also includes provisions already passed by the house including language that were renamed the park at the request of the local community finally h r forty eight twenty eight would add the up was the site of the final push to move the mexican army to the other side of the rio grande the legislation was sponsored by our committee colleague representative ortiz he is to be commended for his work on this excellent legislation i will not turn to ranking member brown for any comments you may have sir chairman at a time when the american people are facing an affordable energy because you might think our viewers would look for a way to help might they we would act with a great sense of urgency to expedite access to secure domestic sources of you might think that we hadn't been available just source that produced no greenhouse gases everyone would welcome it not this congress instead of helping we are looking for ways to make the problem worse today this committee is holding a hearing on a bill that would remove one that once were economically inefficient to explore for you radium have experienced when you'd interest for mining operations existing technologies allow us to explore this resource in ways that are safe for people and for the environment despite the fact you radium mining has been proven safe to both humans and the environment today would eliminate access to the highest grade deposits in the country uranium mining is important to local economies both north and south of the grand economic benefits this community has a joy you really really a mining operations especially in light of the economic devastating devastation brought by the clinton national monument designation that limited thousands of high salar thank you very much and let me turn to our colleagues on the committee congressman ortiz for his comments on the legislation that is sponsoring h r forty eight twenty eight i would like to thank the subcommittee on parks forests and public lands for holding this hearing and especially chairman how the and my good friend ranking member brown for your leadership and with the chairman thank you so much for this thing by district warfare that utilized the superior at the artillery general separate paler who would later become the twelfth president of the united states what they notable participant in the battle u s troops suffered forty five happy that you're with us here today and she has done a heck of a job in trying to preserve the historic site it is now vital for the site to have the full support and resources not only the national park services can provide more there were more than a hundred acres of these battlefield nod that has been reduced to less than thirty four acres development and we all know that this area south access has become one of the fastest very much sir and let me turn to our colleagues i think they're going to if i may call us to vote pretty soon the ranking member bishop is managing the building if we can count on him to extend his remarks for a little longer we might all have a chance impact and will allow a national treasure to expand by the generosity of those wishing to enhance the lakeshore provision of the bill would allow the secretary of interior to make similar acquisitions within the boundaries of the lake shore state and local governments  statements and strenuous material that colleagues would like to enter into the record will be made part of the record let me now turn to the gentleman from pennsylvania mr kanjorski for his bill h r thirty eight  national heritage area this legislation establish a national heritage area in eastern pennsylvania encompassing five counties including two in my congressional district the legislation also created the delaware and leon national heritage carter commission to manage the area we are now at the point where twenty years is a expired mr chairman and this car needs reauthorization so that we can move slowly from the established method originally made to a nonprofit organization which is in competition in my legislation to allow the further expansion and operation of this quarter but without the necessary support of the federal government to give you an idea of how successful this but just in my immediate home county we have a seventeen mile black diamond trail that was constructed a librarian a former engine repair shop in white even and we have seventy seven interpret signs along the wyoming valley levee system all wouldn't have existed all projects would have taken place without the existence of the heritage care quarter we have expended from nineteen eighty nine to twenty five only twelve million dollars from the national park service but on the other hand that money has been leveraged twelve times as a result of this public private partnership that was created by the national average carter commission and that using the national heritage carter in that area i'm here today to ask that the committee give this their full consideration hoping full well that you will appreciate that what we're trying to do is now transition from a supported federal entity to a nonprofit organization which can continue the mission but without the expense of the federal government and this legislation requested five years for this transition be allowed to occur moving the commission to the nonprofit organization i think it speaks well and speaks to many of the issues that face the government today that what we are attempting to do is have good policy but also relieve the expense of the american taxpayer and encourage ability for self management and that's what this legislation will do so i asked the committee to give it their consideration let this be a example of how one can graduate from the program of a national guard or with a system that allows it to continue and provide for the mission that we all think has served this country so well so in that consideration i offer  r thirty seven o two sir thank you mr chairman members of the committee for allowing me the opportunity to testify today on my legislation the montana cemetery act corn cemetery in jefferson county has been in existence since eight sixty three when the community was established which was the same year the rayburn family moved to montana montana one hundred forty seven thousand square miles and there were ten thousand people that lived in there at that time somehow this property at the cemetery ended up in the forest service as opposed to in city property however due to a surveying error limited information in the early one thousand nine hundred that cemetery was included inside the boundary of the beaverhead deer large national forest local residents who my bill would address the problem the montana cemetery activates less than ten acres on the beaver had deer lodge national forest to jefferson county montana for continued use is a cemetery understand the forest service is requesting consideration of market value of the property and for the administrative costs associated with the conveyance it should be noted jefferson county has already paid over ten thousand dollars for a survey of the property and associated nepa compliance documents with the county is borne a good portion of the administrative costs i feel this is sufficient payment for the conveyance of the a grade the legislation is important to the residents of jefferson county who want to legally bury family members in the cemetery the jefferson county commissioners  cemetery board and residents of jefferson county are all supportive of this legislation additionally the senate energy and natural resources committee recently approved companion legislation co sponsored by senator baucus and senator tester twenty one twenty four i would urge similar action by this committee this legislation will help right or wrong that the government did has been overlooked for over one hundred years again thank you for the opportunity to testify thank you very much sir and  nine which will add two important storage sites to the dayton aviation historical national park dayton ohio is the birthplace