Surely there is room also for livestock with proper management. You would think that the stockmen would want proper management and strict rulings. We can't see how it can do anything except benefit them. We remain, Yours truly, ALVIN B. AND LILLIAN I. PEARSON. LETTER OF ODD S. HALSETH, SUPERINTENDENT, DIVISION OF ARCHEOLOGY, PUEBLO GRANDE MUSEUM PHOENIX, ARIZ., April 8, 1959. Mr. BENTON J. STONG, Professional Staff Member, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.` DEAR MR. STONG: Enclosed herewith are a few letters and cards intended for your committee, though inadvertently addressed to me in response to my plea to communicate opinions on the wilderness bill to the proper sources.' possible, they should be included in the records of the Phoenix hearing. If If possible, I also will appreciate being on the mailing list for the printed hearings of November 1958 and April 1959, when these are ready. I am enclosing a copy of my letter to Senator Murray, and wish to add to that an appreciation of your presence here in Phoenix, and the valuable work you are rendering the Senate, the committee, and all of us who are interested in wilderness legislation from whatever viewpoint. With best personal regards, ODD S. HALSETH. PHOENIX, ARIZ., April 2, 1959. Mr. ODD S. HALSETH, President, Arizona State Parks Association, Phoenix, Ariz. DEAR MR. HALSETH: I wish to add my say to the fact that I heartily approve of the wilderness bill and hope that you and your association will do everything possible to see that it is passed. With kindest regards. Very sincerely yours, GEO. K. ROGERS, M.D. SEDONA, ARIZ., April 1, 1959. ODD S. HALSETH, President, Arizona State Parks Association, DEAR MR. HALSETH: We were so pleased to read your letter in today's Arizona Republic. We have already written to bave our names on the record of the hearing to be held tomorrow in Phoenix, but feel we must thank you for your very wonderful letter. It states so clearly the purpose of the wilderness bill. I am sending a copy to our very good friend Dr. Olaus J. Murie of Moose, Wyo., who is, as you doubtless know, director of the Wilderness Society. While I am writing I would like to say that we enjoy many of our Arizona State wayside parks, and very often stop at Sunset Point on Black Canyon Highway. We are always shocked at the way the public abuses these lovely stopping places, and do our small best to leave no trace of our stay there. Thanking you again, we are, Very truly yours, BUSTER AND FRANCES ESTES. APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZ., April 2, 1959. DEAR SIR: Your able and logical exposition of wilderness bill appeals to me and neighbors. We are in hearty accord with its passage. Yours truly, J. FRED HICKMAN. PHOENIX, ARIZ., April 6, 1959. Mr. ODD S. HALSETH, President. Arizona State Parks Association. DEAR MR. HALSETH: May I thank you very much for fine letter on the wilderness bill that appeared in the Republic. We are indeed fortunate in having such associations as yours. I approve of the wilderness bill and hope that it will be passed. With best wishes. Sincerely, Miss BERTHA KIRKLAND. STATEMENT OF THE ARIZONA STATE PARKS BOARD, DENNIS MCCARTHY, STATE PARKS DIRECTOR Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, PHOENIX, April 6, 1959. Chairman, Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. MY DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: On behalf of the Arizona State Parks Board, I wish to compliment you, Senator Goldwater, and the committee on the manner in which the public hearings on Senate bill 1123 were conducted in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 2, 1959. The Arizona State Parks Board submitted no material for the record at the hearing. I had been instructed by the board to attend the hearing, and to report back to the board on the material submitted by those who favor and those who oppose such legislation. The board felt that it could more intelligently evaluate the merits of the bill in its present state, and then come to some decision either for or against its passage. The Arizona State Parks Board is in complete accord with the wilderness concept, not only for its recreation benefits, but as a measure in the conservation of our natural resources. Respectfully submitted. DENNIS MCCARTHY, STATEMENT OF THE TUCSON (ARIZ.) AUDUBON SOCIETY TUCSON ARIZ., March 24, 1959. Senator JAMES E. MURRAY, DEAR SIR: The Tucson Audubon Society, 100-strong wishes to go on record as heartily approving the wilderness bill (S. 1123). There are only a very few areas left in the southern part of Arizona which could apply as wilderness. We hope desperately that these areas will be preserved for that means the preserving of trees, various plants, animals and birds not found elsewhere. These things indigenous to Mexico are not found far from the border and so are of interest to people from all over the United States.. We can see the value also of preservation of primitive areas in every part of this Nation. The need of places where people may withdraw from the stress of modern living is very apparent today. Using up our natural heritage today surely means an impoverished Nation tomorrow. Approval of the wilderness bill is an unselfish act, thinking of the millions of people in the future who should be allowed to enjoy natural unspoiled areas, just as millions enjoy these places today and are refreshed. Those who oppose this bill do so for selfish and monetary reasons only. Farsighted thinking should make us realize that wilderness areas are like money in the bank, an assurance of prosperity for the future. Very sincerely, F. C. BAIR, President. FLORENCE THORNBURG, Corresponding