[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 21, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E640-E641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             JOHN SCHROER NAMED REFUGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR

                                 ______


                        HON. HERBERT H. BATEMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 21, 1995
  Mr. BATEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate John Schroer, 
refuge manager of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, as the 
recipient of the Paul Kroegel Refuge Manager of the Year Award.
  Each year the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National 
Audubon Society present the Paul Kroegel Award to a national wildlife 
refuge manager who has shown ``a commitment to the conservation of our 
natural resources, superior management skills, innovative actions to 
deal with complex issues, effective public outreach programs, and a 
background that has advanced the cause of wildlife conservation and the 
mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System.'' John has certainly 
shown these qualities since coming to Chincoteague.
  By the time John arrived in 1989, a series of public use 
controversies and an aborted management planning process had left 
relations between the local citizens, environmental groups, and the 
refuge badly frayed. It was clear, however, that a master plan was 
sorely needed to let all interested groups know the long- and short-
term parameters for public access and wildlife protection. Without such 
a plan, every action taken on the refuge would prove controversial, and 
energy and resources that would be better spent improving public access 
and wildlife protection would continue to be wasted on endless 
administrative reviews.
  John proved more than equal to the task. He put together a group of 
representatives from the local community and from national and regional 
environmental organizations. These groups held numerous meetings and, 
after considerable debate, a refuge management plan was adopted in 
December 1992. This plan contains a long-term plan for the refuge, and 
lets all interested parties know how public access and wildlife 
protection issues will be handled. As other refuges undertake planning 
efforts, this plan should be held up as an example of both a good 
substantive plan, and an example of a good planning process where all 
interested parties had their say.
  I hope that the planning efforts now underway in other refuges around 
the country are as successful as the one at Chincoteague. If those 
plans are successful, more time can be spent in the future on the real 
work of the refuge system rather than on constant public relations 
battles. This will be good news for the refuge managers, the public who 
visit refuges, and the wildlife that the refuges are designed to 
protect.
  John deserves a great deal of the credit for the Chincoteague plan's 
success in resolving longstanding controversial issues in realistic 
ways, and for the success of the plan-writing process itself. For proof 
of that, we need to look no farther than the nominations he received 
for this award. Seven years ago, no one would have believed that the 
northeast region, prominent local citizens, land the leader of a 
Chincoteague-focused environmental group would nominate the same person 
for this award in 1995. This demonstrates that 
[[Page E641]] John's skills in diplomacy are no less impressive than 
his skills in wildlife management.
  John has degrees in wildlife management from North Carolina State 
University and Louisiana State University. He served in the U.S. Army, 
and has held refuge management positions at the Eufaula, Cape Romain, 
Santee, Back Bay, Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Blackwater, and 
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuges. He has served as manager at 
Chincoteague since 1989, and he and his wife live in Wattsville, VA. 
The award is to be presented to John by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service Director, Molly Beattie, at a ceremony at the North American 
Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Minneapolis on March 25, 
1995.


                          ____________________