The Need for Wilderness Areas, U.S. Senate Floor, February 29, 1956
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(Not printed at Government expense) IQ:ongrrssional1Rrcord PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 84-th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION The Need for Wilderness Areas SPEECH moval of an area from the system would OF be effected by Congress. The agency HON. HUBE)n H. HUMPHREY administering an area designated as a unit in the national wilderness preser OF MINNESOTA vation system would simply be charged IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES with the responsibility of preserving its Wednesday, February 29, 1956 wilderness character. Mr. HUMPHREY. Mr. President, it NO CHANGE IN .JURISDICTION was my privilege to receive unanimous The wildernesses in the national for· consent to insert in the Appendix of the est.s, for example, would continue under CONGRESSIONAL RECORD for June 1, 1955, the protection of the Forest Service but a significant address on The Need for with the guaranty of perpetuity that Wilderness Areas, by Mr. Howard Zah Congress can give. National park and niser, executive secretary of The Wil monument areas would continue under derness Society, and editor of The Liv the National Park Service. National ing Wilderness. Mr. Zahniser had de wildlife refuges to be included would livered his address at the National Citi continue to be administered by the Fish zen's Planning Conference on Parks and and Wildlife Service as wildlife refuges, Open Spaces for the American People, in but without the developments and in· Washington, D. C., on May 24, 1955, stallations that destroy wildernesses. So In asking for this consent, I said: it would be with any other kinds of land Mr. Zahniser not only pointed out the in our proposed wilderness system. Each practical needs for areas of wilderness for area would continue to serve its pecu recreational and other purposes; he also liar purpose in the program of its par· discussed the underlying philosophy, and ticular administering a gency, but every proposed the establishment of a national wilderness preservation system. agency would be charged with the re· sponsibility of preserving the wilderness Such a system, it was suggested, would character of any such area in its cu.s be made up of areas already within our tody. Federal estate that are appropriate for A Wilderness Preservation Commis the purpose. No changes in jurisdiction sion modeled in part after our Migratory would be involved. No new land-admin Bird Conservation Commission would istering agency would be created. Areas assist in the establishment and admin· within the system-areas already under istration of the system and in the some kind of Federal administration and gathering and dissemination of informa. still wilderness in character-would be tion for the public, coordinating the designated, with congressional approval, common interests and activities of the by the Secretary of Agriculture or the various agencies. With a minimum of Secretary of the Interior, or by Execu administrative time and expense and tive order, with the provision that re- with only slight m odification of our 377941-·57482 3 2 policy to preserve such lands," Mr. Craig In a world that is becoming increasingly for our continued welfare. Throu gh my bead continues. "Should such a system be mechanized." present land-management policies we pr esent work I am b eginning to realize the established In cooperation with the Federal Again Bishop Hatch writes: "I hope that would thus see affirmed our n ational Importance of another asp ect of conserva land administering agencies and conserva this program can be enacted before It is too policy to preserve for all time some areas t ion-conservation of the human b ein g. tion organizations, a provision that the re late. • • • It is both practical and positive, ican wilderness. This may sound a b it n ebulo'.ls, but o f wh at of our pristine Amer moval of an area from the system can be and it contains the best hope that I know importance Is t he conservat ion of n atur al The interest and response to this pro effected only by Congress would be a tre of for preserving our remaining wilderness." r esources wit h out a com prehen sive program posal from every part of the country mendous step forward." "I pray," Bishop Hatch writes, ~ 'that Con aimed at providin g m an w ith outdoor recre have been remarkable. Few seem to The desire for the consummation of na gress will act on your proposals." ation al opportunit ies. The cr.port unlty to doubt the underlying philosophy, or to tional wilderness protection, with a