the subcommittee on national parks forest and public lands to order we have three three pieces of legislation will be having a hearing on that will be hearing today h r twenty eight old to buy  save some time let me let me indicate that all witnesses we hope that your comments are restricted to five minutes any material your whole  testimony and extraneous material you might want to put into the record will be accepted into the record and with that let me turn to the ranking member mr bishop for any opening comments he may have to move this forward always my opening comments before us today yes mr chairman thank you and then the once again thank you for your courtesy because as you know this was scheduled earlier and you postponed until this day to accommodate so that we can get witnesses here so i thank you for that courtesy in both a nd we do have two witnesses from from home so i appreciate the opportunity to hear my deal twenty eight o six which allows for continued public access to the north cascades national park from the community as to he can i'm also pleased to welcome newly elected lange county commissioner doug england who is also will testify later on and he was elected just last november to the county government for those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit to he can the gateway to the north cascades national park this community is located at the western end of lake shore land and and listen to this it is assessable only by boat float plane or a multiple multi day hike in other words it is relatively isolated from the town as to he can the secret valley road has long allowed residents and visitors access to some of the most beautiful scenery and or of cascades recognizing its value to local residents and tourists the road was specifically protected when the park and wilderness areas were created to he can road has for many years been maintained and run by park officials but following extreme flooding and subsequent changes in the course of the river much of the road now is under water because a road occupies a narrow corridor within the borders of the stephen major wilderness area congressional approval is required to modify the corridor prior to the park service rebuilding the road during a legislative consideration of the parks creation in one nine hundred eighty eight congress to determine that he could erode would remain exempt from the restrictions of other wilderness areas otherwise no cars mountain bikes or other mechanized vehicles would have been allowed to transport area residents or park visitors to the wilderness areas north of the community is to he can former u s senator and washington state governor dan evans the author of the one nine hundred eighty eight act creating the party has written to emphasize that it was congress's intent to allow for continued road access to the park and mr chairman i ask unanimous consent that his letter be made part of the record without objection failure to fix a road will keep many visitors from entering the park and will reduce the number of visitors to the region and to this tourism dependent community my bill would authorize the national park service to adjust the wilderness boundary for the sole purpose of rebuilding the closed section of the roadway from this to he can river provided that there is no net loss of acreage all federal vironment environmental laws including the national environmental policy act and the endangered species act would have to be complied with for the road to be moved now at this point mr chairman i'd like to point out what we're going to hear as far as testimony from other witnesses three weeks ago this committee approved a bill h r ten sixty one it was authored by my good friend from washington mr dix which gave away thirty six acres of the olympic national park without compensation for the purpose of building a road in a jeweler in a july ninth letter to mr bishop frank a matter of the subcommittee mr wink and the park service indorsed the road and land giveaway in h r ten sixty one so they endorse the give away of this land in just three weeks ago but today but today the park service opposes a role that result in no net loss result no net loss of wilderness area for the residents of so he can so i look forward to hearing an explanation from mr wink on this obvious double standard i also understand that the park service will oppose this bill citing quote higher priorities and quote if keeping our nation's promises to local residents affected by federal policies is not a high priority and if ensuring the public's s a access to their national parks and other federal lands is not a high priority then i'd like to know what the priorities are of the national park service but once again mr chairman i am pleased that the subcommittee has will have this opportunity here from the two representatives from home senator parlette and commission england on the importance of this issues to this local community and to all visitors that visit the wilderness areas in the northern part of washington with that thank you again for your courtesy and your back meantime as i invite the first panel  thank you mr chairman for the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee to present the department of interior views on to build on two of the bills on today's agenda i would like to submit for our full statements for each of these subjects for record summarize the department's positions on these bills h r twenty eight o two would have been public law one o seven sixty two to extend by seven years the authorization for establishing a memorial in the district of columbia or its environs to honor president john adams and his legacy the department supports an extension of the authority to construct a memorial to president john adams recommends that the bill be amended to extend the authority for a period of four years in order to create a greater sense of urgency on the part of the memorial sponsors based upon the foundation's relatively slow progress to date even with the additional year afforded them through the approval of the area one designate by public law one o seven test exceed two were reluctant to extend the authority for a full seven additional years h r twenty eight zero six would authorize the secretary of interior to adjust the boundary of stephen pm other world and us within the north cascades national park complex to allow the rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain the department opposes an act one of h r twenty eight zero six because of our concerns about potential impacts to the park natural resources and consistency with the intention of the wilderness act and our position of not rebuilding roads in parks after natural disasters where no visitors are found where no visitor facilities are found along or at the end of the road in addition with limited financial resources the planning design construction and maintenance of a new road are lower priority than other needs of the national park service mr chairman that concludes my statement i'd be pleased to answer any questions you may have chairman members of the subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on the upper route elk river while in scenic river study h r thirty one thirteen amends the national wildlife seekers act to study the suitability of the upper upper elk river in west virginia for in addition to the wild and scenic river system the bill provides that the study determine if the river is qualified for designation and if so determined to evaluate the potential benefits and consequences of its designation of the land contained within a quarter mile of each side of the river segment two