An interview with Representative Nick Rahall that appeared in the Spring 2004 Edition of America�s Wilderness, The Wilderness Society�s member newsletter

  Q: As the ranking member of the House Committee that has the most responsibility for the 623 million acres owned by all Americans, how would you describe our duty to future generations?

  A:  I view it as a sacred duty to both the present and future generations of Americans to preserve and protect our most outstanding an significant natural resources. It is arrogant for any generation to consume and despoil all available natural resources, leaving nothing for the future.

  Q: Should additional portions of the Monongahela National Forest be added to the National Wilderness Preservation System?

  A: Never saw a wilderness bill that I did not vote for.  Within the Mon, I already worked to designate the Cranberry and Laurel Fork North and South Wilderness Areas.  This may come as a surprise to some folks, especially in the West, but I am receiving constituent mail from business interests in West Virginia complaining that it has been 20 years since the last wilderness designation in the Mon and its high time for more.

  Q: You have been a leader in the effort to reform mineral leasing laws.  With mining corporations pressing for increased access to the public�s lands, how do you weigh the pros and cons?

  A:  There are no pros and cons here.  As long as we allow an antiquated 1872 mining scheme to dictate how these lands are developed, its all on the cons side of the equation.

  Q:  The current Administration believes that there should be more oil and gas drilling in national forests and on BLM lands.  What is your view?

  A:  I have a long history on this issue and led the effort in the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act during the late 1980�s to provide for greater protections for our national forests, especially along the Rocky Mountain Front.  It is painful, to say the least, to watch the current Administration do all that is can to rear those protections asunder.

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