Laserfiche WebLink
<br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />Mr. Stapleton: All right, will you clarify that for us? <br /> <br />Mr. Fetcher: Maybe, we should leave that in doubt. <br /> <br />Mr. Stapleton: That is the most democratic thing this board has ever <br />done, I think - pulling names out of an old Cuban cigar box. <br /> <br />All right, let's go on <br />mind that I would like <br />That is an explanation <br />National Park Service. <br /> <br />to agenda item number 2, with the thought in <br />to try and adjourn by ll:30, if at all possible. <br />of the proposed Dinosaur wilderness area by the <br />Larry. <br /> <br />Mr. Sparks: I think Mr. Ken Ashley intends to make the explanation. <br />Is that correct? <br /> <br />Mr. Ashlev: Not exactly. <br /> <br />Mr. Sparks: But you will start it off? <br /> <br />Mr. Ashlev: Right. I am Kenneth Ashley, associate director for park <br />management for the Rocky Mountain Region. Somebody mentioned last <br />night that the realignment of regions around the nation had to do with <br />federal agencies. Our Rocky Mountain Region includes the Dakotas, <br />Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, to put us in the proper perspec- <br />tive. <br /> <br />I have just two comments to make. Number one arose last night as we <br />discovered that there was a misunderstanding as to the National Parks' <br />responsibility under the terms of the Wilderness Act. We are required <br />to study all wilderness areas over 5,000 contiguous acres or more and <br />make recommendations to the Congress for wilderness proposals. What <br />we have done in the case of Dinosaur is not something that we just <br />wanted to do. It is something that we are required by law to do. <br /> <br />The other point I would like to make is that the Wilderness Act is not <br />all that significant as far as the management of national park areas <br />are concerned. In fact, much of the wording of the Wilderness Act was <br />lifted from some of the legislation that established the National Park <br />Service. So our management for over a hundred years, starting with <br />Yellowstone, is much the same as is contemplated under any wilderness <br />proposals. As of the moment. I don't think there is more than half a <br />dozen areas of the system where wilderness proposals have been made and <br />approved by Congress and established. So you can see, it is a long <br />meticulous process and one which is not taken lightly. <br /> <br />Rather than myself making the presentation, our director's policy has <br /> <br />-3- <br />