of aviation and dayton is the home of orrible and wilbur wright the two men who invented the airplane their invention has been what some would consider the most important invention in modern history the dayton aviation heritage national historic park is a celebration of the legacies of the wright brothers as well as paul laurence dunbar tony and the first african american poet laureate currently many people enjoy our national park the parking clue to the right cycle shop the right airplane and huffman prairie where the rights perfected fixed wing flight among other sites however the rights history within the park remains incomplete currently the right company factory buildings and hawthorne hill are not included among the sites of the part of an ado states are forty one ninety nine which will complete the right story told at the park by adding these two critical sites right company factory buildings in west dayton are the first american facilities specifically designated and built the manufacture of airplanes these buildings had a production capability that was greater than any other airplane manufacturing at the time the right company operated at the site from one hundred ten to one hundred sixteen and produced thirteen different models of airplanes the site is currently owned and controlled by delphi corp who operate at that site until later this year hawthorne hill was designed by wilbur and orville wright and was the home of the right family until one thousand nine hundred eight historic architecture landmark as you can tell from this photo here is a statically appealing but it also tells the story of the wright brothers as innovators we have a photo on the right of the factory itself and on the left of the wright brothers home amanda right lane is a great grand niece of the wright brothers will testify later about how the house contains many of the wright brothers innovations and that's a critical piece to their incredible story mr chairman that the bill includes a wide range of support  both for the local communities statewide organizations the ohio historical society includes the national conference of state historic preservation offices officers in the national trust for historic preservation without objection i would submit for the record the letters of support from these organizations it is clear this bill is important priority to the dayton region is also important the rights legacy i want to thank you again for holding this hearing thank you sir and our last colleague a chart thirty eight  eight zero nine which is extremely important in my district as well as congressman george keyes shaping the future of the heritage partnership programs as you know the purpose of the designation of a heritage area is to commemorate and serve remote areas that include significant natural scenic the story cultural recreational resources that form distinctive landscapes each heritage area is unique but they all seek to tell a story about a particular region how the landscape has helped shape the traditions for those residents as well in one thousand nine hundred eight congress and i know george was part of that effort to establish our nation's third national heritage area the delaware and lehigh national heritage corridor and i'm pleased at the allen sachs a director that organization is seated right behind me here today located in eastern pennsylvania between the cities of wilkes barre and bristol along one hundred sixty five miles or rivers l heritage corps has served its congressional mandate purpose to enhance economic development within the context of preservation and to develop and implement integrated cultural historical and natural resource policies and programs that will preserve and interpret the dedication and inspirational benefit the present and future generations at the unique and significant contributions to our national heritage of certain historical and cultural lands waterways and structures within the surroundings  delaware and lehigh navigational canal in two thousand why the d l national heritage quarter commission initiated a delaware and lehigh sustainability study to evaluate the past seventeen years of progress and help shape decisions regarding the quarter's future the national park service conservation study institute conducted this study and the study found that the d l heritage core is successfully invested in dynamic multi dimensional partnerships with federal state nonprofit and private entities through fiscal year two thousand and five the total federal investment of eight point zero two million dollars provided through the national parks service has leverage nearly twelve times its value in direct funding from other sources all the national its original heritage area legislation s eight seventeen in a letter dated seventeen april two thousand and seven to chairman bigombe and the senate energy and natural resources committee the department of interior expressed support for naming a new local coordinating entity for the court or i expect to hear similar support from national park service officials testifying today although the management plan of the d l national heritage quarter has always contemplated a long term relationship between the a national park service it was never expected that this would provide heritage areas with permanent federal funding transitioning management of the corridor from the federal commission to the nonprofit delaware and lehigh national heritage corps inc well allow for an evolution of the roles responsibilities the parties involved in this successful partnership and it will lay the foundation the future is a very valuable program and i thank you mr chairman for your time  thank you very much and i don't have any questions for our colleagues and let me turn to mr brown for any questions or comments he may have no comments just let him hear thank you invited next panel if i may thank you is to occasionally vote and we should probably take care of that and thank you very much and i'm going to recess the meeting till after voting let me reconvene the meeting and thank you as well my colleagues rushed to the airport right now you and i will have a very cozy discussion let me let me first of  thirty seven o two and h r fifty five eighty three sir thank you for the opportunity to present the bush administration's views on the grand canyon watersheds protection act of two thousand and eight and the montana cemetery act of two thousand and seven the former bill would withdraw a total of over a million acres of national forest service land administered as part of the test sea and ranger district of the khyber have national forests and public lands managed by the bureau of land management from all forms of entry appropriation and disposal under the public land laws and location entry and patent under the mining laws and the operation of mineral leasing geothermal leasing under the minerals material laws the ministration does not believe that the withdrawal of this area is necessary the existing law as well as applicable state and local permitting requirements provide service so efficient direction for the protection of resources while providing multiple uses of the area while not affecting existing mineral claims h r fifty five eighty three would prefer hibbett other desirable activities section two a one for example withdraws the lands identified from all forms of entry appropriation and disposal under the public land laws this would prohibit any exchanges sales or other disposals of the land within the withdrawn area and could have serious implications for land tenure adjustments in the area for example the bureau of land management regular trancelike regularly transfers land at low or no cost to local government entities and to non profits for purposes such as schools fire houses and ball fields under the auspices of the recreation and public purposes act under h r fifty five three b l m would be prohibited from making such transfers similarly the forest service would be pivoted from transferring land to educational