7/25/97 Washington Times:

American Heritage Rivers: A Trojan Horse

By David W. Almasi

Director of Media Relations

Defenders of Property Rights

President Bill Clinton's plan to designate ten waterways as "American Heritage Rivers" is a federal Trojan Horse calculated to trick local communities into turning over control of local affairs to federal bureaucrats.

Justified as a program that builds on existing federal/local partnerships, President Clinton claims that his American Heritage Rivers Initiative will simply provide "special recognition and focused federal support" for an initial ten "river communities." What the administration fails to answer, however, is why another layer of bureaucracy is needed to foster something that is already happening spontaneously. The administration's intentional vagueness on costs and regulatory impact only heightens suspicion.

Under the stated objectives of the Initiative, which was first announced in the President's 1997 State of the Union address, thirteen federal departments and agencies will be brought in to provide services to designated river communities. A bureaucrat called a "river navigator" will be assigned to each river with the duty of guiding local officials through the plethora of federal programs. Hence, all decisions - local or otherwise - regarding

designated rivers will have to flow through the river navigator. The other potential for mischief lies in the very creation of yet another federal land-use program of breathtaking proportions. Forty percent of the continental United States is the watershed for the Mississippi River, and the river navigator will control the entire watershed.

While the administration claims that communities will decide the extent of federal involvement - and that they can even "opt out" of the Initiative at any time - Congressman Chris Cannon of Utah expressed his skepticism during a recent House Resources Committee oversight hearing. He said the Initiative is justified on very few facts and a great deal of just "trust us." When it comes to land-use policy, trust is not a commodity this administration possesses in abundance. Congressman Cannon himself was propelled into office on a tide of anti-Clinton sentiment after state and private property rights in his district were extinguished when the President unilaterally created the Escalante National Monument last year. The Escalante designation, planned in secret and without the consultation of local politicians or landowners, shows how quickly the federal government can move in and take control of local decision making. Administration officials exhibited little respect for local autonomy over local affairs. When asked if Utah could opt out of the President's Escalante designation, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt said he would not rescind the monuments' designation or halt the introduction of grizzly bears to Idaho despite overwhelming local opposition to both federal actions. Furthermore, White House environmental czar Katy McGinty refused to commit to prohibiting river navigators from using their influence to affect local zoning decisions.

How, by the way, will the administration pay for the Initiative? The proposal calls for hiring at least ten river navigators with salaries of approximately $100,000 a year apiece. This and related expenses currently total around $5 million - an allocation not found in the administration's1997 or 1998 budgets. Secretary Babbitt says the money to pay for the Initiative has been found in existing programs. This newfound reserve seemed peculiar to Congresswoman Linda Smith of Washington, who reminded the secretary of the many times he has come to Congress to plead poverty and the need for more money to fund his cash-strapped programs. In addition, this program will not stop at ten rivers, since plans call for the addition of more rivers. This means more navigators, more staffs, and a bigger drain on existing resources. Essentially, it will result in a defacto Heritage Rivers agency to regulate everything from river traffic to private riverbank properties. The creation of new bureaucratic hurdles that strip the powers delegated to local governments by transferring them to Washington will never create greater efficiency. Furthermore, we do not need a federal nanny state to a working federal/local partnership already in place. The American Heritage Rivers Initiative is just the sort of stealth regulation we need to avoid.---Defenders of Property Rights is the only national legal defense foundation dedicated exclusively to the protection of private property rights, and has been active in analyzing the impact of proposed state and federal laws and regulations.