recog The spiritual need is recognized also by lose h imself In a r elaxing a nd peaceful en nition for the healing qualities of large wild Mrs. Helen M. Hiller, Mattapoisett, Mass.: dispute the practical need. Letters have vironment , to r eestablish his r elationship areas, transcends polit ical subdivisions. "These unspoillid places are of historical, been received from people in all walks of with all t he world of n atur e, p erhaps even K . W. Hodgdon, assistant chief of the State scientific, and educational value but most life-lay p eople a nd professional people, to Instill a lit tle humlllty as h e realizes game division, Augusta, Ma ine, writes: of au spirl tual. There Is peace and relaxa educators, physicians, scientists, con his comparative Insignifican ce. Nowh ere "While we in Maine have several l arge tion. As Lois Crisler says in the Christian servationists-people with a deep con h ave I seen t h is expressed m ore adequ ately tracts of rela tive wilderness areas and are Century, no one can w~lk in the forest with cern to preserve their heritage of the than In the p aper by Howard Zah niser , ex fortunate In having been given the Baxter out a feeling of awe and pleasure. This is natural ecutive secret ary of The Wilderness Society, magnificent, almost untouched, State Park area, I can well understand t he wha t s aved Leo Tolstoy in his generation t itled 'The Need for Wilderness Areas' as areas in our national parks and monu concern of other States for the preservation and ours. In serted by Han . HuBERT H . HuMPHREY, of ments, our national forests and wildlife of certain areas as wilderness areas to be "We h ave lost much of our virgin forests," Minnesota, In the CoNGRESSIONAL REcono, astde for the enjoyment of the future Mrs. Hiller continues. "In 1907 there were r efuges. 84th Congress, 1st session, on June 1, 1955. set sident, excerpts from letters at ion. I believe that we should not 469 million acres. The annual burn h as Mr. Pre "Speaking f or myself and friends," Mr. gener good fortune, and there been 20 to 30 million acres, much of it the responding to this wilderness proposal Heacox c ontinues, "we wholeh eartedly en be blinded by 0ur help in any way possible to result of logging operations. Now there are have been collected by the Council of dor se Mr. Zahniser's p ositive program ( p. 7, tore should for 44,600,000 acres. The logging interests are Conservationists. Conscious of the spe The Need f or Wildernesll' Areas) to secure t he establish a policy which would provide which to get more. They are working cial interest which I know this subject preservation of wilderness as a n ational pol such areas throughout the Nation determined especially b ard just now on the Olympic Na has for many Members of the Congress, Icy-within the framework and jurisdict ion could be preserved against future exploita tion. In the rush of t oday's business m at tional Park. They want 225,000 acres. They I ask unanimous consent that these col of existing agencies." ters, such areas provide a men tal relief as h ave lengthy articles with m any pictures in lected excerpts be inserted at this point REC REATIONAL AND ESTHETIC well as much enjoyment to those who have big m agazines trying to win the public. We in t he RECORD. These wilderness areas are essential to t he access to them. They could very well play want the wilderness areas preserved for fu There being no object;ion, the excerpts Am erican way of life, In t he opin ion of an impor tant role in the physical well ture generat ions by the m aximum possible were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, another r esearch l eader , J ohn J . Craighead, being of our people." degree of security but is there any guaran as follows: of the cooperative wildlife research unit at Another citizen, Paul J . Linsley, of Whit teed security? The Indians thought they the University of Montana. Mr. Craighead were safe when the Indian Reorganization WILDERNESS AS A RELIEF FROM TENSIONS tier, Calif., speaks for the serene influences writ es as follows : of wild nature "as a m ost vital essential in Act was passed In 1934. Now it h as b een Elizabeth B. White, M. D., of Spolrane, "More and m ore we are beginning to this era of r estlessness a pproaching hyst eria." violated by an emancip ation law and they w ash., writes : r ecognize the n eed for pre£ervlng large areas "Such a bill if passed," writ es John c. As may lose everything. Any law c an be re "As a physician I see the need for people of wild lands for recreational and esthetic bury, D .:>nlphan , Mo., "would be of great pealed or bypassed." to get out • • • commune wit h n ature.