Transcripts

GREG BERAN: Noting that the BWCA dispute has divided the state for too long, Anderson said Walz and Dayton had accomplished what he had hoped would be the outcome of a House-Senate conference committee, a compromise protecting the wilderness while also protecting the legitimate interests of local users of the BWCA.

Anderson said his bill, a bill allowing liberal use of motorboats on BWCA waters, had been designed as a vehicle with which to go to a conference committee with the House and its more restrictive Burton-Vento bill. But he said to revert now to the Anderson-Humphrey bill would deny the good faith compromise reached by Walz and Dayton. He said to maintain his original position would extend the controversy and only delay a reasonable bill from becoming law.

WENDELL ANDERSON: It's my judgment that the way to move forward is to accept the Walz-Dayton proposal. It is as reasonable a solution to this difficult and emotional issue as is possible. It is not what either side wants. It's not what I want. It is my opinion that a conference committee of congressmen and senators could not have come up, could not have come up with a better agreement, either this year or next, that would pass. And the conference committee could well have come up with a bill that is much less desirable for either group.

It is therefore my intention to urge the Senate Parks Subcommittee and the entire Senate to enact this agreement and send it to the House for concurrence without a conference committee. My objective is to move quickly to seek congressional adoption of this agreement and to have the president sign a BWCA bill before adjournment. I recognize that those who have rejected the compromise may not support this proposal.

If so, it is my judgment that neither could they support any other agreement a conference committee could conclude between the Burton-Veto bill and the legislation Senator Humphrey and I introduced on June 23. The time for controversy is over. To continue the discussion, and anger, and animosity serves no purpose. In a traditional Minnesota way, I would hope we could heal our divisions and move on to enjoy the blessings of the BWCA with tolerance and understanding.

GREG BERAN: Anderson had just returned from Duluth, where he met with members of the Boundary Waters Conservation Alliance. He said, with the exception of Ron Walz, the attorney who represented the group in the compromise negotiations, the membership uniformly opposed his newly adopted position. There are few roses strewn in my path, he said. That should have come as no surprise. And while he acknowledged that he had discussed his plans with his staff, for the record, he claimed he didn't know how his new position would affect the Senate vote among Northeastern Minnesota residents.

WENDELL ANDERSON: I really have no idea. I just did have to-- I can't imagine by supporting a proposal which none of the members of the alliance are supporting, save one, would improve my status.

GREG BERAN: Whatever the political consequences, Anderson said he will stick with his new compromise position. More than that though, he said he won't compromise anymore. This is the bottom line, he said. And he made it clear he won't participate in any conference committee with the house.

WENDELL ANDERSON: No, there would not be a conference committee. Our position is, this is it. This is the compromise. This is the bottom line. They can accept it or reject it. If they reject it and ask for conference committee, I'm not participating. I don't think the Senate will either. No, we don't have a great deal of time. The Senate hopes to adjourn by October 7. They may not be able to achieve that goal. But again, if people try to open it up or set up a-- then it's, I think, dead for this congressional session.

GREG BERAN: Representative Bruce Vento, contacted by phone in Washington, was noncommittal, saying he'd have to review the final language of a modified Anderson bill. But he told MPR he is encouraged by Anderson's effort to move the legislation ahead. Vento is one of the authors of the House bill.

For his part, Charles Dayton, the compromise negotiator representing the Friends of the Wilderness, said his clients feel strongly that the BWCA needs to be managed as a wilderness. But he said the controversy has to end, and both sides need to accept some things they don't like. Dayton has been lobbying for the Friends for some time now. And he said, I'm confident that with this step, we'll be able to get a bill out of Congress this year. I'm Greg Beran.