thirds is in federal ownership this section of the elk river flows through a small canyon with a parallel non operational role the only sign of human activity the overall appearance of the river corridor from the stream is one of hardwood forests in large boulders with locational views of the road the stream is popular with anglers and supports pop relations of brown and rainbow trout along with brook trout in the tributaries the department support this legislation as it provides an opportunity to work with interested parties including state and local governments and landowners to identify river values and how these values should be protected the study would also provide the public with an opportunity to look at landscape conservation across all ownerships and government jurisdictions with a holistic management approach this concludes my prepared statement and i would be pleased to answer any questions you may have thank you very much let me  use the opportunity here to ask you some questions first on the issue of buffer zone that my good friend mr bishop brought up at our markup  and then with that having having the ability to exert control over land use decisions in that buffer so the suggestion is that we need at least a language in every piece of legislation prohibiting buffer and that should be a standard just for the record to your knowledge does the national park service have the legal authority to control land land use on land outside the boundaries of the national outside these parks i am not aware of any place where the national park service is seeking to establish a buffer zone around a national park and the other part and what do you do do m p s employees have the right or perhaps even the duty to develop opinions regarding the land uses that might impact park resources number one do those employees have the right or even the duty to express those opinions publicly and work as neighboring land managers to to prevent an activity that might be harmful to that resource mr chairman there are gannicus act of the national park service does provide us or holds us responsible to ensure that the resources of our national parks are protected unimpaired when a manager of a national park unit whether as part of a cooperating agency with another part cooperate an agency with another federal agency or working with state organizations that may adjoin national park areas or working with local communities i believe we absolutely have a responsibility as part of as part of the public or as a cooperate an agency to comment on any activities outside of park boundaries that may affect the resources of the national park area we do that as part of public process we do that as an adjacent landowner and we do it in a very transparent and open mail ok thank you if congress were to pass a a law or or part of any legislation prohibiting buffer zones how would you and to target that prohibition number one  department and would that prohibition prevent my last part of the question an employee from expressing their professional opinions regarding outside activities outside the park boundaries  and what impact would that have on resources at all i'm on able to answer your last question first i don't know the impact on resources because these are looked at on an individual basis basis as proposals are for development may occur outside of park boundaries  if there was a prohibition on stablish in buffer zones i think that would have little impact because we are not pursuing established buffer zones i would say that a buffer zone would seem to me to still have the same requirement if one was created by some act or some other purpose if there was a buffer zone or a prohibition against buffer zones i think the responsibility of the national park service its employees and its employees to to review and look at development outside of national park areas to see if that development has potential impacts or may cause impairment departure park resources is still inherent in our mission and we would i believe we have a responsibility to comment on development that would impair park resources outside of park boundaries so short of a gag rule the opinion would continue to be expressed i believe it's i believe we have an absolute responsibility under their organic act to protect park resources from impairment and as part of any public process we would desire to express that opinion in view that would be considered in the public process thank mr bush thank you mr wink i'll give you one one guess on what i'm going to ask you you want me to guess i'm sure i'm going to i'm going to guess that you're going to ask when your latest request will be responded to a little bit more than that this time mr rankin i appreciate the last few times we have talked as well as your phone call i do appreciate you calling me back that day i am asking you specifically write this down and we'll give it to you in writing for all public lands related threat assessments for fiscal year two thousand and three through two thousand and five developed by the department a can fleet accounting for how the department is planning to use or has used the fifty million it received from the january fifteenth memorandum of agreement with the department of homeland security i'll give this to you all memoranda of understanding between the department and v h s from two thousand and six to the present and also included all environmental assessments associated with these two thousand and six of the present between the superintendent of big ben national park and superintend of organ pipes national monument and their respective regional directors and also all documents communications related to issues of v h s access on department of land department plans from two thousand of the present between superintend the big ben national park and superintendent of organ pipes national park and their respective regional directors those are the essential elements that we need to know to move forward i appreciate that i recognize that i had a birthday a few weeks ago i know your office would have sent a birthday greeting but it was held up by o m b let me do a couple of other questions i simply have first of all specifically to the hastings bill has a passionate park service conducted  the inventory of public comments dealing with the management of this particular area  mr bishop i guess i'm i can't tell you the specific timeframe but i believe that the decision not to reopen this was part of a plan i will have to i will have to find that out specifically for you i'm sorry i don't know this specific information i've received is a public comments were taken and i think i will allow mr hastings to to refresh me or correct me if over ninety percent of the public comments were not in favor of keeping this road open do you happen to know who built the original road that was w out i do not know who constructed it is did the pioneers who went to that area being smarter than the c c c during the new deal or who built the road that was washed out did they have an alternative route in that particular area that was replaced by the c c c when they rebuilt that stupid road that was washed out mr bishop i can't answer this question specifically allow mr hastings to correct me if i'm wrong but i understand that there was a pioneer path that was the road before the c c c rebuilt the road in the wrong place and that his proposal is to take the original pioneer route to replace that particular road will there be a lots of wilderness area if you do what the pioneers did and and make the route to allow access to this area in the replace it was originally designed not according to the to the bill