institutions under the educational land grant that of two thousand we also oppose the section two eighty three of the bill the provisions of this section would also withdraw the ada and i five lands from mineral leasing geothermal leasing and mineral materials laws and preclude the extraction of saleable minerals such as sand and gravel as well as other materials utilized in the construction and maintenance of b l m forest service and local government roads and facilities this would withdraw would prohibit the use of locally obtained mineral materials for public purposes including recreation access that are consistent with the management of the national forests and the b l m managed public lands currently the area that would be withdrawn under h r fifty five eighty three contains five community pits for local sale of sand and gravel and flagstone eight free use permits for b elam's internal use to maintain infrastructure and to negotiated sales these sales would be prohibited future sales under these provisions would be prohibited under h r fifty five eighty three replacement of these gravel sources would be great at greatly increased economic and environmental cost as such materials would then need to be transported over a greater distances from alternative sources as indicated the bill would prohibit the filing of any new mining claims on the lands identified in the legislation section two b would however protect valid existing rights approximately eight thousand five hundred mining claims have already been filed in the portion of the proposed withdrawal under the b l m as management and two thousand one hundred claims have already been filed in the portion of the proposed withdrawal under the forest services management the bill would extinguished these claims so it would not reach some of the areas of concern that have already been expressed the balance of my testimony describes how minerals development is regulated by both the forest service and the bureau of land management under their regulations and in accordance with a wide variety of federal and state laws the balance of my statement also describes how the forest service lands involved here were evaluated for the suitability of for mineral development under the bad national forest land and resource management plan that plan was last amended in one nine hundred ninety six under the administration of my predecessor and the suitability of these lands for minerals development as one of the multiple uses that are provided for in the national forest system was evaluated and certified adds that time i will submit my entire statement for the record and be happy to respond any questions you have mr chairman thank you thank you mr secretary and as i have stated previous panel all material well testimony will be part of the record including an extremely material that the witnesses might want to add to their statements with that let me turn to stevenson assistant director of business services national park service act the department supports enactment of the provisions in section two that clarifies the term contiguous as it relates to donations of land however is that apartment opposes the provisions in section three that would permit acquisition of land acquired by the satisfaction of delinquent taxes and recommended we have two concerns number one federal law requires that the national park service offer at least the appraised value of a property and secondly land thirty eight zero nine would amend the delaware and lehigh national heritage corridor act of one thousand nine hundred eighty eight the department supports the provisions that name a new local coordinating entity and provide additional authority to the of its accomplishments investment management structure and partner relationship a portion of the analysis for delaware and was completed in two thousand and six however a crucial section of the study the business analysis is just getting underway as soon as a complete analysis is final the department will submit a report with recommendations on any reauthorization for federal funding our forty one thousand the dayton aviation heritage preservation act would amend the dayton aviation heritage preservation act to web sites to the dayton national start part the department recommends of the bill be amended to require the partners to sign operating agreements for the development and operation of the site prior to m p s acceptance of any land donation this recommendation comes as a result of the suitability feasibility study completed in two thousand and six which concluded that the addition of the site would not be feasible unless a partner could shoulder the development and maintenance cost of the property finally h r forty eight demands apollo all to a battlefield national storage site to expand the boundaries to include the addition of thirty four acres the department supports the bill mr chairman this concludes my prepared remarks i'd be happy to answer any questions you might have thank you very much and let  me let the with this is know that the members of the committee would have believed ten days to two submit questions in writing to you in a response and i'm sure that some will be forwarded as we go along with this discussion let me let me begin with mr secretary and the guardian fifty five eighty three in the first page of your testimony you state that you will continue to work with your federal partners to ensure that the commit facts of mining do not grade the park's resources we also heard in our march testimony from the superintendent of grand canyon national park he testified that there was no contact or consultation or evaluation involved by national park personnel on the vein minerals exploratory drilling permit that is i believe and i hope you agree on acceptable how can so the question is how can the forest service justify not involv s every step of the way on a project that has many potentials for the park and park resources and many of those potentials could be very damaging secretary scoping letter was sent to thirty affected individuals agencies and interest groups including the national park service on march thirteenth two thousand and seven there were no comments on the scoping letter  provided by the park service during the thirty day notice and comment period that began on march fourteenth two thousand and seven it was our assessment or assumption that relatively minor nature of this exploration activity as opposed of course to the plan of operation for a mine that was actually going to be constructed was such that the park service declined to comment well one contact with all due respect by the first service is clearly not working closely with other federal partners and in this instance  critical federal partner in the uranium mining the potential for that near the park one key reason why i've introduced fifty five eighty three is because of the need for exclusion is a component of any analysis so in our judgment the forest service was compliant with nepa the issue before the court now is whether the categorical exclusion in this particular situation should have been used or whether the agency should have gone to an environmental assessment to do a broader analysis for this kind of activity the reason that we use a categorical exclusion for exploration work is that only about three percent of exploration projects ever result in any level of subsequent mining activity so to spend upwards of one hundred thousand dollars or more to do a more detailed analysis on something this speculative strikes us as not necessarily being good stewards of the taxpayers money you have in the record a description of what the exploration activity in this particular instance involves it involves a relatively limited amount of activity working off of existing roads in areas where there are no threatened or endangered species drilling expert or a holes that will not reach the ground water level in this area so there's a very limited amount of environmental effect that's going to occur here and we thought