180 



XTRENCTHENING TME MAD INFRASTHUCTTJRE 8^ 



Scai-of-ihc-panis guesses in resource preservation and managemcni are open 

 to challenge and do not siand up well in court or in the forum of public 

 opinion." 



This year, an NRC report pointed out that, after almost a ciozcn 

 reports over the past jo years by various groups, little progress has been 

 made in establishing a credible research program within the Park Service. 

 The latest repon calls for an explicit legislative mandate for a research mis- 

 sion in the National Park Service, including separate funding and reponing 

 autonomy for the science program. The program should include a chief sci- 

 entist and an external science advisory board.'' 



We support the NRC's recommendations for building a substantial 

 research program within the National Park Service. The little progress made 

 over the past jo years in building a credible research unit makes it clear 

 that establishing such a program will require stronger backing from Con- 

 gress, the President, and the Secretary of the Interior. 



BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 



■ The Bureau of Land Management should expand its environmental mon- 

 itoring and technology programs and seek the assistance of other federal 

 agencies in devising land use, biological resources management, waste man- 

 agement, and monitoring programs to protect public lands and to ensure 

 their productive use in the future. 



The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 

 171 million acres of public lands. The Federal Land Policy and Management 

 Act of 1976 requires that these multiple use lands be managed in the long- 

 term public interest without impairing productivity or environmental 

 quality.'* However, these lands have not been properly maintained, and the 

 biological resources have not been protected. Improper use and carelessness 

 has resulted in widespread contamination of the environment and unwar- 

 ranted degradation of grasslands and soil. BLM's Hazardous Materials Man- 

 agement Program attempts to mitigate only some of these problems. 



As recently described by the National Research G)uncil, the Haz- 

 ardous Materials Management Program is dependent on three kinds of tech- 

 nology to advance its goals: advanced monitoring technologies to locate and 

 monitor waste sites, technology to clean up hazardous substances, and tech- 

 nology to manage hazardous materials. '•• Many of these technologies and 

 the strategies for using them are available from the private sector or other 

 government agencies. BLM should take advantage of these capabilities, and 