is introduced to be no net loss i appreciate that and i would sumed you were to say that if the road was grandfathered in by an act of congress that was the intent of congress to do so yes i'd like that the superintendent steve martin recommended sabotaging a buffer zone around the grand canyon national park at any point during this year not to my knowledge that i have will we were fresh on that one too at a later date as well did what is then what is the policy towards you sheds and you scapes the policy is that if there is a development outside of a national park service area that would affect the view should or view scape from within the national park area we would consult with the the individual if its before planning commission with a community with a state or with another federal agency to assess the impact of that development and ask for their consideration in the terminology washington do you consider that different than a buffer zone i considered vastly different from that maybe one of the terminology differences we have that the chairman from arizona was suggested maybe a gag order could potentially be used and would suggest you know secretary and the department of defense is has established that kind of precedent for you you might consider what he did as well you can do as well with that mr blank i will present once again the question i'm sorry that's a statement to the questions that i had and would ask you once again also to review the road concept because what you're trying to do with spirits and hastings and people washington trying to do is read stylish road pioneers had instead of their oh the new deal era created and put it back there so access is available to all citizens and that's a worry because as to the other two bills i like  ould support the legislation can today that thirty seven acres to the whole tribe to help them address their life health safety concerns arising from the current day let me or later parts i only have the time so so you're doing this because you're worried about the people and the specific specific case the whole tribe i supported that bill i thought it was good thank you what about the citizens of c he can who depend on tourism in trade and getting people to go up in the north cascades wilderness areas they have to get there by going through this road isn't isn't the reasons that you just suggested exactly the same for the citizens that live in ca he can the access is the same issue in both cases yes mr hastings the difference i would tell you is the fact that that be we would still be providing access however not motorized or mechanized access on that section of the road if the intent however as senator evans and senator evan said and he was the author of the bill was allow as much access to these areas including motorized because that was the way it was at the time the bill passed what has changed other than mother nature washing out the role the intention was exactly the same access to wilderness areas that is the the changes the mother nature has washed out the road the difficulty of keeping the road built for what was intended congress so i believe the intent of congress was to provide automobile access on that roquet so so under what authority then have has your position changed the we are providing testimony with our opinion if congress chooses to pass this bill we will in fact will in fact do other words other you don't have an opinion based on statutary statutory law or based on the intent of congress like you to ease labrat on that it's in your second paragraph and it says opposes twenty zero six and you have a few other reasons and it says and our position of not rebuilding roads in parks in the cascades after natural disasters were no visitor facilities are found along or at the end of the road so that policy is specifically for the cascades is that correct mr hastings i saw that when i reviewed the testimony again yesterday i saw that statement i believe to say and cascades was an inappropriate and and incorrect statement ok i believe you take the cascades out tell us where where the other authority comes from where it is because there are not any facilities beyond or on the road where that come from that would be not enough already it would be a policy of the national park service or is that policy phone where is it written out i would have to get to the specific site it would seem to me that that if you if somebody writes this statement and they inadvertently putting cascades and you at least know where the original state would come from and now you're now you're telling me that you don't know exactly where that where that position where that policy comes from not satisfied with his thanks to that you're saying between what happened three weeks ago and now because the arguments that you use of the same you knowledge that the intention of congress when they passed the north cascades wilderness was to have access however attention and that is that the olympic national park area i'm told is not an area that was wilderness designation no but it's but you missed the point is you're minister by the park service you know in both cases i mean it's  the environmental work has not yet been done on the new section as as it would be allowed by the bill the environmental assessments would need to be done and as well as specific designs would need to be done but this is an active you know this is a road that is it could be full to foot traffic if we built it would be open to be a call traffic as well now is the flooding how often does that occur or is it don't need a seasonal is it there's been some how often occurs there were significant floods that closed the first portion in one thousand nine hundred five i think in subsequent years basically had been that close to the last three miles of the trail in the past few years we've had flooding up to the up to the area of car wash falls that have actually closed about twelve miles of the road and it's it's a seasonal periodic basis just based on the weather and  snowfall exciter at any given time it's unpredictable so knowing that the assessment would then provide you with information to build some kind of protection for their future road i think the intent is to relocate the road in areas my belief would be is that these would not be on into supported circumstances that it would not be from a sudden rain storm that would cause this kind of damage it would be sustained flooding based on snow pack and rainfall and in the spring but during those minor events it is not something they are in danger of human being or of course i don't believe that's the case no what does it cost to reroute that new hundred foot quarter and that north cascades park outside of the wilderness and flooding areas in the estimate that was done in two thousand and four the cost was approximately one point between one point three and one point five million that's a cost estimate that's not based on the environmental work that would need to be done which we two and a half million in today's cost those that knew how to put quarter into it into the upper section of the road me up or valley or the entire area be environmentally damaged if it was built upon that area the new section of road what plans are being made to assure that this is addressed in the future or if any the the absent this legislation the national park service would maintain and operate that court or as a pedestrian or horse access only on that upper section so if if when if and when this legislation isn't acted we would immediately begin the  environmental review in the planning and then the construction of the road how much this is mean to that area can