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Show 10A Saturday, June 27, 1992 Standard-Examiner Standard-Examiner Editorials High court left hole in prayer decision SAUTE Seaan cea ‘iS * FOR A HEAL * PRIVATE OWNERSHIP 1S ATHREAT TO THE | In this nation that cherishesits beliefs in religious freedom, the U.S. Supreme Court has sent a clear message to communities across the country: The traditional non-sectarian invocation and benedictions from public school graduations are unconstitutional. The controversial 5-4 ruling said graduation prayers could be “psychologically coercive for nonbeliever students.” SEM. " In the case at hand, a high school graduation ceremony in Rhode Island featured a broadly denominational invocation by a rabbi. One student’s family sued, saying that the practice violated the First Amendment. The majority ruling strikes down a tradition many in Utah treasure. The court has removed from the public school ceremonies the last vestige of association with reli- gion, non-sectarian invocations, offered voluntarily at graduation ceremonies. In a case from Rhode Island, the prevailing justices ruled that the rabbi’s minute-long prayers invoking “God,” expressing “thanks,” and asking “blessings” at a public junior high school graduation were unconstitutional. They did not address prayers offered by students, but instead confined their deliberations to whether professional clergy when offering up invocation violated the constitutional rights of members of the audience. The prayer ruling holds significance for Utah withits prevailing religious culture. School leaders are left in a quandary over lawsuits filed year ago that challenge Utah’s long-held practice of graduation prayers. ROSEeeee eA G We agree that a prayer acceptable only to a specific religion, decided upon by a single administrator could be highly unpalatable if not offensive to many in an audience. In the Utah cases, it was the perception ofplaintiffs that graduation prayers were Mormon church-oriented YX F and therefore infringed on the religious freedoms of a minority. : The Supreme Court may have failed to recognize high school graduation for what it is to students — one of the most important child-to-adult milestones in life for graduales. By reaffirming its 30-year ban on school prayer, the distinguish between a prayer said by a governmentselected clergy or a student. Meanwhile, State School Supt Scott Bean was philosophically sensible: “Whether we like the result or not doesn’t make any difference, we will abide by it.” | vl i ve i i court has erased any chance for meddling in people’s religious freedoms. It’s unfortunate the decision didn’t clearly “Say, is that one of those new bulbs that is supposed to last up to 20,000 hours?” POINT/COUNTERPOINT Public lands preserve the most beautiful place on Earth Scripps Howard News Service Author Edward Abbey once said that wilderness does not so much need a defenseas it needs more SEN. TIM WIRTH defenders. That thought passed through my mind notlong ago when my family and I took a pack trip up the Oh- surrounded bythecliffs of the Grand Canyon orthe spires of the Never Summer Range of Colorado. Wilderness seems to wash away our everyday concerns and refresh our spirits. Wildernessis historical. Places of wide open spaces and grizzly bear, elk and wolves personify our image of the West. It was wilderness that the pioneers met and conquered, creating great legends in the process. But if these arguments will not carry the day, there are other good reasons to preserve wilderness. Oneis water. The wilderness lands in our national forests encompass great watersheds upon which ranches,cities and industries depend. These wilderness lands play a crucial role in providing steady, clean supplies Be-Joyful valley, over a high mountain pass and into the Raggeds Wilderness area of Colorado. During the day we saw the claw marks of black bear on the side of Aspen trees, spooked herdsofelk and lost ourselves in the reveries that can be found. only in wild places like this. Sitting around an evening campfire, we found ourselves praising those who had fought to protect the Raggeds and enlisting to fight for the Oh-Be-Joyful valley — a place too beautiful to lose. Perhaps if every American were fortunate enough to spend a few days hiking through the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming or the River of No Return in Idaho, there would be little debate over protecting the last of our nation’s wild places. But today the debate rages on and onceagain it is necessary to explain why wilderness 1s important. For many, there is an almostspiritual value to wilderness: A sense of serenity and beauty overcomes even the most hardened wilderness opponent when of water. Another reason for preserving wild lands is that they are vital islands of biological diversity, places where ecosystems function just as they have for millennia. They provide a base line against which we can measure changes in lands that have been developed, or which are being reclaimed. The plants within these wilderness lands may also possess untold medical secrets. As pristine ecosystem ‘— whether here or in Brazil — fall under the ax, we lose those secrets that could save untold lives. Finally, we are also coming to understand that wilderness, national parks and wild rivers are essential ingredients for an economic renaissance in the West. While ranching, mining and logging will always be part of the West, these are not where most new jobs and new economic growth are being created. Indeed, the West is moving from an economy based onextractive industries to an economybased on “attractive” industries. Businesses large and small are relocating to places like Missoula and Boise because of the quality oflife they offer. At the same time, tourism andrecreation is fast becoming one of the West’s economicpillars. Our wild lands are truly the goose that laid the golden