Clinton Announces Another Land
Buy, Lobbies For More Funding

WASHINGTON —(AP)— President Clinton announced recently that the U.S. Forest Service has reached a $13 million agreement to acquire more than 9000 acres of forest and grasslands adjacent to Yellowstone National Park.

The land acquisition will help buffalo and other roaming herds survive and preserve underground springs that feed the park's geysers, Clinton said one of his weekly radio addresses.

``We'll ensure that Old Faithful remains faithful for years to come,'' he said.

Under the agreement, the Forest Service will acquire 9300 acres of the 12,000-acre Royal Teton Ranch north of Yellowstone, which is a collection of forest and grasslands that run from the Yellowstone River to the Gallatin Range. The agreement also gives the ranch's geothermal rights to the government.

Clinton called the agreement ``another milestone in our effort to preserve the matchless wonders of America's first national park'' and said the government was acting to protect other sites. Among them are ancient petroglyphs in New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument, the Big Sur Coast in California and the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta.

William Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, praised the Yellowstone acquisition and expressed ``hope that Congress promptly enacts legislation that would increase funding for national conservation and recreation programs.''

Clinton urged Congress to fund his efforts to his preserve national parks and historic sites, saying GOP leaders' tax plan ``would actually roll back our progress'' on environmental protections.

In his radio address, Clinton asked for the full $1 billion included in his budget proposal for a ``lands legacy'' initiative. The money would be used to acquire and preserve 110 parks or historic sites in 40 states and territories. He also urged lawmakers to approve permanent funding of $1 billion a year for such projects, beginning in fiscal 2001.

But the Republican-controlled Congress has approved less than half of Clinton's request for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.

``The Republican leadership's risky tax plan would actually roll back our progress,'' Clinton said, prior to vetoing the bill. ``It would cut funding to our national parks, even threaten to shut some of them down.

``Throughout this century, the stewardship of our lands has not been a partisan issue. It's been a bipartisan cause,'' he said. ``It is our sacred obligation to leave this land a better land for our children and for generations yet to come.''

A House Republican leader responded by saying, ``there isn't a single aspect'' of the tax-cut plan that would hurt the environment.

``This is just one more attempt by President Clinton to scare the American public with threats of dire consequences if sound Republican ideas are implemented,'' Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma said in a statement. ``So far, not a single one of his dire predictions has come true.''

Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife, also applauded the president's announcement. ``Although we no longer have a budget deficit, we still have a serious conservation deficit that we must address immediately,'' he said.

With permanent funding, Clinton said Civil War battlefields, the Lewis and Clark trail, the Cape Cod national seashore and the Pelican Island refuge in Florida, the nation's first wildlife sanctuary, also could be preserved.

``Our land is more than a haven for wildlife or a vacation spot. It embodies our very history and our culture,'' Clinton said. ``In too many places, vital pieces of this heritage are disappearing. Once lost, they can't be replaced.''

(Funny, he didn't mention ranching, farming or any other productive enterprise in describing what "our land" is. To Clinton and his ilk, apparently, productive enterprise has no part in the nation's "history and ... culture." The Founders must be rolling in their graves. — Ed.)