i am i do not have that figure obviously that it is a if you will a longstanding use that had been occurred within that he can area of the park and i think others may be able to better answer your question in terms of what the economic and social impact of not having that is and of course the impact of the environment yes well i think i think we're our concern was being able to sustain the road and that that the environmental impact is something that will continue for years if if and when we would up and and others have brought up when we mark when we did mr gates bill about three weeks ago there was a can you know the conveyance to the to the whole nation those thirty seven acres how does that pose a situation we're talking about today different from that situation and that that issue was health and safety to a great extent  but it's that or is there a precedent and i think that's the point that mr hastiness repeated over and over again the legislation that you marked up three weeks ago would allow the tribe to manage the connection between their existing land in land they're acquiring not from the national park service but from private from other private sources on higher ground as they relocate relocate their community there would be no and two other important points land being conveyed would be protected from new development and the whole area and there would be no cost involved to the national park service the national park service or the department support for the conveyance to the whole tribe should not be we don't believe it should be viewed as a precedent for moving land from protected status in order to facilitate the building of a road it was one was wilderness one was not development and connection of two important two areas for the whole i think are the preceden citing real briefly and i appreciate my friend from california land a question and again the to see that the committee subcommittee has given us to get our witnesses to perhaps answer those questions as to the economic  consequences of not having that road so your line of question i hope will be will be answered more directly by commissioner senator parlett next panel so i appreciate your line of question on that because this is an important part  approaching the table now i want to thank gail willis who understands not here yet but still in traffic trying to get here and tom shipley for traveling today to our nation's capital to present testimony on this bill commissioner safer is part of what i view as a new breed of politicians in this kind in his home county got his county he understands that the economic well being of the residents in the conservation area most significant natural resources are intertwined he also understands that as more and more people discover pocahontas county there will be increased demands on the resources  us who's not here yet owns and operates elk river touring center including the elk river and restaurant i've been there seen the services he provides and i would recommend it to anyone who's visiting the area the menu is currently featuring a pendleton county raised west virginia rainbow trout season and bake and bake whole california know what cooking is like and fill laid grandfather was taken prisoner of war in a log cabin that still stands behind the country story i want to make it very clear that initially behind h r thirty one twelve came from these thirty one thirty right number thirty one thirteen did not typing as a type of an issue before this legislation came from the gentleman and the many other residents of the county it's their initiative their determination on this matter that shows once again that adams moral foundation i'm here to testify in support of h r twenty eight o two which would expand the authority of the adams memorial foundation to establish a memorial to john adams and his legacy in washington d c you have my formal testimony so i'm going to hit on a couple of high points here and then reserve my time primarily for questions just to give you an overview quickly of twenty eight o two a couple of points i think are worth noting while the memorials have been established in washington for president george washington thomas jefferson abraham lincoln john adams and his legacy are notably under represented in our nation's capital in two thousand and one the congress authorized the formation of the adams memorial foundation to address this oversight since that time the foundation has made some very significant process progress in the process of creating a memorial including establishing a board of trustees hiring house legal experts urban planning environmental experts conducting a preliminary site assessment of over twenty sites developing a conceptual design for the project and and otherwise moving forward relatively quickly  we're poised to enter at this point into the formal site selection and environmental assessment process that will take place over the next twelve to eighteen months this will be followed by a design competition a capital campaign and ultimately thank you chairman and congress members of the committee for hearing the bill which i am supportive of twenty six for the record my name is linda evans parlette i am the washington state senator for the twelfth legislative district in north central washington my district includes the community of recreation area and the north cascades national park i have submitted twelve pages of detailed written testimony for the record on page three of that written testimony you will learn about the  visit in the north cascades national park let me quickly define the issue part of a historic primitive road which provided the only vehicular access into the north cascades national park from state he can a road that is approximately twelve miles long washed out due to and the story flood in two thousand and three this road mr chair was there prior to the north cascades national park being created in one thousand nine hundred sixty eight this road was there before the hundred eighty eight washington parks wilderness that matter of fact this road was there in hundred ninety nine when my grandfather ray o'neil worked on one of the original small ferries that traveled from cheyenne to stay he can bottom line this road to cottonwood camp also known as the upper city he can valley road has existed since the one nine hundred centuries as a result of the two thousand and three flood the national park service did an environmental assessment on the upper s he can valley road in two thousand and six ninety percent of those who gave comments supported the road to cottonwood camp staying open the most viable option with alternative alternative d would move the small portion of the twelve mile road that continually washes out to where the pioneers built the road in the nineteenth century away from the meanderings to he can reverse a commonsense allusion to move that section to the old wagon road the national park service however concluded that they did not have the authority to move the section of the road as propose an alternative of the two thousand and six environmental assessment of the constraints of the washington parks wilderness fact with all due respect to the national park service mr chair i am shocked and quite disappointed at the national park service is testimony against this bill as recent as august eighth two thousand and eight the olympic national park general management plan was approved by a record of decision signed by regional director john jarvis and subsequently published in the federal register on november twelfth two thousand and eight my written testimony states the exact language used for olympic national