Virginia Ridge and Valley Act of 2007

Floor Speech

VIRGINIA RIDGE AND VALLEY ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - October 23, 2007)

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Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, in 1964 Congress created the Wilderness Preservation System to recognize and protect pure, untarnished areas of land. With a wilderness designation, the land is off-limits to development, natural resource extraction and most forms of mechanized activity. Congress created this system as they witnessed these natural splendors continuing to disappear. Forty years later, lands remain eligible for such a designation, but Congress has failed to provide them protection.

These areas are rarer today than ever before. Failure to protect them now would leave them vulnerable to actions that could jeopardize the inherent qualities that make them eligible to be classified as wilderness.

With passage, the House will designate 43,000 acres of the Jefferson National Forest as wilderness and add 12,000 acres to the National Scenic Areas inventory. With this action we will ensure our nation's children and grandchildren visiting our great Commonwealth in the years to come, will have the same access to pristine lands as was available to us and those who preceded us.

The solitude that can be found in these areas is something every American should experience. It harkens back to the founding of this great nation and provides an insight into the minds of those gone by.

As we continue to experience economic gains, we can also expect continued population growth, sprawl and strain on our environment. With these combined factors, our untarnished lands grow increasingly vulnerable, but they also grow increasingly valuable.

Let us act to protect them now. Protect them for their beauty. Protect them for their purity. Protect them for our children.

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