If it ever becomes evident that we can resolve wilderness in a comprehensive way I am prepared to continue forward toward a balanced solution. However, the road to resolution must begin with a willingness to agree on something. I have spent enough time walking the land and looking at maps with people from all sides of this dispute to know that there are areas of agreement. Our efforts will be devoted to finding a contiguous grouping of Wilderness Study Areas where differences are small and agreement is great. They do exist.
Incremental progress is superior to perpetually deferred perfection.
After nineteen years of debate, let's do something, let's actually designate wilderness. It will be a start and we can build from there, step by step. This process will provide a foundation of agreement. Once we have passed legislation on this piece, a second step can be taken and so forth. Time and weaving a pattern of trust will take us a long way.