park and due to the previous comments i will read it if the road relocation away from the river meander areas is feasible wilderness boundary modifications would be sought as necessary with no net loss of total olympic national park wilderness cre i ask you mr chair and members of the committee why when the wilderness areas by law were added for mt rainier olympic and the north national cascade parks all at the same time are different management standards allowed this is nothing short of disparate treatment and an equal application of the law i support h r two hundred six because it would restore access to rested park facilities and scenic wilderness areas within the north cascades national park a visitor to speak and could once again access the wilderness trails in a weekend i support h r twenty eight zero six because it enables the intent of the original co sponsors of the bill former three term washington state governor and united states senator daniel j evans and the late u s senator brock adams that is to say it was their intent to maintain a recreational access quarter in the designated wilderness area within the north cascades national park former senator dan evans has provided written testimony i also support h r twenty eight zero six because it would allow the national park service to remain in compliance with the one nine hundred ninety five general management plan for the late show a national recreation area which calls for the road to cottonwood camp to remain open i also would be supportive of a narrower version of h r twenty eight zero six which could clearly state that notwithstanding any other provision of the law the national park service shall build the road consistent with alternative of the upper city he can valley road assessment environmental assessment of two thousand and six and to conclude mr chair senator evan stated when he introduced the legislation in one thousand nine hundred eighty eight and i quote if i could turn the page here what the bill would not do is keep the park visitors shut out of the park of the existing transportation and development corridors would be excluded from wilderness designation end of quote stay he can means the way through it is time to reopen the way through congress should recognize th historic grandfathered access to the upper stake in valley just as senator evans invision so that we can maintain and even increase the number of citizens and taxpayers who will appreciate and protect this magnificent park thank commissioner doug england saline county commissioner h r twenty eight zero six with commissioner mr chairman and members of the subcommittee my name is doug england commissioner shall and county washington thank you for making this hearing possible and to dr congressman hastings for introducing important legislation for the people of our county fully eighty percent of our county is owned and controlled by the federal government with a population of just over seventy thousand the county's residents are joined by visitors from all over the world to ensure that its unique and see its unique beauty historically one of the most special places of all is the state you can valley in the north cascades national park since it became known that this committee would hold this hearing i have received a surge of calls reflecting frustration that no one is listening to our plea for common sense thank you congressman hastings for listening the comments that i hear are all strikingly similar please allow my children and those not blessed with the time or the ability to share my experience of this beautiful valley let me draw heavily upon of the tauriel of the herald republic written by scots and very to tell the story it tells of a huge photograph of  basin that hung for years and then this deacon valley visitors marveled at the picture then would ask for directions to see for themselves the area once described in the one thousand six to sixty sierra club documentary film as a crown jewel of america see a grand jury they don't ask that now the photograph has been taken down the locals got tired of having tell visitors that unless they could don a backpack for a thirty mile round trip they could no longer get to horseshoe basin or for that matter to a myriad of other back country designations in the language of the native indians to he can meant the way through but in october two thousand and three a five hundred year flood washed out this deacon valley road which a century earlier had been had gone nearly two horse you base and deadening to quote that same one nine hundred sixty film in paradise now it ends in a rather nondescript stop sign just thirteen miles up the river now the national park service has opted to abandon the road up river from that point less than two miles into the park in the steven mathur wilderness without that road destroyer way to heaven is already experiencing a dramatic drop in visitors using a local transportation the few struggling businesses that have found a home here the firefighting crews have also lost access to fight the catastrophic wildfire they feel no fear will be given birth within the park and roar into their world is a full grown monster maintaining the way through requires only common sense parallel to the washed out section runs the roads original route safely upslope from the river called the old wagon road it became part of the pacific crest trail when the civilian conservation corps replaced it with the road along the river the solution is obvious for those two and a half mile simply reroute the main corridor or to the old wagon trail and trade the pacific crest trail back to the river where a trail would be far easier to maintain mr chairman what is the national parks response to our plea it is a flat out no the state he can valley road is bounded on both sides by the math or wilderness that according to the national parks cannot and will not be moved in the answer is simple change the law there would be no net loss of wilderness the pacific crest trail users get a more beautiful route and the one hundred year old one lane primitive summer only road that starts and stops instead he can would be open it g s just common sense most environmental experts agree that the old wagon trail was where the court or should have been in the first place it is been said that throughout the world i mean be no place else quite likes to he can but who will know as one resident puts it it's like going to disneyland and only getting to ride the cup and saucer representative hastings bill reflects the commonsense desire of the people of washington state it provides for replacement the washed out road and nothing more it does not take away from the wilderness experience it only enhances it mr chairman as you listen to environmental groups asking you to oppose this pier bill because replacing the state he can road breaks precedent ask yourself whether opposition to common sense solutions isn't denying the next generation of our children the same blessings that we enjoyed they too will be asked to defend the wilderness that today's environmental groups claim to love but if they never experience that same wilderness how can they be expected to defend it it should be noted that this wilderness was named after the first director of the national park service who and i quote encouraged visitation to normally remote units of the system to thereby create a base of public support with those who had seen and gained a personal appreciation for them it has been proposed that this wilderness be enlarged how can your committee ask for our support after this insult to speak and mr chairman if the people of my county ask for