[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               TRIBUTE TO DUANE CIHLAR AND JERRY JUSSILA

 Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Duane Cihlar and Jerry Jussila, employees of the U.S. Forest Service, 
who were honored Saturday by the 3M Corp. for their outstanding 
environmental leadership.
  The honor comes from the very best of public and private partnerships 
that work so well in my State.
  And this honor comes because these individuals worked with private 
citizens to bring back to reality the 40-mile and legendary Kekekabic 
Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
  When budget matters forced the Forest Service to abandon the Kek, it 
didn't stop the interest of local residents to take up the 
responsibility. Martin Kubik, an avid hiker, and an outfitter by the 
name of Bill Rom, took steps to save the trail. Rom put down the money 
for tools. Kubik organized a volunteer group to clear 10 years worth of 
overgrowth from end to end. And the U.S. Forest Service, though it 
could not provide the money or the personnel to maintain the trail, 
provides the appropriate equipment to maintain the trail.
  Why take such efforts with a trail in a remote region of the United 
States? Writer Kristin Hostetter describes the Kek:

       To hike it, you have to struggle up bluffs on your hands 
     and knees, wind around cliffs and glacier-carved lakes, slog 
     through swamps and dense conifer forests, and traverse 
     slippery riverbeds. But the rewards are many, among them are 
     a glimpse of the black bears, moose, timber wolves, lynx, 
     beavers, and white-tailed deer that pack the surrounding 
     northwoods.

  Mr. President, the Kek is not only a challenge to negotiate, but it 
presents an even greater challenge to maintain. The rewards to those 
who use the trail are rewarding to understanding wilderness life.
  Not only is the Kek maintained, but together with the U.S. Forest 
Service, volunteers and a private contractor built a 32-foot wilderness 
bridge. This bridge received second place in the national U.S. Forest 
Service competition for primitive projects and was completely built 
with hand tools provided by the Forest Service. And the Forest Service 
provided equipment to help remap the trail using the global positioning 
system--the first such effort in the Midwest.
  Mr. President, it is my honor to join 3M in thanking Duane Cihlar and 
Jerry Jussila. They exemplify the very best in public service.

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