and i guess the courts will help us valuate whether the will exclusion was appropriate to use here a whether we should have done a broader and deeper analysis but you know typically speaking as i said exploration work of this limited nature and this speculative  is not something that we think it's proof to spend the taxpayers money doing a more thorough analysis because ninety seven or more percent of the cases there's not going to be anything else happening the exploration doesn't result in any more detailed mining activity taking place i think that the point that you're making could be debated about a full nepa process versus the categorical exclusion for the sake of cost savings and expediting the process if if we weren't i think in this instance talking about the necessity for a full a process given the locale and the the national park that we're talking about which is the grand canyon there are there are stories in packs of uranium  mining that are chronicled there is negative there is opposition from native american tribes in the area local officials and i think there should have been an interest of patients that the public's right to know and a full process would have been awarded given that we are in fact talking about the grand canyon and potential damaging the consequences of as a result of this exploration  but leave it for you if you want to respond or not well i think the only response that i can offer is the facts as they exist when we use a categorical exclusion we can only do so if there are no extraordinary circumstances involved in this particular project in a particular project in this case there are no extraordinary circumstances there are no threatened or endangered species that are implicated they drill holes are not going to be deep enough to implicate ground water vehicles will stay on designated driving more routes to avoid excess oil and vegetation disturbance work will be suspended during poor weather conditions or wind soils are wet and saturated to aid in reclamation and prevent potential negative impacts at certain sites water and or drilling fluid that circulates from bore holes is to be confined to fluid pits to be later back filled all drilled cuttings will be confined to a mud pit or radioactive drill cuttings will be encapsul sealable metal containers and redeposited in the drill hole removing from the forest i don't i don't dispute with you that should this exploration lead to a proposal to develop online that a full blown environmental impact statement will be necessary as well as extended consultation with both the tribes and a government to government negotiation and the other agencies but that's not what we're talking about here we're talking about what is by any measure a routine exploratory activity that may or may not lead to any mining and will be on a not evident to the naked  once it's complete in risk and we have billeted thank you mr vinson but i don't have any follow up questions thank you for your testimony if there are they will be submitted to you in writing and let me thank the panel in just  court finds plaintiffs have a higher likelihood of success on the merits of the need to claim defendants reliance on a categorical exclusion of the resulting failure to disclose the environmental impacts to the public may violate meat on the basis  vein uranium exploration project is not a routine is not routine as required for forest service categorical exclusions thank you very much and let me invite the next panel let me in because of the urgency of one of our witnesses having to catch a plane let me welcome you thank you for your patience and as mr thomas saranac i hope i said that right h r five seventy three save the dunes council gary indiana for your comments sir and i know you're going to leave immediately thereafter to try to make a play and we appreciate you waiting and i look forward to your testimony the members thank you for the opportunity to present testimony in support of h r five seventy three my name is thomas saranac i am a long lifelong resident of gary indiana i am a teacher of fourth grade children in gary for the last forty years  i have taken hundreds of children and adults on educational hikes and overnight stays in the indiana dunes today i present testimony on behalf of the save the dunes council a grassroots conservation organization in northwest indiana founded in hundred fifty two to protect and restore the indiana dunes and the natural resources in indiana's lake michigan watershed i serve on the board of directors for save the dunes council and served as president from one thousand nine hundred eight to two thousand and three the enable the secretary of the interior to accept donations of land adjacent to the indiana dunes national lake shore but outside the authorized boundaries it would clarify that the secretary could accept land now in public ownership tax delinquency as long as those contiguous we hope that this change will make it clear in the future that donations can be accepted we also support section three authority to acquire land payment of delinquent taxes although this section would apply and relatively the lack of tax rolls but continue to be a burden to local government this legislation would clarify that the secretary could accept land now in public ownership due to tax delinquency as long as those taxes are satisfied we support section three provisions to resolve this issue save the dunes council supports h r five seventy three in its entirety and we thank you the committee for your time and would be happy to answer any questions you may have thank you very much thank you very much mr allen sachs president executive director of delaware lehigh national quarter incorporated for your comments regarding thirty eight i thank you mr chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the quarter partnership congress doesn't really high national heritage quarter the authorising legislation established a commission to assist the commonwealth and local partners in preserving the story transportation system of overland roads and canals running an approximately one hundred sixty five miles from the wild from the wyoming valley in northeastern pennsylvania to the port town of bristol just north of philadelphia the system was created to move anthracite coal which ignited and fuel the early industrial revolution along the route numerous towns grew and heavy industry flourished including iron and steel summat textiles and sank in two thousand and five the commission undertook an evaluation of of archives comm placements and assessment of the quarter partnership network recognizing there were few examples of appropriate research models to follow the commission engage the services of the submitted that as part of the record the institute was asked to address the following issues evaluate the process progress in accomplishing the purposes of the corridors authorizing legislation a strategy says fourth in our management plan identifying additional actions needed to protect and enhance that and interpret the quarter's nationalists and if we get resources and story analyze the national park service and the pennsylvania heritage park program investments  impacts of these investments and example examine models and options for future management as well as opportunities to enhance the partnership in the quarter the research and found that indeed there has been great progress and of progress continues to grow almost half the projects of the quarter are quarter wide in scope over forty percent of these projects are ongoing activities  continual commitments for every m p s dollar invested the partners have been able to leverage at least twelve dollars and telling a national story is our greatest streng but it's also our greatest challenge time and momentum in developing a partnership like the d l is very important look looking to the future the critical ingre necessary to sustain this partnership network were identified and the primary ones are key ones for having a management entity that is credible