this legislation to be passed please remember  will that such an obvious common sense will provide to future wilderness defenders thank you and thank you again congressman hastings and members of the subcommittee for your willingness to listen to our plea for reason thank you mr commissioner martin for president pocahontas county commission a chart thirty one thirteen mr commissioner thank you chairman and members of the subcommittee for this opportunity to testify in support of h r thirty one thirteen a bill to study a portion of the elk river in pocahontas county west virginia for potential inclusion in the national wild and scenic river system at the outset i want to recognize the important leadership of congressman ron paul and sponsoring this and many other environmental measures which will have lasting value enriching and protecting the quality of american life and that of west virginians for decades to come as president of the pocahontas county commission i am in a unique position to speak to the importance of this legislation our beautiful rural county has been discovered as other parts of this great united states we are at a crossroads of decision in a rising at a balanced use of our natural resources which will best us into the future my first observation to you is that this portion of the elk river having its birth in our yet pristine county is truly a unique environmental resource its waters are cold and pure it is a trout fisherman's dream its banks are free of development and its waters lap a shoreline where beaver and wildlife yet thrive el is an important part of our beautiful landscape which draws many visitors and tourists who walk in rich forests and wilderness and canoe and fish unsullied streams and rivers our county has developed a strong tourist industry which weaves together many paralleled elements unique to pocahontas county the cranberry wilderness together with the recent additions of spice run wilderness the greenbrier river spectacular and tranquil state parks and forests roll rolling farms serve as a panoramic backdrop to the national radio astronomy observatory the cas railroad and the ski snowshoes ski resort this wealth of resources promises us a healthy and growing economy into the future however the one  see is that as a county we must be true stewards to this abundant gift this leading legislation by chairman right hall recognizes the importance of stewardship of unique natural resources to ensure a prosperous future frank jazz a row the director of the west virginia department of natural resources has expressed his support of a detailed study of the upper elk river he ho such a study will answer often raise questions and concerns about how any change in designation would impact president landowners and the use of their land as well as the state of west virginia to manage control and regulate fish and wildlife mr jazz wrote rightly pointed out to me in our recent conversation concerning this bill there is no way to put a value on good clean water which as he further stated is a resource central to sustain life i leave that as time goes on and as our world and country and state become more crowded and congested water will become more valuable than  additionally i want to express the support of the county convention and visitor's bureau for this legislation our county has over one million visitors a year and extraordinary economic stream  a county of just nine thousand residents tourism is a lasting and powerful economic engine and unique resources like the elk river must not be taken for granted our c v b president step toward protecting what is so important in our area the simple truth in life is that one cannot have his cake and eat it too there are choices to be made in the best choices result from careful study of the facts before action is taken on behalf of the pocahontas county commission i urge this committee to confirm this was the legislative initiative of chairman ryan hall and hope that the united states congress and axis legislation which will begin the needed study of this unique natural and state resource for a healthy and strong america there are certain basic elements which must be preserved into the future no civilization can withstand the destruction of his forests or pollution of its rivers and still survive intact the elk river is a small but significant link in the chain of strength of america i and members of the subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to share with you the deep connection of our family with the upper elk river for waters played a significant role in shaping our pioneer past they sustain a still in the present day and are the foundation of our hopes and dreams for the future i am here to represent the descendants of the seventeen hundreds pioneer settler william sharp i am the eighth generation to resize in pocahontas county my forefathers owned much of the land on and around the proposed study area our holdings over time had been reduced to somewhere around eight hundred acres all in the proximity of the upper elk river our early log home was constructed along the bank at the river confluence of the spring fed rapids of old filled fork and spring fork forms a dramatic weight that is well described as a gift from god a later log home was situated upstream near one of west virginia largest cold water springs eighteen hundred structures still stands it was a host to robert e lee on two occasions during the civil war his first campaign as general the confederate army was through our valley my great great grandfather silas sharp was arrested in this home as a spy by the confederate army his little brother luther was killed in that skirmish silas spent two years in a prisoner in salisbury north carolina a prisoner exchange freed him he walked home and appeared at the doorstep of his fiance who did not recognize him silas recovered married and had a family his son my great grandfather l d sharp established sharps country store in eighteen eighty four i own and operate the store today a one hundred twenty five year example of living history the introduction of timbering in the early one thousand nine hundred resulted in the establishment of a small village board the village is mostly gone but my folks still but many folks still reside nearby in tell intriguing stories of life on the river timbering remains a tradition in one thousand nine hundred six the old seneca indian trail was pa and the seneca highway brought many new people to the area my great grandfather found the folks traveling had no place to stay he constructed numerous tourist cabins along the river we have family letters from the early one thousand nine hundred documenting the fact that even in that day folks were out touring the countryside in appreciation of the natural beauty in those newfangled contraptions called automobiles eco tourism remains a strong and growing factor in the upper elk river watershed a well kept secret the upper elk is known worldwide by a select group of anglers from as far as way as scotland they make an annual pilgrimage to fisher waters the upper elk carries the unfortunate but crucially important  of the last places on the east coast with all three naturally reproducing non stock species a trout native brook our state fish rainbow and brown the unique karst geology of limestone acts as a stage for a remarkable dynamic system of springs and caves that play an important role in the enjoyment of anglers and naturalists from all over the world our pioneer family discovered many of these wonders including shar cave a four mile two story spectacle that hosts the underground passage of the big spring fork including