STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE E. BROWN, JR., A REPRESENTA- 

 TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 



Mr. Brown. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let me 

 express my gratitude to the subcommittee for being willing to 

 schedule a hearing on this legislation and for making the arrange- 

 ments necessary to bring together so many of the involved parties 

 as witnesses this morning. 



I think it is clear that we will have a full and extensive presen- 

 tation of both the pro and the con aspects of this particular pro- 

 posal, and I think that this is, of course, the highest function that 

 the Congress can perform to allow the opportunity for a full explo- 

 ration of the pros and cons on important issues such £is this. 



Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement, and I ask your per- 

 mission to insert it in the record, and I will try to cover the mate- 

 rial informally as best I can. 



Mr. Rose. All right. Without objection, both your full statement 

 and your comments will be part of the record, as for all our wit- 

 nesses. 



Mr. Brown. Mr. Chairman, the legislation before us, H.R. 2153, 

 the Giant Sequoia Preservation Act, seeks to set aside within two 

 of our national forests in California in the Sierras that area which 

 is the prime and only site in the world for the giant sequoia, one 

 of the great attractions, one of the great ecological assets of the en- 

 tire world. 



It is a tree which is both the largest and the oldest, according 

 to many, of any tree in the world. It is, of course, related to the 

 coast redwood, the Chinese redwood and to one or two other spe- 

 cies, but it is distinct and separate and unique. 



My reasons for introducing this legislation, which sets aside the 

 area of its habitat within the two national forests where it cur- 

 rently exists, are to some degree emotional and sentimental. From 

 another standpoint, they are highly realistic and practical because 

 there is the possibility that this unique treasure will come under 

 increasing pressure, as it has over the last century, and may end 

 up actually being destroyed in the long run. 



The problem with the sequoias, of course, is a subset of the prob- 

 lems of the entire Sierra ecosystem. In focusing on the sequoias, I 

 am not trying to diminish the need for an ecosystem management 

 approach to this entire region of California. I know that the Forest 

 Service is concerned about this and will be seeking to improve the 

 management of that system. 



I should say that as a native Califomian, I have always regarded 

 with awe and admiration our great natural resources such as rep- 

 resented by the sequoias. I spent about 2 weeks of my August re- 

 cess last year visiting this area and other related areas, including 

 the coast redwoods and other areas of California. 



I have hiked over, flown over, traversed by automobile and jeep 

 many of these areas of California, and I have done so for the last 

 50 or 60 years. It would be safe to say that I have a tremendous 

 personal attachment to this area and a desire to protect it in per- 

 petuity for the benefit of my children, my grandchildren, and I 

 even have a few great-grandchildren. I would like them to have the 

 opportunity to enjoy this great global resource that we have in the 

 sequoias. 



