Mike Kennedy: Visiting Arches National Park Is An Unforgettable, 'Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience'

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During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-UT) spoke about Arches National Park in Utah.

Transcript

00:00I'd like to now recognize Dr. Kennedy for five minutes.

00:05Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to our witnesses for being here today.

00:09Three out of four weeks of the month, I come to Washington myself from Utah,

00:13and I recognize what a challenge it is for us to get here.

00:17So wherever you come from, thank you very much for coming here and giving us your testimony.

00:21Thinking a lot about the theme, and Mr. Chair, thank you for convening this,

00:24because the theme is how can we presently pay honor and respect to the past?

00:30And that is the ancient past.

00:32If we talk about the Canyonlands and Arches, National Monuments, the Mighty Five there,

00:37and the state of Utah, where I represent two out of the five amazing national parks,

00:41these are millions of years old history.

00:45And then the more recent past, considering World War II and Churchill and so on.

00:49And I'm really grateful that we, as a society, can consider presently how do we honor those

00:56that came in the past, considering the fact that the past informs the present on a regular basis.

01:01And that's, I think, an undercurrent associated with what we're doing today.

01:05So thanks so much for being here today.

01:07And I'm grateful to have the opportunity to talk a bit about something that I think is really important.

01:14Ms. Randall, thanks for being willing to talk to us about our national parks.

01:17I'm interested in your, so a couple components of your testimony.

01:22One is just what, tell me about what it means to an average person who's never seen a place

01:28like Arches National Monument or Zion National Park.

01:31What does it mean to those people to come and witness and experience something like that?

01:36Can you, can you give me a sense of that?

01:38Because you spoke about it to some in your testimony.

01:39And I think of my first time going to these places.

01:43And it's, it's unexpressible until you've experienced it yourself.

01:48It's almost like witnessing the birth of a baby or having a baby yourself.

01:53As these are things that you can, in theory, kind of understand.

01:56But to stand in front of a delicate arch, which I'm interested in how many are in the room

02:03have actually seen any of these places, and I'll just say to you, if you haven't,

02:06you really need to make it a once in a lifetime experience of having to get to one of these

02:10places, the dark sky experience that you're describing as well.

02:13These are, these are unexpressible experiences that until you've witnessed the grandeur,

02:19the glory associated with that, then you're missing out.

02:24And I'll say the birth of a baby is an amazing experience.

02:27So I'll liken those.

02:29I've delivered babies.

02:30So I just think babies are great.

02:31And I think Arches National Park is also great.

02:34So, Mr. Randall, would you, tell me about what that is like for these people to,

02:42to have that experience the first time.

02:45Of course.

02:47Thank you for the question, Dr. Kennedy.

02:49And it's an honor to, to be with two of our representatives for our state that represent

02:53all of our five national parks.

02:55Again, there's 13 other national areas as well that would be accessible as a result of this

03:01act to, um, at the tops of tourism, our mission is to be a state united and welcoming the world

03:08to experience on inspiring adventure.

03:10And that on inspiring adventure is truly what it is.

03:14As you mentioned, it's transformational.

03:15I have a son.

03:16I won't dive into what you mentioned.

03:18That experience was like, but I took him for the first time.

03:21Um, it's many, both of, you know, I'm from San Juan County down in that region.

03:25Um, and we oftentimes forget about what's in our backyard.

03:29Um, as a result, my eight year old has never been to arches.

03:32So we took him for the first time a couple of weekends ago.

03:35We've of course enjoyed the back country of Canyonlands.

03:37We've backpacked with him through that area and to walk around that bend and see delicate

03:42arch through his eyes was truly transformational.

03:46And to have that opportunity to share that with my son, um, and the future generation of Utahns.

03:52And I think about the economic impact that that has as well.

03:56Um, this allows for our communities and our generations, especially in rural Utah to not

04:02be exported children, to find opportunities as a result of this positive asset that we've

04:08been given at the state of Utah.

04:09Thanks.

04:10Marvelous.

04:10And, uh, yeah, to walk around that bend and it takes work for any that haven't been

04:14to arches, you need to know it takes work to get to delicate arch.

04:17You're not going to, you're not going to find it an easy experience.

04:20It's dry.

04:20It's dusty.

04:21It's a little bit altitude, but it's an amazing experience.

04:24It's, it's doable for everybody in this room.

04:26And for most people that listen to me, it's doable.

04:28And I would encourage you to try.

04:30I don't want to dissuade you from doing that, but, uh, so I've been to the Churchill Museum in

04:35England and I just find Winston Churchill to be an amazing person.

04:38The world war two roses that we're talking about the fact that these people,

04:42they don't get all the glory, laud, and honor associated with the people that wielded guns

04:47in world war two.

04:48But the reality is, is that they were vital to the work that we did.

04:51And I always am talking about John Adams and John Quincy Adams when I take people on the tour

04:56as well at the Capitol.

04:58So all four of you represent something really important.

05:00And I'm appreciative of the work that you're doing and supportive of that.

05:03And I'll particularly congratulate my colleague from Utah for this opportunity for people to go to

05:08something that once you've experienced the national parks and you, you get a sense of our small,

05:14the small human nature of an individual and that things long after we're dead and long before we

05:20were born, that these things are present, that all of a sudden our perspective can change and we can

05:27take life more seriously for the precious gift that it is because it's very limited when you look at

05:32something that's been existent, like the delicate arch that's been existent for millions of years.

05:38And it will be existent long after we're gone from this place.

05:41Mr. Chair, thank you very much for allowing me to speak a bit.

05:44And thanks to our witnesses for being here today.

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