Go to the url and sign it.

Because there have been a number of significant developments in the past
week, I want to update you on our efforts to deal with the "dark of
night monuments" our former President set up to create a legacy for
himself. We appreciate your signing the petition to President Bush at www.monumentpetition.com (http://www.monumentpetition.com) to establish a blue ribbon commission to review
these designations.

Last week I met with new Interior Secretary Gale Norton and discussed
creating this commission with her. She liked the idea and was impressed
that so many thousands of you have signed this petition. We will
continue this discussion in more detail after she gets settled in.

I am particularly pleased that Chad Calvert, former Executive Director
of the House Western Caucus, was with us in this meeting. Chad has just
been appointed as the acting Congressional Liaison for the Interior
Department. Since I am the Vice Chair of the Caucus, I have a long
working relationship with him. I know that he will be helpful in making
sure that creating this commission is carefully considered along with
all of the other concerns that I and others in Congress have about these
monuments.

Since our meeting, Secretary Norton has provided additional details on
the likely direction the Bush Administration will take. While it is
clear that no final decision has been made, she indicated that President
Bush probably would not try to undue any of the Clinton monuments.
Instead, she said the Administration would look at adjusting monument
boundaries and redirecting management plans to be more responsive to
local problems and other concerns.

Last week I also met with House Resources Committee Chair Jim Hansen and
the committee Chief of Staff, Allen Freemyer. Jim has made it clear
that he will let each congressman with a Clinton monument in his
district decide how to proceed. However, since some monuments are
creating greater problems than others, we've agreed that we should meet
as a group. Creating a blue ribbon commission also will be a focus of
that meeting.

I will keep you informed of our progress on the monument issue.
No matter which strategy emerges, solving the problem of these Clinton
monuments will be a very tough fight. The environmental groups have been
drumming up opposition to doing anything about these monuments since
Gale Norton's confirmation hearings. I am convinced that winning will
take some creative and innovative approaches as well as a lot of old
fashioned hard work.

I will also keep you informed about another very tough fight, one that
will have a direct impact on how successful we can be in dealing with
these monument problems. That fight will be over passing legislation to
explore for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In terms
of reorienting our thinking and policy direction on how we use our
natural resources, I think this will be the "mother of all battles."

Of course, the fight to open ANWR also has broader economic
implications. In the short run, winning it matters a great deal to the
many Americans burdened with high energy prices and dealing with
shortages of electricity. But in the longer run, the outcome will
directly affect the strength and resiliency of our economy and our
ability as a nation to compete successfully in the 21st century.

Thanks again for your support!

Chris Cannon
House Western Caucus Vice Chair

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Miguel
You like it rough? I'll give it to you rough!

Thanks Loco for the info,I signed it and passed it along.Hopefully Bush will do something about it.

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