Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 20, 1995                   TAG: 9509200052
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

HOUSE TURNS DOWN PARK COMMISSION

Critics called the legislation a blueprint for rolling back the national park system. It was defeated 231-180.

The Senate has yet to consider the issue.

``No one is calling us and saying we've got too many parks. ... This is too drastic,'' said Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., the leading opponent of the legislation.

Richardson called it ``a back-door attempt'' to shut down many smaller and less known parks or turn them over to state or local management. And he maintained national treasures such as the Statue of Liberty or other historic monuments might be turned over to private hands.

But supporters argued the park system must be streamlined so that limited federal funds can meet its needs.

``We're not closing parks in this bill,'' argued Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo. But he said the federal system of 368 parks and monuments is long overdue for an in-depth reassessment to see whether all the units are needed under federal control.

The bill called for the Interior Department to develop new standards for national parks and determine whether any in the current system should be dropped for failing to meet the new criteria.

It would have established an 11-member National Park System Review Commission to make recommendations to Congress on whether any park should be closed or managed differently under the new standards.

Richardson compared such a commission to the military base closure panel and warned that lawmakers were taking the first steps to scaling back the federal park system.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, all voted against the bill's passage.