innovative flexible and responsible or responsible to the partnership network the stature and relationship of the national park service in the pennsylvania d c and are greatly enhances our ability to leverage funds resources and creativity these relationships should be continual and han the need to secure a stable funding and more device more diverse funding sources the various management options of management partners concluded the time was appropriate to fully shift the responsibility  management to the d l and thus allowing the federal commission to sunset this move will provide ministry of flexibility and greater potential expanding our funding sources and in closing i just want to thank you for the to our next witness on h r forty one ninety nine a month the right lane family foundation thank you very much for being here look forward to your testimony mr chairman i thank you for the opportunity to represent the right family and the dayton community in support of h r four one nine nine a bill which would amend the boundaries of the dayton aviation heritage national historic park to include both the right company factory and hawthorne hill the wright  home i have five minutes today to plead my case but that is an eternity when you think that uncle or of an uncle will change the course of human history in only twelve seconds when their flying machine lets just all from this earth and connectedness to the rest of the world like no other technological edge even in human history the right scientific exploration of man flight set off an explosion of modern engineering technology that continues to change history every second every minute every day the aviation aerospace industries are significant influences on both the american and global economies attracting challenging and captivating the imaginations of the most brilliant minds of our time my purposes afternoon is twofold first i want to help you understand why these last two sides are critical to finishing the right story and secondly i want to assure you that we are prepared again to be strong partners for the national park service with the addition of these new sites can you imagine yellowstone without old faithful or independents without the liberty bell this is the kind of scenario we would have in dayton without the inclusion of the right company factory and hawthorn hill in our national park the right company factory is a site where uncle or an uncle will located the first manufacturing facilities in the nation specifically designed for the construction and sale of airplanes these simple structures are the very birthplace of america's aviation aerospace industry and the visitor experience of walking through the restored original buildings will turn back the clock to the very beginning of our nation's aerial age ha thornhill the right family home built in one nine hundred twelve addresses my favorite piece of my great grand uncle stories and that's the personal one the house was built with the proceeds of uncle or of an uncle will's new company so it was a landmark to their success but more importantly i think the home tells the story of the men not the flying machine that change the world when a visitor walks through the threshold of hostler in hill he is in the company of pioneering genius because he is taking the same steps of orville's friends henry ford charles lindbergh thomas edison just to name a few but the visitor also learns of the family's interesting experiences their tin cockroaches weddings moving mashed potato bowls and engineering improvements to the household drove outside repairmen med and hill was built for the wright brothers their sister catherine and their father milton right but in the end it was occupied by only orval practical joker military aviation consultant tinker and yes first man to fly hawthorn hill is the final and most human chapter in the lives of wright today the wright brothers achievements continue to inspire young and old across the planet and today we have a wonderful opportunity to complete our national park with the right company factories buildings intact with high integrity and delphi committed to giving back our nation's history the community is considering a plan to not only build early airplanes and interpret the birth of aviation on site but to house and new campus for a modern aviation school other partners private business local are exploring economic development ideas adjacent to the historic factory that would bring cutting edge technology back to the neighborhood where it all began our history and our history and our future side by side the right family foundation plans to be a will for working partner m p s to restore preserve and promote hawthorn hill is one of our nation's jewels we are committed partners with the national park service in the management operation visitor experience and yes building a financial support for this unique asset on behalf of the right family i would like to thank congress for its foresight by establishing the date nation heritage national historic park at this time when it was established not including hawthorne hill and the company factory was the right thing to do however now the community vision fully incorporates these two critical sites the right family in the community asked congress to complete the park with this boundary change and we thank congressman mike turner for bringing it forward and finally two weeks ago in milan except an award on behalf of my great grand uncles it was given by an italian foundation but i thought it was sharing with you today for expresses a sentiment descriptive of so many who have brought unprecedented change the world it reads to orville and wilbur wright men who showed intelligent courage and courageous intelligence this award is worthy not only of my great grand on goals but of the nation and national park that calls them sun thank you very much i'd be happy to take questions thank you  trustees the foundation is the owner of or psychedelia home of property at this time no one can look upon the battlefield without feelings of deepest emotion the soil which has been wet with human blood stood on consecrated is not holy ground upon the ground where many a gallant life went out these words were written by a correspondent to the new york to be in from our socket alabama in june of the year eight hundred sixty four in eight hundred forty six news of a military victory ever saw cabella palma swept across the united states and created an outpouring of support for a war that would change the history and the culture of the united states this was the site of the second major battle of the mexican american war a hard fought battle involving approximately eight thousand u s s and mexican soldiers as a result of the mexican american war the united states for the first time compensate the entire continent from sea to sea the five hundred twenty five thousand square miles later became the states of california nevada arizona new mexico why i mean and utah although we are talking about the historic side of a battle and a war that was finally won by the united states we are also talking about how low ground in a region that is  entrenched in the cultures of two nations mexico and the united states that it is almost an area of one country today's residents are descendants of both the american soldiers and the mexican soldiers who gave their lives at the battle restoring and safeguarding the site and to elevate it to a proper place of distinction to do this it is absolutely necessary to expand the boundary of palo alto national historic park to include the property the long term plan is to work with the national park service to form a partnership to develop an overseer socketed palma the brownfield community foundation is the king to eventually construct a building to be shared by the park service and the foundation as a memorial to the american and mexican soldiers who gave their lives on this ground while the two nations have battled over boundaries and borders from time to time throughout their histories