Preserving our public lands is a top priority for me.  Our national forests, parks and other wildlife areas must be protected so our children can enjoy the beauty that was passed down to us.  As a member of the House Committee that makes funding decisions for our federal lands, I have been a strong advocate of protecting our natural resources, especially those in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Preservation Trust recently honored me for my longtime efforts to designate Moccasin Bend as a national park.  By actively pursuing funding to acquire key areas along the Appalachian Trial, I have also helped to protect critical natural resources including wildlife habitat and mountain watersheds.  Over the years, I have spent much time obtaining needed funding for the Cherokee National Forest.  As one of the most frequently visited forests in the country, this funding has gone towards many worthwhile endeavors to better protect it from the dangers of wildfire, improve its visitor sites and provide important cleanup measures.  Finally, I have worked to increase funding to the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park so that various tracts of land historically significant in the decisive 1863 Battle of Lookout Mountain could be added to the park.

The Centennial Challenge as proposed by the Bush Administration will be just that, a challenge and a commitment that we should rise to meet.