Preserving our National Parks
On average, more than 300 million people visit America's National Parks
each year. Our nationwide park system is one of our nation's greatest
treasures and we should do everything possible to preserve it for
generations to come. Despite the far reaching and important work of the
National Parks Service, there has never been a congressional caucus
dedicated to furthering the mission of the National Park Service.
Congressman Baird is a co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan
National Parks Caucus. The goal of the Caucus is to raise Congressional
awareness and educate members of Congress on issues facing the National
Parks and the National Park Service through meetings and events. The
Caucus also advocates on behalf our parks to ensure they have adequate
financial and other resources to meet their needs and to help preserve
their treasures for generations to come.
In 2016 the National Park Service will celebrate its centennial.
To help prepare the Parks for their 100th anniversary, Congressman
Baird has introduced the National Parks Centennial Act.
This legislation will help the National Parks address their $800
million annual operating deficit and estimated $6.8 billion maintenance
backlog by allowing taxpayers to designate a portion of a tax refund or
overpayment to the National Parks.
In addition, in 2004, Congressman Baird led the effort to create the
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The establishment of this
park ensures that sites on both sides of the Columbia River are
recognized for their role in Lewis and Clark's journey. The bill
received broad support from local communities, state, and federal
government representatives and the US Department of the Interior. The
park incorporates an existing Park Service site at Fort Clatsop in
Oregon and three Washington state sites: Cape Disappointment State Park
(formerly Fort Canby), Megler's Rest Area, and Station Camp near
McGowan, Washington. The creation of a national historic park
incorporating Southwest Washington and Oregon's Lewis and Clark sites
is crucial to provide visitors with the full story of this historic
journey in the Pacific Northwest.
Buying Green to Save Green
In 2008, Congressman Baird lead the effort to encourage consumers to spend
their stimulus rebate checks on energy efficient products and
services. Buying energy efficient appliances not only helps our environment, but helps consumers save money every month, and helps stimulate our economy. To make this program successful, Congressman Baird reached out to
some of the largest home product retailers in the nation and many
offered special incentives and promotions on energy efficient
products and services.
Congressman Baird believes that this is a multi-win situation. Thanks
to the promotions offered by retailers, people saved money right
away on the purchase price of these products. In many instances, there
were also tax credits and other benefits available for energy efficient
products. By investing in energy conservation products, people will
save even more money on their energy bills for years to come and
increase the value of their home in the process. Nationwide, as more
and more people reduce energy consumption, we will reduce the overall
demand for energy, helping to lower prices across the board. Finally,
by taking these steps together, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and help prevent climate change and ocean acidification.
Addressing Ocean Acidification
Congressman Baird is leading efforts in the House of Representatives to
address ocean acidification, another severe environmental consequence
of the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. He believes that
the impact of ocean acidification on our planet could be devastating.
If the foundation of the food chain, such as coral and plankton, is
disrupted, it affects everything from shellfish to marine mammals to
fisheries. Congressman Baird believes that we should research and
investigate ocean acidification early on to minimize current and future
environmental impacts. That is why he has introduced and helped pass the Federal Ocean
Acidification Research and Monitoring (FOARAM) Act to establish a
comprehensive, interagency program to conduct research on ocean
acidification and its consequences for marine ecosystems and the
communities and industries that depend on them.
Read more about Congressman Baird's work on Ocean Acidification here
Creating a National Heritage Area in Southwest Washington
Congressman Baird has introduced legislation to authorize a study of
Pacific County and Wahkiakum County, along with two counties in Oregon,
as the potential site of a National Heritage Area. National Heritage
Areas are overseen by the National Park Service and are designated
spaces that have natural, cultural, historic, and recreational
resources that combine to form a cohesive, distinctive landscape.
Heritage Areas are created to help residents, government agencies,
non-profit groups and private partners to collaboratively plan and
implement programs and projects that recognize, preserve and celebrate
the area. Congressman Baird's bill passed the House on May 7, 2007.
Protecting Upper White Salmon River
The White Salmon River, which feeds into the Columbia River between
Underwood and White Salmon Washington, is known for its exhilarating
whitewater rapids, stunning scenery, and abundant fish and wildlife. In
1986, the river's outstanding qualities received national recognition
when Congress designated the lower eight miles of the White Salmon as a
National Wild and Scenic River. Congress also directed the Forest
Service to study the upper White Salmon for possible designation into
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
In August of 2005, Congressman Baird's legislation designating a
portion of the upper White Salmon River as a component of the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System was signed into law. The Upper White
Salmon Wild and Scenic Rivers Act preserves the river's
free-flowing nature, enhances tourism, and fosters economic growth by
protecting the river's natural beauty.
Defending the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The arctic wilderness is critically important to supporting a variety
of plant, wildlife, and marine species. Proposals to allow oil drilling
within this area would severely and permanently disrupt the ecosystem
and endanger the existence of many species. Congressman Baird is a
supporter of the Arctic Wilderness Act, legislation that would permanently protect the Arctic Refuge from oil and gas development.
Streamlining the Environmental Permitting Process
Protecting the environment is always a priority, but regulatory
processing and permitting have become unnecessarily costly and time
consuming. In recent years, Congressman Baird has organized a series of
meetings throughout Southwest Washington to bring local business
leaders, farmers, builders, ports and others together with federal,
state and local officials to improve the permitting process. As a
direct result, several federal and state agencies have made significant
progress in streamlining permits, reducing application backlogs and
complexity, and improving coordination to expedite the process. There
is still work to be done, and much room for improvement. Congressman
Baird will continue to work with the consumers of permits and agency
representatives to push for further improvements in efficiency and
savings in time and money.
Additionally, Congressman Baird successfully passed legislation through
the House and Senate that extended Section 214 of the 2000 Water
Resources Development Act (WRDA). This provision allows public
entities, like ports and cities, to help expedite the Army Corps of
Engineers' permitting process. Under Section 214, non-federal public
entities can provide the Corps with funds to hire additional staff to
process permits. Without the extension Congressman Baird secured, the
Corps' permitting backlog would increase significantly, causing serious
delays for critical economic development projects.
Preserving Pacific Northwest Salmon
Congressman Baird wants to rehabilitate listed species of Salmon in the
Pacific Northwest. He has secured funding to support projects to
improve salmon habitat throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has also
introduced the Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act. The
legislation would allow for the lethal removal of the most aggressive
sea lions in order to deter predation and help protect endangered
salmon as they return to spawn. California sea lions are having a
significant impact on spring salmon returns. In recent years, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers has observed that thousands of returning salmon
are killed by sea lions in the area around Bonneville Dam alone.
The bill creates a temporary expedited process for the states of
Washington and Oregon and the four Columbia River treaty tribes to
obtain permits for the lethal removal of a limited number of California
sea lions preying on salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River. The
streamlined process can be used in cases where non-lethal methods to
discourage sea lion predation have been shown to be ineffective. For
the past several years fish and wildlife agencies have been using
non-lethal measures, including 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, with no
measurable impact on California sea lions.
To read more about Congressman Baird's efforts to preserve wild salmon, visit his salmon page.
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