they have also and more importantly shared human bonds that transcend political issues the border area of texas and mexico is one of shared values shared beliefs shared cultures even shared languages it is like no other area in the united states or in mexico and here in lies the truly hallowed ground that stage the successful beginning of the war that elevated the united states to a prominent that would forever change your future that it's it's actually to the process started a couple years ago and we started to hear management on certain things and moving to the nonprofit has made available access to funding sources that we couldn't see kinda passed particularly at the state level and hopefully at the foundation level to the transition will be invisible to the to our partners thank you  lane by the way thank you for the memories and the comments and the testimony very much appreciated the neighborhood tell us a little bit about the neighborhood of the right family foundation and we work with the city of oakland to open it on a controlled small basis two afternoons a week for tourism that's gone very well and i believe that they have seen that this has not even created a ripple in their and their lives and i believe that they are excited about the possibility of it becoming part of the national park we are thank you dr guards were all with the national not the city it's actually the foundation the community down today because we do own the property but in the we've been doing that we've actually been doing now working not exactly with the park service but aided us where th where they could and it's sort of the same thing as what's already happening at palo alto so i foresee that we're hoping that eventually the park service will acquire the property and that will become a permanent absolute but we want to have a building there that because the park service has to rent office space there in our area so they would be able to rent that for mass and then at the same time we would offer we would offer and it would be sort of what they have at palo alto already which is a bit of a visitor center thank you very much to all of you and thank you very much for supporting this legislation and  we hope to move this forward so thank you you can call the next panel thank you very much gentleman and this panel will be dealing specifically with the only non controversial a piece of legislation we have before us today fifty five eighty three and let me begin with mr  the coalition of national park service retirees sir your testimony thank you mr chairman and members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to appear before this subcommittee hearing on h r fifty five eighty three i robert arne berger executive council member of the coalition of national park service retirees some seven hundred people with one hundred thousand years of cumulative experience of actually managing the parks and the resources on the ground my full  testimony has been provided for the record before my retirement in two thousand and three i dedicated thirty four years to the protection of our national park system working my way up the ladder from seasonal park ranger to chief ranger and superintendent of five different parks in fact i was the first superintendent appollo walton battlefield national historic site and finally to regional director in alaska i served as superintendent a grand canyon national park managing one of our nation's greatest crown jewels a true global icon hundred to two thousand i was a second generation park service employee who followed my father in a proud career in fact i was born in grand canyon on the south rim in a two room clinic while my father was called away to fight a small forest fire we are testifying in support of h r fifty five eighty three a bill to withdraw to sea and ranger district within kind of bad national forests and other federal lands managed by the bureau of land management and in the vicinity of can add creek and in the house rock valley from location entry and patent under the mining laws and for other purposes never in the history of this park has there been a day that did not carry a threat to its future the tension between the interests of those who strive to protect the canyon the canyons and the lands nearby to leave it as it is as theodore roosevelt unmanaged us and the interests of those who wish to develop it damn it graze it log it and mine it contributed and to find to this day the park we now know as the grand canyon grand canyon is a world heritage site a global icon it is an icon of one of the greatest natural treasures america has and its treasure chest it draws an collects to it a global pilgrimage of visitors who yearn to experience this greatest of all natural wonders it is also an icon that displays the wombs of massive national conservation by battles lost as well as the ribbons of honor for those battles  just as the endangered polar bear now serves as the icon for global warming so too does the grand canyon serve as an icon of protection for the state of arizona this nation and the broader international community now we face another proposal that carries the threat to the park this proposal involves exploration for uranium and the national forest lands adjacent to the park recent litigation has halted exploration temporarily pending the evaluation of the application of need however it begs the question why even provide the opportunity for exploration the logical outgrowth of exploration is development are we really prepared to allow to encourage active uranium mining on six successful explorations adjacent to this park whether it be one hundred holes or just one successful hole the answer to this fundamental question must be no and that is why we support this legislation our concern is our share with others just because exploration or development is not in the park does not mean the resources of the park will not suffer derogation not just an unfortunate possible consequence but one that is illegal also the ecological geological and hydrological connections between the canyon and the lands adjacent to it are formidable and profound many if not most of the uranium claims on the south rim are clustered in water sheds and on aquifers that feed the tributaries springs and seeps along the rim and within the canyon should contaminated water soils and spoils migrate into the park that you need biodiversity that depends upon these water resources will be affected mining exploration and development even miles from the boundary means more roads dust noise and impacts upon wildlife habitat natural movements this canyon would not be here today as we presently know without a long history of protective legislation and litigation it would have succumbed long ago to dams reservoirs mines large and small power plants coal smoke sky's los angeles smaug and a host of other impacts that have either been h off eliminated or moderated due to citizens who a fought to protect this place in the landscape around it witness the values of the grand canyon perfect overflights protection act of one thousand nine hundred seven prescribing protection of natural sounds in the canyon through more effective management of air to our economy witness the values of the grand canyon protection act of one thousand nine hundred two that sought the restoration of the river ecosystem downstream of going canyon dam witness the effect affected most of laws and litigation that has restored better air quality to the canyon by requiring retrofitting of smokestacks with scrubbing technology costing hundreds of millions of dollars so that we can now see the red rock on the other side of the canyon in summary i congratulate you on this piece of legislation and see it as another essential component to the continue effort to protect this great place from the cumulative assaults continually and unfortunately place before it a permanent withdraw all of the remaining areas surrounding grand canyon national park for mineral extraction is the only way to accomplish the best