Secretary. STATEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS, LODGES 1689 AND 794 The membership of Lodges 1689 and 794 International Association of Machinists heartily endorse the principles of Senate bill 4028. We believe legislation of this type, which spells out the intent of Congress, is a necessity to prevent the encroachment of groups with special interests upon public lands. Machinists whose working life is spent indoors are especially appreciative of outdoor recreation areas. The human benefits derived from such wilderness areas are more important to the country than the financial benefits obtained by individuals by their use of these lands. We believe "people," the general public as opposed to individuals or groups with special interest, have first priority as to our natural resources. In the last few years we have seen the attempts, at times successful, to give away our natural resources for the benefit, not for the majority of citizens but for the financial gain of individual groups. If laws defining the intent of Congress had been on the books it would have been more difficult for Commissions or Departments to make their own laws regarding the natural resources of the country. We fail to see how this bill infringes in any way on the rights already enjoyed by such groups as ranchers, farmers, lumbermen, etc. in their use of public lands. We hope that the Committee on Interior and Insular affairs sees fit to give this bill a favorable report in the 86th Congress. TELEGRAM OF MILTON E. BAILEY, PRESIDENT, LOS ALAMOS CHAPTER, LOS ALAMOS, N. MEX., March 30, 1959. Senator JAMES E. MURRAY, Senate Insular Affairs Committee, DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: Los Alamos Chapter of the Izaak Walton League would like to go on record as being in favor of the wilderness bill; by misconstruing the truth and misinforming the people, as well as the State legislature, opponents to this bill were able to get memorial passed and sent to Washington that the people of New Mexico were against this bill. This is not so. Sincerely, MILTON E. BAILEY, President, Los Alamos Chapter. TELEGRAM OF ANN DICKERMAN, SECRETARY, SUN VALLEY BOW HUNTERS PHOENIX, ARIZ., March 31, 1959. Senate Subcommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Phoenix, Ariz.: I am secretary of the Sun Valley Bow Hunters, and my husband is an active archer. We urge that you pass the wilderness bill so that certain areas can be preserved in their natural state for the benefit of succeeding generations. ANN and OSCAR DICKERMAN, Tempe, Ariz. TELEGRAM OF DAVID S. SHAFFER, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE Senator JAMES E. MURRAY, Los ALAMOS, N. MEX., March 31, 1959. Chairman of Senate Insular Affairs, Phoenix, Ariz.: Western opponents to S. 1123 wilderness preservation bill misconstrued meaning and reason for this very desirable legislation. Conservationist and average citizen still feel need for protection of our wilderness area. Lies and misinformation must mean that private interest groups have some design on our wilderness area. Please make this a part of the record. DAVID S. SHAFFER, National Director, Izaak Walton League of America. 39871-59-32 STATEMENT OF THE ARIZONA GAME PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION, INC. Senator JAMES E. MURRAY, Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: The Arizona Game Protective Association and its 42 affiliated Sportsmen's Clubs in Arizona wish to go on record as supporting the wilderness bill. We understand that hearings are to be held in Phoenix on April 2 at the Westward Ho Hotel. President William H. Beers of the AGPA requests to be heard at this meeting, as does Frederick W. Greenwald, chairman of the Maricopa County Sportsmen's Council. Under the terms of the wilderness bill 90 percent of Arizona is not affected at all. Six of the areas in Arizona to be given protection by the wilderness bill are already in the national park system, two of the areas are on game ranges protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nine are within national forests and have long been set aside for special protection. No areas open to lumber are affected. Existing grazing privileges in the national forests area are continued under the wilderness bill. You are respectfully requested to give your support to the adoption of the wilderness bill. Very truly yours, CYRIL TOM CALHOUN, ARLINGTON-FAIRFAX CHAPTER, INC., IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA, INC., RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE WILDERNESS BILL The Arlington-Fairfax Chapter, Inc., Virginia Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, Inc., believes that preservation of our American wilderness areas is necessary to the health, happiness, and welfare of this and future generations. Undisturbed areas of wilderness give scope to the mind and spirit, provide tests and teaching for self-reliance, and embody scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical values, thereby adding to happiness and knowledge. Some of our remaining areas of wilderness on federally owned lands, such as the national forests, national parks, and wildlife refuges, have administrative protection. This administrative responsibility can be strengthened by establishing a national policy of wilderness preservation. There is pending before Congress a proposal, known as the National Wilderness Preservation Act, which provides that the preservation of wilderness areas is a national responsibility, and sets up standards for the agencies concerned. The act provides also that there shall be no change in the jurisdiction of the lands involved nor of the