LETTER: PUBLIC LANDS IN PERIL

To the editor:

In "Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter," 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote, "A deer wild in the woods is worth to the people in the neighborhood many times the value of its carcass, because of the way it attracts sportsmen, who give employment and leave money behind them."

Yes, hunters and fishermen add considerably to the economic welfare of an are by the sale of boats, motors, rods and reels, lures, guns and ammunition and bows and arrows. But the wildlife and the woods also attract campers, floaters on the streams and all manner of tourists. Compare the long-term income of the outdoor industry provided by these people with the local economy's possibly being affected by companies suddenly closing, moving out of the area or by downsizing for greater profit.

However, good habitat and clean water are necessary for wildlife and fish which bring in the people with the money. President Roosevelt knew the importance of habitat, so he trebled the size of the national forests, created five national parks and created 51 wildlife refuges. (He was responsible for the creation of the wildlife refuge system.) Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography, "A primeval forest is a great sponge which absorbs and distills the water. And when it is destroyed the result is apt to be an alternation of flood and drought. Unrestrained greed means the ruin of the great woods and the drying up of the source of the rivers." He also wrote, "The rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights and must be given first consideration."

Nowadays hunters and fishermen also know the value and necessity of good habitat and clean water and are some of the strongest supporters of them, individually and through such organizations as Ducks Unlimited and the Bass Anglers Society.

Newt Gingrich and his fellow Republicans in the Congress are advocating the sale of large parcels of national parks, national forests and wildlife refuges. There is no telling what will happen to the land once large corporations get it, but very likely the forests will be removed so the investors can make money to be spent somewhere else.

The Republicans of this Congress learned, however, that they didn't have enough votes to override President Clinton's veto, so they are waiting. The voters should realize that if we again have a Republican-controlled Congress plus a Republican president, we will lose many of our public lands. The voters should also keep in mind President Roosevelt's comments that wildlife (and fish) have value to the economy, that the forest is a great sponge and when it is destroyed the result is apt to be an alternation of flood and drought and that the rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights.

RUSS KULLBERG

Cape Girardeau