and most lasting protection for this valuable and irreplaceable national resource and world heritage site thank you sir thank you sir no mr roger clark gregg can you trust  his comments are welcome thank you good afternoon and really it's an honor to testify before you mr chairman before the distinguished members of this committee who are now flying somewhere i guess my name's roger clark i'm here to speak in support of the grand canyon watersheds protection act of two thousand and eight i am the air and energy director for the grand canyon trust which is a regional conservation group founded in one thousand eighty five and we're dedicated to protecting and restoring the colorado plateau our region and compass is more than one hundred twenty thousand square miles of spectacular canyon country formed by the upper colorado river and its tributaries colorado plateau includes the largest concentration of native american nation's national parks monuments and recreation areas in the united state is also home to some of the country's most diverse and vulnerable populations of plants and animals most of the colorado colorado river systems native fish are now either endangered or extinct due to dams diversions and development the colorado river is the primary source of water sustaining more than twenty five million people now living in the southwest you mr chairman for introducing this bill your commitment to conservation is especially heartening in light of mo udall is extraordinary legacy of national leadership while representing much of what is now your can congressional district your sponsorship of h fifty five eighty three follows in a great tradition where a few elected visionary have championed the cause of protecting the grand canyon for future generations president theodore as roosevelt did not scuse me inaugurated this eight during his first visit he was so struck by the grand canyon he has fellow citizens to keep it for your children your children's children and for all who come after you when congress passed the antiquities act in eight roosevelt immediately established the grand canyon national monument under its authority this year marks the hundredth anniversary of rosa roosevelt's proclamation and according to historian donald hughes the primary effect of the staff wishing the monument was quote to forbid prospecting and mining in all lands in the grand canyon regrettably then to antiquated eight hundred seventy two mining law continues to permit under strict access to mineral interests requiring today's targeted withdrawals to protect the grand canyon the principal purpose of h r fifty five eighty three is to protect america's crown jewel of nasa national parks from further contamination i emphasize from further contamination b uranium mining is needed to protect grand canyon seeps springs streams and rivers as well as the people plants and wildlife that survive on these threatened waters h r fifty five eighty three is supported by our region residents and elected officials the entirety of the withdrawal areas in the state of arizona arizona governor napolitano supports coconino county board of supervisors supports that arizona game and fish supported and the metropolitan water district of los angeles who uses the water and colorado river also supports it as you saw in flagstaff five native nations also support that significantly the navajo nation has eliminated all uranium mining and mentally from its lands because of their prior experience so h r fifty five eighty three would nearly complete this creation of the the dream really of teddy roosevelt to protect it for future generations today the national park services advises against drinking and bathing in the little colorado river can add creek and other waters in the grand canyon where excessive radio nuclei had to have been found while it is difficult to attribute contamination to any specific activity there can be little doubt that the cumulative effects of mining milling and transporting and detonating radioactive materials are causing long term adverse effects on water and water users in the grand canyon the arizona department of environmental quality recently denied denison min s permits that operate to mind to operate two mines on the to sea and ranger district because it proposed using outdated twenty year old liners and empowerment ponds to capture the runoff the company is moving quickly to reopen its mines a director steve owen said the burden is on them to prove to us that there will not be impact on ground water mr chairman we have learned enough about uranium industries dismal record to ridge to reject their current claims that uranium mining is much cleaner now we should not permit these companies to continue to plunder our drought drought stricken reasoned regions resources of clean water nor should we risk poisoning our children or the grand canyon is just not worth it thank you mr chairman and to have to take questions welcome our last witness mr eugene to bring vice president exploration with terror resources incorporated welcome sir and your testimony please the grand canyon watersheds protection act of two thousand and eight has nothing to do with protecting the grand canyon it will not preserve the environment or the park it will ultimately degrade it and reduce the opportunity for many people to see that this bill has nothing is nothing but an attempt to lock up plans for the public and multiple use that surround the recently acquired private ranches of the grand canyon trust if in acted this bill would withdraw to one thousand nine hundred seventy seven square miles of public land from all mining under the pretense of protecting one thousand nine hundred square miles in the grand canyon roughly that in essence it would withdraw an area equivalent to the entire grand canyon national park this park is already protected by a buffer zone of ten thousand three hundred square miles of public land and water sheds that are currently withdrawn from mineral entry all this to protect what is already a well protected car park this is a land grab that would make even teddy roosevelt blush what will the nation really lose if this bill was enacted how would harm the economy and degrade the environment of the region hasn't this been addressed before by congress this controversy over mining on the arizona strip is not new in hundred three the same area that is now proposed for withdraw all form part of forty wilderness study areas energy fuels nuclear a small denver based uranium mining company was operating three small minds and actively exploring this area many new discoveries were located within and remained in limbo pending the definition of the multiple use of these lands in an unprecedented approach energy fuels contacted various environmental groups and attempted to resolve this the approach which is unheard of today was to negotiation and compromise rather than through constant patient and conflict energy fuels begin negotiations with this year a club the wilderness society the arizona wildlife audubon society the national parks and conservation association to arrive at a consensus concerning arizona's the tentative agreement was then presented for approval by other mining companies local organizations local businesses civics groups and local state and federal government regulatory agencies the common objective of all parties was to release to multiple use those areas which possess mineral potential or which do not possess true honest characteristics while recognizing the areas which should be given the status of wilderness protection after the various parties pledge their support the proposal was introduced into congress and the arizona strip wilderness act of  and subsequently passed into law negotiating process and resulting legislation were truly an example of democracy at work h r thirty three sixty two the wilderness trip wilderness act of one thousand nine hundred three added six hundred five square miles to the national weather wilderness preservation system and eight hundred forty