egg. But we are perpetually at risk of killing that goose. Every year, virtually every national forest in the Rocky Mountains and the Intermountain Westloses money while building more logging roads and cutting moretrees. In the bargain, we lose precious wildlife habitat; sedimentation increases dramatically, clogging streams and killing fish, and recreation potential is lost. As a result, today there are more than 100,000 miles of road within our national forests but less than 10 percent of the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest remain. If we continue downthat path, businesses will stop relocating in the West and fishermen,elk hunters and families will find some place else to vacation. Wilderness is an economic asset — and we need moreofit, notless. We have set aside only 15 percent of all public lands as wilderness. Of the total 95 million acres, 60° percent of the wilderness lands are in Alaska. Only 38 million acres has been designated as wilderness in the lower 48; that represents 2 percent of the country’s land mass — the same amountthat is under pavement. . I don’t believe that is too much. And I don’t believe it is too much to designate someofthe last remaining wild lands in Montana, Idaho and Colorado as wilderness. These are the public’s lands. With them we can preserve some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Sen. Wirth, D-Colo., is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Exert ingenuity to enhance, notlock up, our environment Scripps Howard News Service It is understandable to want to preserve unique and undeveloped areas of the country as wilderness, but excessive federal wilderness designations have dramatic negative impacts on resource and recreation industries, as well as on individual citizens, and should be considered carefully. Too often politicians, reacting to far-left environmental groups, fail to consider how thelives of families living near or in proposed wilderness areas may be jeopardized. Local taxing districts can lose vital revenue, local economies can be damaged oreliminated, and potential future resources can be locked up forever. Private property rights guaranteed under the Constitution can be infringed upon. All this can and does happen as a direct result of wilderness designations, which in most cases are not the best way to properly care for the ecosystem. Here are just a few of the regulations that apply to wilderness areas currently: @ Recreation activities may be restricted or prohibited, @ No facilities for visitors are permitted. @ Trails cannot be more than two feet in width and, SEN. STEVE SYMMS after an evaluation by federal land managers, existing trails can be closed. m Trees or other vegetative products will not be sold or cut for nonwilderness purposes. This means that firewood cannot be cut for recreational purposes and plants that treat human disease cannot be cut for medical purposes. w Hunting, fishing and trapping maybe regulated or discontinued by the federal government, gw Livestock grazing may be reduced or eliminated wArcheological and historic sites will be subject to the forces of nature and cannot be excavated, stabilized or improved. Any building or site not qualifying for the National Register of Historic Places may be removedor obliterated. w Reforestation is prohibited. a Fires, insects, rodents and diseases cannotbe artificially controlled. win addition, the following are forbidden in wilderness: any form of mechanical transportation (including motorized vehicles and equipment, bicycles, and hang gliders); dropping persons or supplies from air- craft; any man-made structures (including roads, campsites, cabins and hunting orfishing lodges); and the entering of wilderness areas without a permit if a permit is required by an authorized governmentofficer. Aside from the economic restrictions placed on individuals and communities as a result of wilderness designations, protection of many endangered species can actually be hampered by locking humans out and along with them, their technology and science. Mankind can serve endangered animals and en- hance their chances for survival in many ways. We provide food and water for starving animals, move them to less threatening surroundings and improve their habitat. Wilderness regulations can limit or prohibit these efforts to save wildlife. Wilderness enactments must have balance to ensure protection of our pristine lands without violation of an area’s economy. I support wilderness enactments that consider people, their livelihood and their freedom to visit wilderness areas whether they are young, old, rich, poor or disabled. Wildlife and wild lands can be better protected and preserved for future generations by careful management rather than no management. The United States is a model of how capitalism and a strong conservation ethic can work hand-inhand with improving the environment. Private ownership and private property rights, free market capitalism and the wise use of natural resources can do much moreto protect the environment than can additional wilderness designations. History has taught us that the Marxist “Command and Control” approach to land controlis a failure. The former Soviet Union and neighboring Eastern bloc countries attempted to eliminate private property through coercive government ownership, Theresult was state-sponsored environmental apathy. Because no one ownedthe land, careful land management was disregarded, Only when a nation values private property and can afford to take care ofit by employing technology will the environment be safe. It’s time to take a more rational approach to managing our precious surroundings. We have the know!edge and the ability today to protect our land and guarantee its future for our children. We ought to use our ingenuity to enhance our environment, not lock it up. Sen. Symms, R-Idaho, is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. |