a magnificent underground waterfall many of these natural gifts remain largely unexplored in the proposed study area for example an extraordinary cascade of water from the surface of the upper elk river falling into an abyss this cave which pirate's away a portion of the above ground flow is as dangerous as it is beautiful thus unexplored as to  configuration and country and contribution to the natural world a new species of crayfish was discovered on our farm it is one of only two crayfish known to be endemic to west virginia it is not a borough or it seeks shelter and breeds between the river rock the campus alcan says depends upon the free flow of clean cold water for its existence the river is largely now as it was we think representative ray hall for the introduction of this important legislation as it represents the will of the people of pocahontas county to preserve the river and the historic uses of her immediate surroundings doing so will ensure its viability for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations we offer our support and look forward to participating in the creation of an upper elk river management plan that will allow us to see does it nation of the upper elk river as wild and scenic through to fruition thank you thank you sir mr willis chart thirty one thirteen welcome sir your comments thank you good morning my name is gil willis and i am the business polk county west virginia i would like to thank congressman ron paul and the subcommittee members for considering this study and providing the time to hear our comments my wife and i have been in business in rural west virginia for twenty nine years we currently provide fifteen full and part time jobs related to outdoor hospice the outdoor hospitality industry in the winter this number doubles this business is located on a one hundred fifty acre family farm on the head waters of the elk river and slade fork my home and business is directly of the proposed study area several of the springs that feed the upper section of the river resurface in our yard and flow into the proposed study area i'm here to express my support for the walton scenic study on the five miles of the upper section of the elk river commonly referred to in today's hearing as a slave fork section of the the elk river is over seventy five miles in length it begins in our remote mountain valley then flows eventually into the canal river in charleston our state capital many small towns farms individual property owners rely on its clean water for everyday use not to mention the thousands of recreation users who fish hunt can't swim hike and float in the river and along its banks this is only one of eight rivers which begins in pocahontas county west virginia this reed region receives large amounts of rain and snow which provide a large amount of pure drinking water for this section of the mid atlantic region our upper head waters begin thick red forest red spruce forests reaching almost five thousand feet in these waters then start a journey that takes them into some of the most prized hardwood for us home to hard cherry red oak sugar maple and many other species as the waters get closer to the valley floor they become the small feeder streams which still provide a safe haven for native brook trout the valley floor is limestone over the last several thousand years it has carved large caves which the river and its springs used to travel the upper reaches of the watershed this process over time has graced us with some of the cleanest drinking water in the eastern u s i like to think of this whole headwaters as a huge system both underground and on the surface this estan is connected by surface water runoff and are unique underground springs and caves the water levels  depending on rainfall amounts snow and the time of year pocahontas county is over sixty five percent federal and state owned and managed the state and federal lands include wilderness national forests and state parks hopefully a wild and scenic study then designation in the future will provide long term high quality outdoor experiences for our state and county residents it will also keep west virginia competitive with other anything you learn in congress this discretion being the better part of some time and so let me ask mr adams some questions to fi national park service said that there hadn't been enough progress going on with the foundation and therefore your request for seven they wanted to modify that to for  your reaction to that sure i think that a couple of things first were an entirely volunteer organization started several years ago we had our original cooperative agreement signed with the national park service in two thousand and four in april of two thousand and four we began our efforts as part of this process and we subsequently went through a lot of building out of board looking at different sites hiring outside consultants lawyers urban planners except for us we actually feel we've made reasonably good profit progress in fact we are now in the process now beginning our formal and alternate site study and our environmental assessment which will basically put us in a position to have a site in the sort of eighteen to twenty four months time frame which is functionally equivalent to where other immoral projects have been in recent years that's point number one point number two i think as we look forward from here it'll probably take a seven years to get it done as i said before it'll be eighteen to twenty four months to run through some of the site studies get a site couple of years for a capital campaign and then construction on the back end as well so i think that's the number seven we put out there is because we think we can get it done in that period of time certainly a four year process we can get a good start but frankly probably come back to looking for additional legislation at that point and the significant challenges  you might face during this effort in the legislation congress could address some of those challenges in order to make sure we're heading towards that so we can see it  through to completion because i agree with your comments this is something very significant that needs to be acknowledged nationally and so there's other challenges that you see that the legislation could help expedit if you have any comments now or or later will thank you very much first of all i think we're in a good position right now with the processes that were on as i mentioned before the alternate site study the environmental assessment that will carry us through for the next twenty four months but we'll go back can reflect upon that and if there are other things that we think worthwhile to be incorporated or legislation or other comments we'll make sure to work with committing to get them to  descriptions and tom i have shared with the committee your pictorial about everything you said in your testimony before you came and while you were out fighting traffic on i sixty six i discussed as you mentioned given all of you know and certainly marty use a county commissioner in a county that of which sixty five percent of the land is federally and state owned which is similar to many western states of course as we've heard perhaps it is somewhat something that they don't like but i would say with great confidence that the majority of people in pocahontas county are thankful that we have such a vast reserve of assets in our county to sustain us into the future because tourism has become the guiding industry of tomorrow for us and it will last indefinitely if we are good stewards of it and if we all work together to understand it's value hasn't been the case in the past in