four square miles of b l m and forest land for use for multiple use a copy of the testimony is with my i have submitted with my testimony as exhibit a this testimony merits reading as it provides a case study of what might be accomplished when people work together to achieve a common goal implicit in the negotiations that led to the agreement and resulting legislation was the underlying trust and understanding by all parties concerning their respective responsibilities and obligations to make it work the regulatory agencies have lived up to their responsibility through the conservation of resources and proper management of public lan enforcing the eighteen seventy two mining law that remains both effective and contemporary through the implementation of the federal land policy and management act of one thousand nine hundred seventy six the national environmental policy act the endangered species act in the cultural historic preservation act and various state regulations and government and guidelines the government and regulatory agencies have managed mining exploration grazing and various recreational activities on the arizona strip in a manner that can be only considered exemplary the business in mining communities have also lived up to their part of the agreement energy fuels mine twenty million pounds of uranium from seven small and i'd say very small they're less than twenty acres they're like a small gravel operation but they only they only last three years and they're totally rickrolling from these three from these seven small minds only three of which were operating at one time they explored numerous targets and to find a resource that with modern technology may exceed one tenth of the total u s uranium researchers i think it's important for this committee to understand that we are not talking about a small resource the resource of the arizona strip is currently estimated at about one hundred million pounds and one hundred million pounds can represent anywhere from one can to one sixth of our total national resource depending on the current price of  uranium prices made operations and economic there was no mass left for others to clean up no contamination open mind shafts in fact the reclamation of the mines and supporting infrastructure were so well done that it remains detect undetectible and should be used as an example of how mining can be done under the nation's current mining we have some pictures of compare the before and after of these mines i'm proud of i worked with energy fuels they were done beautifully i just like to wrap up was saying that if this attack on the few remaining multiple use lands of the earth on the strip is successful the result will have a serious effect on the environment economy the region cheating nothing to additionally protect the grand canyon a valuable uranium resource capable of producing clean electricity for millions of people will be sacrificed to enhance the private lands of the few special interest groups the withdrawal will  force and increasing reliance on coal fired plants that released massive amounts of c o two in the atmosphere the nation's increased dependence on foreign energy will contribute to rising fuel prices which will have a direct impact on the local tourism industry many potential visitors will no longer have jobs and no longer be able to afford their think will cost of bearing i think we need do need to wrap it up to minutes over the five thank you let me quick land right there on the south rim near the village that that the operation was active there were truckloads of or leaving and so forth that mine it was being closed it's now a superfund site in fact that mine is one of the best examples of what we're most afraid of that in fact the assurances that i'm sure that were given at one time with or from the mine that will be safe it will be clean and so forth in fact are now piles of debris covered surrounded by a chain link fence and a sign on horn creek down the call a river that says don't drink the water the park service to spend over a million dollars trying to work with e p a to solve that problem so what can be learned there is number one is not is not to be very careful in judging the assurances of the industry and make sure that those assurances are open to a broad very deep analysis and other sources besides just accepting them on their face that we heard in my follow up with a question we heard from the undersecretary that in the consultation process with other agencies and particular the superintendent of grand canyon that there was a letter sent and then thirty days within to respond personal think that that's accurate definition of consultation given the potential impacts but nevertheless this lack of communication  describe it that way what are the dangers inherent in that well to me it was an incredible lack of understanding and a lack of sensitivity to the broadness and the scope of the grand canyon area the forest service and other federal agencies have affirmative responsibilities under the law to protect grand canyon just as the national park service has those responsibilities  and i'm appalled that that four service would believe that that a simple scoping letter sent out to an agency among thirty is sufficient to take care of their consultation coordination that's not that's information there is the word coordination and consultation needs to be checked needs to be changed to are developing a relationship and there should be a relationship between the agencies to question i think the forest service made the claim that in the earlier testimony that existing law provides sufficient direction for the protection of park resources your response to that claim we already seen indications that under the current drilling and exploration that there was an insufficient application of the national environmental policy act we argued that in court and i think we win that argument we also believe that state laws have been not really taken into account the arizona department of environmental quality has had to intervene or not permit a company from opening to existing minds because it's trying to and wouldn't pretend to be able to judge whether the assurances of the industry today are better than they are yesterday i would simply come at it from the standpoint are we ready are we prepared do we want a uranium mine to occur within the watersheds of grand canyon national park are we prepared for that my answer is no there ought to be some places where it doesn't go on and that's one of those places  mr clark quickly just quickly i think that the burden of proof really needs to be on the proponents and i think that we're being asked to take the risk not just us but future generations so that's too much of a risk kate thank you very much and  we take your comments and your testimony very seriously thank you as it moves forward i'm being from the state of arizona i'm going to be very curious as to how my congressional colleagues both the house of representatives and the senate respond to what i believe was an important issue nationally but paroch really a very important issue for the state of arizona be very curious as to their public positions will be on this issue as we go forward to issues to strike me the categorical exclusion issue and the use of that begs the question when it comes to the grand canyon and we can't be cavalier about we're just using the exclusion here we use it everywhere else this is not everywhere else this is special and this is a whole different place with an identification for the american people that is strong and powerful the other issue is the eight hundred seventy two mining law that was referenced here by the witness outdated antiquated and we wouldn't be discussing that withdrawal absolutely correct if we could modernize and move that legislation to congress and get something done that would protect public lands ensure a balance between extraction and resource protection that does not exist under that law and it won't exist until that is we form thank you so much me