78-04-B4
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Mineral King[edit]
Transcript[edit]Thirteen years ago--in 1965--the United States Forest service under a mandate from Congress and at the direction of President Johnson initiated an action to develop the recreation potential of a California beauty spot known as Mineral King which adjoins Sequoia National park. This decision was not in response to any request or proposal by private interests. The government's position was that development of this portion of the national forest was badly needed in the public interest. In reply to the recreational development prospectus issued by the Forest service, seven potential developers submitted proposals. Walt Disney productions was chosen from among them and began developing a plan for year round recreational use of the area. There was nothing new in the government's decision to open public land in this manner. Working partnerships between government and private enterprise have created many of the nation's most popular recreational facilities. As I said, President Johnson issued the directive for the Mineral King development. It was subsequently approved by the two Presidents who followed him. The Governor of California who preceded me endorsed it and so did I. The California legislature approved it and so did the Board of Supervisors of the county in which the area is located. In good faith the planners at Disney went forward with a variety of plans for government approval, involving much creative effort and great expense. But suddenly a hue and cry was raised by a small group of ardent preservationists opposed to the developments. Their abuse was directed at Disney productions as if the whole thing had been originated by the company. This special interest group surely must be aware that there are 50 million acres of public land in California. That is virtually half the entire state. Within a 100-mile radius of Mineral King there are more than two-and-a-half million acres of classified "wilderness" or roadless areas and national parks and monuments. Mineral King would be a ski and winter sports development. Only 15,000 acres of public land in all of California is designated for this purpose. Mineral King is the only area close to Southern California offering such a suitable site and there are one million skiers in Southern California. Mineral King would retain its natural beauty and, by the way, the project would create 600 permanent new jobs in an area that badly needs them. In late January, the White House asked the Congress to support a bill including Mineral King in the Sequoia National park. This would end the 13 years of planning and cancel the development of high quality year round public winter and summer recreational facility. A bank that is one of the foremost sources of finance for winter recreational developments has thrown up its hands and announced it will no longer advance money for such projects. It says the probability that the bureaucratic red tape will prevent them from ever becoming reality is too great. Is public land really for the public or for an elite few who want to keep it for their own use? This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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