the past we had lumbering and that kind of thing and farming of course we still have farming and and timber but now we have tourism and that gets us to look fresh and new at the wonderful forests that we have and to place a renewed value and emphasis on that great asset because of my election and as as an indication of the of the new perspective that people are taking to this valuable industry it's it's a wonderful it's not only a valuable industry congressman but it's also a refreshing for the rest of the united states to come and understand our connection to the natural world and to renew our spirit and to because of our natural but from the old timers who knew my great grandfather because they cared about this river before there was even a word coined called and that people understand they have  knowledge of this river and the support of our community is quite overwhelming thank you i'd like to add to that that you know as time progresses  county so you know this one is you know has a lot of limestone influence springs and a lot of this water goes underground and we really don't know where it ends up and so we think that we're providing  a percentage of the clean water for the mid atlantic and you know we most of our rivers flow to the west which is toward the western part of west virginia and on into ohio and kentucky and points further downstream but it you know one hundred years ago you didn't you didn't think of yourself as affecting or even fifty years ago of what you did in headwaters county of affecting somebody that lives thirty or fifty or one hundred miles downstream so i feel like because there's so many more people now and you know west virginia has grown up there's a lot and history there we need to watch what we do for our neighbors downstream because you know we're into this really work on of in the nest of where all this water begins so this i think this study will help us understand better what we have to work with on the elk because the water quality is very high the thank you mr chairman the last discussion on tourism in west virginia was a good segue i think into asking the my constituents how how important is it was alluded to several times by me and by mrs both tourism is the only economy and it's a small community it's the gateway to the national park system without access to that road they have no economy there have been dramatic drop in visitors both using the amenities that are there and the amenities that were there before that happened so and county itself is undergoing the same stresses that the rest of the nation  undergoing it's part of a three legged stool and tourism is one of the most important ones and the only one that is holding its own now and as we struggle to do that if we do things that inhibit that  backpackers and coke go out of the valley that's a different type of visitor than what we've had before and time we have so little time these days to recreate the advantage of having the road reopened is in a weekend you could go to stay he can and then get up to the end of the road and access the wilderness come back out and get back home to work on monday morning that's a really important thing to remember i would also like to clarify for people the road that starts  that goes up to high bridge at high bridge that's about twelve miles that is the lake chelan national recreational area the road that we're talking about the remainder twelve miles is into the north cascades national park it's only a twelve mile road with just a small section of it being washed out and i'd like to add as far as the tourism part as the commissioner said that is the economic back bone along with the future which is exactly what the north cascades were for back in the sixty's and the wilderness area eighty eight late eighty's was for people to go up there enjoy the public lands and so here we have  situation this is the unintended consequences that i know you hear me talk about a lot of times what we want to have that we want to preserve for people to enjoy on the one hand which is positive on the other hand then you have the same people that are in ministry an what you were alluding to as far as the time frame here now the the issue really is getting up to other camps cottonwood camp how how how much longer and you may have touched on i several times have hiked from cottonwood up to the north cascades highway and back in one day that's eighteen miles you can do that but you can't start at highbridge hike twelve miles and then do an additional eighteen miles and one day my parents sharable celebrate sixty five years of marriage they live in like shell and my father is an eighty six year old world war two marine he still goes to speak every summer with my sons to fish he no longer can access the area that he grew up fishing in because of his age i mean this is it just doesn't make sense well again the idea was to have access to the area which would promote tourism but because of at least in this case testimony were here of the park service they don't want to do it for a variety of reasons that frankly i don't comprehend let me ask when you talk about the old rule this legislation does not specify which really simply that to do a study and to come up with a solution to have a the original ferry that went from shell land to stay he can that road was there before my grandfather got there and eight hundred ninety nine and as far as the work to be done sir this if you read on my written testimony page six it talks about an upturn a tip or pro choice the study has already been done it's not very often that somebody comes to you and not i don't i'm not asking for any money for a study it has been done alternative d which is the option that proposes moving the road it is all laid out the park service hire the national forest service to flag it all the work has been done and the one point three million dollars to get this all done is two thousand and six figures in this day and age when we have a recession we are finding our bids when we go out to bid in state and county projects turn out to be less well thank you very much for both of you for coming back here and again courtesy of the committe you mr chairman there is no way that a member from wyoming can do justice in her questions to the issues that the gentleman from west virginia and the gentleman from washington have with regard to their constituency  but i might ask the folks from west virginia are the private property owners aware and the local residents aware of the potential to say nation what steps have been taken to inform them of the potential designation i'll speak briefly to that the local people who are in the area are very largely in favor of the study and as a county commissioner i welcome the concept of the study because in our county we need to have a dialogue and to build a strong consensus for our future for our county and this study will enable us to speak to all these issues some concerns i believe are our exist because people don't know enough at this beginning point exactly what the study will incur entail and so as we move forward in the process if the congress will enact this legislation i believe it will be very helpful for us to frame the issues and to deal intelligently with this wonderful resource well thank you kindly and i would just hope that during the course of your studies that you'll consider taking some wild horses from wyoming into your west virginia watershed and with that in mind i was just chairman i thank you so much for taking the time and travelling the long distances you have to be with us and again we thank all of you for your testimony and the really deep insight you've given us