Latest from Lamar, Notes from the Senate Desk
*Most important
conservation law in half a century is now law*
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*After the
president signed the legislation, to thank him, I presented him with a
"mountain man" walking stick that a Smoky Mountain craftsman gave me
during my walk across the state when I campaigned for governor in 1978. I
reminded him that Teddy Roosevelt, the great conservation President,
used to say, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."*
It is no
exaggeration to say that something remarkable and historic happened this
week. President Trump signed into law the most important conservation
legislation in a half century, the Great American Outdoors Act [link
1].
From the National Mall to the Great Smokies to the Grand Canyon to
Pearl Harbor, too many of the 419 national park properties are in bad
shape, and visitors often are shocked to find so many roads, picnic
areas, trails, campgrounds and visitor centers in bad condition or even
closed. The reason for the all the excitement is that the new "Great
American Outdoors Act" over the next five years will provide $9.5
billion to cut in half the deferred maintenance backlog in our national
parks and forests and other public lands so Americans can enjoy them.
The law also permanently provides $900 million each year for the Land
and Water conservation Fund (LWCF). Since the 1960's, the LWCF has
provided $221 million for Tennessee, which included the purchase of the
10,000 acre Rocky Fork property in Upper-East Tennessee and the
purchase of over 2,000 acres to create the John Tully State Forest in West
Tennessee.
There were many marchers in this parade - Democrats,
Republicans, hundreds of conservation groups - but this would not have
happened without President Trump's support. He is the first President to
allow funds from energy exploration on federal property to be used to
reduce the maintenance backlog in national parks. And when he visited
Tennessee in March I asked him and he agreed to expand to include
other public lands in the legislation that I had introduced three years
ago covering only national park properties.
Here is what this new law
means for Tennessee - places like Look Rock Campground in the
Smokies, which has been closed for several years because the sewage system
doesn't work, will have the resources to reopen so 5,000 families who
once camped there each year can enjoy it. The Cherokee National Forest
in East Tennessee, which has a $27 million deferred maintenance backlog
and welcomes three million visitors each year - more than most
national parks - will have its roads and trails restored. The Chickamauga
and Chattanooga National Military Park has a $30 million maintenance
backlog. And the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge in West Tennessee has
a $8 million of maintenance work that needs to be done on boat ramps
and boat docks.
Italy has its art, England has its history, Egypt
has its pyramids, but the United States has The Great American
Outdoors. That is what we celebrated this week at the White House, and I was
proud to be one marcher in the parade.
Click here [link 2] to watch
President Trump sign into law this historic legislation.
*Important
news from this week:*
*Reuters: Republican senator gives Trump
'big stick' to carry as election nears [link 3]*
*The Greenville Sun:
Column by Lamar Alexander: Hermitage Hotel Important Site in Suffrage
Movement [link 4]*
If you lose, don't be afraid to try again.
From a lot of at-bats eventually come some hits. - Tom Peters
*#114
in Lamar Alexander's Little Plaid Book *
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