Statement by Rob Smith, Northwest Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association
“The National Parks Conservation Association thanks Representative Peter DeFazio and the House Natural Resources Committee for taking a long-awaited step towards enhancing Oregon Caves National Monument with today’s hearing. This expansion proposal is more than a century in the making and would be a well-deserved gift to the over 75,000 people who visit Oregon Caves National Monument each year.”
“The proposed Oregon Caves Revitalization Act, long championed by Congressman DeFazio and Senator Wyden, would continue the work that President Taft began in 1909, when he used the Antiquities Act to preserve 480 acres of the caves as a national monument, managed by the National Park Service. The Interior Department originally deemed additional lands worthy of inclusion in the monument, appropriately dubbed the ‘marble halls of Oregon,’ including more of the caves and surrounding areas, which are home to critters and plants that live nowhere else. Expanding the monument to include the creek and watershed is essential to protecting these species as well as enhancing this extraordinary underground wonderland for future generations.”
“As the clock ticks down for this Congress to enhance our country’s most special places and provide a positive national park legacy for our children and grandchildren, NPCA urges Congress to continue to build upon the momentum gained today, and pass the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act.”
Click here to learn more about the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act.
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About National Parks Conservation Association
Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than one million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
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Issues
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