purpose for which they were established. And the act provides for a National Wilderness Preservation Council which shall be an information center on wilderness matters. The proposed National Wilderness Preservation Act, as described in S. 1123 and H.R. 1960, is in the public interest. Therefore, it is Resolved, That the Arlington-Fairfax Chapter, Inc., Virginia Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, Inc., urges the prompt enactment by the Congress of the pending National Wilderness Preservation Act. NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE FEDERATION RESOLUTION THE NEED FOR PRESERVING WILDERNESS VALUES Whereas agencies of the Federal Government already own or manage properties containing appropriate areas in numbers and sizes to adequately meet anticipated public needs for wilderness resources in the foreseeable future; and Whereas wilderness-type habitat provides the only preservation, for recreational and scientific purposes, of certain important wildlife species and ecological relationships; and Whereas only wilderness areas offer opportunities to meet certain recreational and educational needs of an expanding U.S. population: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, in regular meeting at Hickory, N.C. on October 9, 1958, does hereby petition the 86th Congress to adopt legislation preserving wilderness areas and giving appropriate recognition and stature to wilderness and associated resources in the overall Federal natural resources program as outlined in the basic provisions of S. 4028, introduced in the 85th Congress and known as the wilderness bill; and be it further Resolved, That chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs, the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and all members of this State's delegation in Congress be sent copies of this resolution. LETTER OF WATSON SMITH, TUCSON, ARIZ, Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, TUCSON, ARIZ., March 26, 1959. Chairman, Committee on Internal and Insular Affairs, MY DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: I am writing to you on behalf of S. 1123, the socalled wilderness bill, now before the U.S. Senate. I understand that a hearing is to be held in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 2, 1959, at which your commmittee will take evidence for and against this bill. It is my conviction that this bill or one substantially like it is needed for the continued preservation of a reasonable residue of natural wilderness for the benefit of the general public, as a means for the preservation of wildlife, both floral and faunal, and as a means of affording to people the possibility of recreation from the increasing pressures of our technological civilization. I have been a legal resident of Arizona for some years, though during my life I have lived for varying periods in Ohio, New England, California, and the Southwest. During that time I have been a professional archeologist and have also done ethnographic work with several Indian groups. I have always maintained a keen interest in the out-of-doors and in the many facets of Nature. During the past 20 years or so it has been frightening to me to witness the rapidity with which paved highways, urbanization, and other manifestations of our civilization have encroached upon the rapidly diminishing reserves of natural beauty and wilderness all over the country. The entire face of the country has changed spectacularly within half a lifetime, and the pace of those changes has become almost cataclysmic. I feel very strongly that government action is immediately necessary to prevent the ultimate catastrophe of permitting our heritage from being exploited for commercial gain to the benefit of a relatively few people. I have no brief to file against any particular interest, and I am not antagonistic in any way toward mining, lumbering, housing, or other commercial enterprises as such. I agree that these are thoroughly proper and desirable activities, and I realize fully that it is neither possible nor desirable to attempt to maintain the entire area of the country in the state of the Garden of Eden. But I feel also that there are other values in our society that must be maintained sedulously, and which can be protected only by government action. Those numerous members of the inarticulate general public who wish to preserve for their enjoyment and that of their descendants a bit of America's natural beauty are not highly organized and are not capable of voicing their attitude in a formalized or coordinated manner. That they represent, nevertheless, a large segment of the public, whose interests are vital, I believe to be unquestionable. Some persons maintain that the proposed wilderness bill constitutes an unreasonable interference with legitimate business activities. This I question very seriously. As for Arizona, the lands proposed for maintenance as wilderness areas constitute something like 9 percent of the total area of the State, and much of this area is not readily suitable for other purposes. Much of it is already within national parks, Indian reservations, and national forests. As for those lands on Indian reservations, I myself would have some qualms, but for the provision in the bill that they may not be set aside for wilderness preservation without the consent of the Indian tribes involved. The value of these areas to the public and to the country cannot, of course, be expressed in terms of dollars, and thus cannot be directly compared to their use value if put to commercial purposes. This does in no way lessen the importance of them to all of us in terms of the imponderable values that they possess. |