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Mr. ROBB. Mr. President. I would like to say a few words about the Interior Appropriations bill and CARA. The Interior Appropriation is a good bill. CARA is a great bill. CARA brought together a variety of supporters from all parts of the country to develop a program that would provide for wildlife protection, urban parks, green space, coastal impact protection and would guarantee funding for the development of recreation areas for years to come.
Elements of CARA have been included in the Interior bill, although the funding for these provisions is paltry by comparison to the House and Senate CARA bills. Other provisions may find a home in other appropriations packages, but one of the most important elements may be orphaned in the end. That is the provision for wildlife and habitat protection. Just as we are cheering our success in securing a place for wildlife, as we celebrate a growing population of eagles on the Potomac River, we are failing to fund the programs that make this possible. State wildlife agencies have clearly demonstrated their ability to bring back populations of threatened and endangered species, such as the pronghorn and the bald eagle. But they lack the resources to repeat the success on thousands of other species.
The purpose of CARA was to provide the ounce of prevention that keeps species from becoming threatened. CARA was to protect both game and nongame populations. By providing dependable state based funding we could ensure on-the-ground protection of wildlife, and continued maintenance of habitat for all wild species. It is important to note that there is an educational component in Title III of CARA. We are increasingly becoming an urban nation, and it is important to provide an introduction to wild places and wild things to our children. This introduction will help them become the next generation of good land stewards.
Virginians have come out for CARA. Rarely have I heard from so many different groups who support a piece of legislation. I would like to submit for the RECORD a list of the Virginia groups who support this legislation and to thank all of the groups for the remarkable job they have done in promoting CARA and the principles of outdoor recreation and education. I am highlighting Title III in my remarks simply because it is being ignored in the Interior Appropriations bill. But each and every title in CARA was thoughtfully deliberated and negotiated. Rarely have I seen such care taken in developing a bill, and even though efforts to allay the concerns of some western Senators were not successful, they were genuine, and I hope useful for future discussions.
The Interior bill does provide substantial funding for the Lands Legacy program, and this is important. The bill also provides a good deal of funding for Virginia projects that are particularly worthy. But we could have done better, we could have done more. And I regret that the Senate has not yet risen to the occasion, that we did not complete this important work. Senator LANDRIEU, like the gracious lady that she is, has not asked CARA sponsors and supporters to withhold our support for the Interior Appropriation, and for the sake of the Virginia projects in the bill I will vote for the Appropriation. But, I will pledge to keep working for the passage of CARA in the final days of the session.
I ask unanimous consent that this statement be included in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
Virginia Organizations Supporting CARA
AFS--Virginia Chapter; American Bass Association; Anderson Cottage Bed & Breakfast; Augusta Bird Club; Burke Center Wildlife Committee; Carl Zeiss Optical, Sports Optics; Clarke County Citizen Council.
Duck Island Enterprises, Inc.; Evergreen Bed & Breakfast Inn; Fair View Bed and Breakfast; For the Birds, Inc.; Friends of Dragon Run State Park; Friends of Shenandoah River; Friends of the North Fork Shenandoah.
Friends of the Rivers of Virginia; High Meadows Inn; IWLA--Maury Chapter; IWLA--Virginia Chapter; James River Basin Canoe Livery, Ltd. Laurel Creek Nursery; Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy; Lynchburg Bird Club; Mattaponi River Company; Mill Mountain Zoo.
More Critters & Company; NAS--Cape Henry Audubon Society; NAS--Fairfax Audubon Society; NAS--Virginia Beach Chapter; Natural Resources Technology; New River Free Press; New River Valley Bird Club; New River Valley Environmental Coalition Newport House Bed & Breakfast.
North Bend Plantation; North Fork Nature Center; Piedmont Productions; Prince William Natural Resources Council Public Lands Foundation; Resource Management Associates; Responsive Management; Ridgerunner Forestry Services; River Place at Deltaville.
Selu Conservancy; The Alleghany Inn; The Conservation Fund; The Friends of the North River; The Mark Addy; The Opequon Watershed, Inc.
The Ornithological Council; The River'd Inn; The Wildlife Center of Virginia; Thornrose House Bed & Breakfast; Trout Unlimited (National); TWS--Southeastern Chapter; TWS--Virginia Chapter; TWS--Virginia Tech Student Chapter.
Valley Conservation Council; Virginia American Bass Association; Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation District Virginia BASS Federation, Inc.; Virginia Game Warden Association; Virginia Herpetological Society; Virginia Society of Ornithology; Virginia Tourism Corporation; Virginia Wildlife Federation; Virginia's Explore Park; Virginians for Wilderness; Western Virginia Land Trust.
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