Letter to Chair, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee on Snake Headwaters Legacy Act

October 19, 2007

The Honorable Jeff Bingaman
Chairman, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Bingaman:

On behalf of the Executive Council and the more than 600 members of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR), I am writing to urge you to use your position as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to do everything in your power to move S. 1281, the Snake Headwaters Legacy Act, through committee and to the full Senate for a vote this fall.

As you know, the late Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming introduced S. 1281 last May, just a month before he died. This milestone legislation, which is now being sponsored by his replacement, Senator John Barrasso, would designate nearly 400 miles of the Snake River and its tributaries surrounding Jackson Hole, Wyoming as wild and scenic rivers. Several of the rivers in the bill flow through Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, where thousands of visitors from across America and around the world come to fish, raft, wildlife-watch, and enjoy the unparalleled scenery.

It would be entirely fitting to include these pristine waters in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, as they truly are some of the most spectacular free-flowing rivers and streams our nation has to offer, and it was two of Jackson Hole’s most famous residents – brothers John and Frank Craighead – who came up with the idea for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act back the late 1950s.

Please let me know if there is anything that CNPSR can do to help move this important legislation forward.

Sincerely,

R. B. Smith
Executive Council, CNPSR

cc. David Brooks