Quotes by Chuck Cushman

“The Park Service has been arrogant for a very, very long time. They are a cloistered, almost cult-like society. The Park Service doesnt believe it needs to listen to what Congress is telling them. They think, We know better how to define the law. They have a whole history of using parks as a tool to lock up land.”

“A critical mass is developing of people who are now aware of the problems that the existing Endangered Species Act imposes on landowners and communities and understands that its counterproductive to recovering species.”

“The bill will do more damage to people than good, especially in rural America. People will be forced to sell their land for federal land acquisition.”

“If I find gold on my property, my property value goes up. If I find a spotted owl on my property, my property value goes down. This [bill] changes that equation.”

“I absolutely think he?s a conservationist in the good sense of that word, and he?s not out there on the fringe following a dogma, but rather trying to solve problems. People ought to consider themselves very lucky that they have him in that position rather than someone who might be considered a demagogue.”

“Anything less … may generate opposition to the nomination from the presidents own supporters.”

“On a number of occasions, he sliced people down. The tribes lawyers were not able to shake my testimony.”

“Gale Norton has been a great advocate of protecting private property rights and improving the publics access to public lands. She has been a friend and ally of our movement. She has several major accomplishments, including the Healthy Forests Act which protects both people and forests from out of control wildfires, endorsing Endangered Species Act reforms to make the law work for a change, sharply reducing federal land acquisition because the government already owns too much, and greatly increasing the role of land owners and local elected officials in decision making processes.”