[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5158-S5159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TRIBUTE TO VINCE YANNONE

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a man who has 
made a lifework in preserving one of Montana's hallmarks, one of the 
things that has earned it renown as ``the Last Best Place''--our 
wildlife.
  This May Vince Yannone retires from the Department of Fish, Wildlife, 
and Parks. But he is not retiring from working with wildlife and our 
fellow 
[[Page S5159]] Montanans. And his legacy will certainly live on, as the 
schoolchildren he has worked with rediscover the joys of the Montana 
outdoors and the value of our wildness.
  Vince is legendary in Helena and throughout Montana. For a quarter 
century now, Vince has educated Montanans, young and old alike, on the 
ways of the wild. He spearheaded Montana's Project WILD, which teaches 
Montana's youth how to think about natural resource issues. He has 
received commendations from the Governor and from local media.
  Vince will not have an easy time escaping Helena's limelight. He is a 
public personality, having hosted a daily television program called 
``Nature Today'' for 12 years. He currently hosts another show called 
``Getting Out in Montana.'' Almost daily, Vince serves as the master of 
ceremonies at some local banquet or gathering.
  But the notoriety Vince has received during his service has not 
affected his friendly Montanan attitude. As he walks along the streets 
of Helena, everyone recognizes him. He makes a stranger feel like a 
welcome friend. That is what people notice first about him: Vince is a 
good person and a good friend--two qualities that mean a lot more in 
Montana than being a public personality.
  Vince received the ``call of the wild'' at an early age. And it is 
not a calling he is soon to get rid of--since in his so-called 
retirement he will be working for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and 
completing the construction of a new wild animal shelter in Helena. He 
has been with what used to be known as the Montana Department of Fish 
and Game since his twenties.
  Vince does not protect wildlife in some abstract, theoretical way--
say, by preaching about the importance of species protection without 
ever visiting the Flathead National Forest. He helps place orphaned 
wildlife in zoos and shelters across the country. He also takes injured 
animals into his home, and helps the ailing critters back to health.
  The State highway patrol has his number on their dashboards. Not 
because he is on the most wanted list. It is because whenever they find 
road kill near his home in Clancy, Vince uses the remaining carcass to 
feed whatever wild things might be lurking in his back yard--which 
these days consists of some eagles, owls, and ravens.
  The thing that strikes a person most about Vince is his well 
developed sense of compassion. It is that sense of purpose that has 
kept him going through the years. It has made the late-night calls from 
bar-room wranglers arguing animal trivia more tolerable.
  The Helena Independent Record, my hometown newspaper, did a series of 
stories about Vince when he announced his retirement. The one that 
caught my attention was about a 180-pound moose calf that Vince was 
raising on his property.
  Vince was away at a movie with his wife, Sue, as the babysitter 
watched his two daughters, Jennifer and Christine. The babysitter ended 
up having to take care of the moose as much as the kids. When it got 
hungry for milk, the moose snuck into the window of their home.
  Vince was more than a little surprised when he received a call at the 
theater, even more surprised when it was his babysitter telling him 
that Bullwinkle was roaming his house.
  But events like these are all in a day's work for Vince. I hear he is 
writing a book about his memorable events in raising wild animals. If 
the moose incident is any indication, I am anxious to read the rest of 
his memoirs.
  With his book project and other jobs to be done, I do not think it 
needs to be said that Vince Yannone is not settling snugly into 
retirement. Like other great Montanans--Mike Mansfield, who at 92 
decided to cut back his schedule to a 5 day workweek, and Norman 
Maclean, who preached an anti-shuffleboard philosophy up until his 
death--Vince continues to work to improve the lives of those around 
him. Human and animal. I wish him and his family the best.


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