47 



TESTIMONY OF HONORABLE TERRY EVERETT 



JOINT HEARING 



SPECIALTY CROPS AND NATURAL RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE 



AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE 



MAY 19, 1994 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Subcommittee 

 Chairman, Mr. Rose, and the ranking Member, Mr. Lewis, for having these 

 hearings today. I would also like to welcome Mr. LaRocco, who is a fellow 

 property rights supporter, to this hearing today. 



I understand from the testimony I have been provided with here today 

 that the U.S. Forest Service objects to the provisions in Mr. LaRocco's bill, HR 

 3732, that addresses private property rights and water rights. 



Let me just say that I respect Mr. Larocco's attempts to put some 

 "common sense" into environmental regulations. I fully support the 

 objective of the bill which allows private property owners or "inholders" to 

 file a claim if the value of their land is reduced significantly. The federal 

 government recognizes that under the idea of "public domain," property 

 owners are compensated if their land is considered necessary for building a 

 highway for transportation purposes or a dam to provide hydroelectric power, 

 the owners are compensated under the fifth amendment of the Constitution. 

 All I am asking, along with the other Members of Congress who support 

 private property rights, is that the owners of this land be fairly compensated if 

 the value of their land is reduced significantly under a wilderness 

 designation. 



Regarding the water rights issue, again let me state that I believe the 

 federal government did not intend to assert a water right on wilderness lands. 

 Mr. Larocco's bill acknowledges this point and I support him on it. 

 Legislative history of the original Wilderness Act of 1964 indicates that the 

 assertion of a federal water right should be left up to the states, and Mr. 

 Larocco, who is from Idaho, understands more than most the significance of 

 allowing states to assert water rights. I have joined with many others of this 

 subcommittee in sending a letter to Secretary of the Interior Babbitt and 

 Secretary of Agriculture Espy which states Congress' intent not to assert a 

 claim on water for federal wilderness areas, and calling for them to suspend 

 any administrative action which contradicts that intent. 



That concludes my statement, and I thank the Chairman. 



