[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARGARET OWINGS

                                 ______


                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 11, 1995

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to rise today in 
salute of one of the Nation's most outspoken and respected 
conservationists, Margaret Owings. A longtime resident of Big Sur, on 
California's beautiful central coast, Mrs. Owings is perhaps most 
responsible for the natural beauty that is seen in her community to 
this day. Residents and visitors alike know of the time and effort she 
has contributed in maintaining the wondrous, untouched nature that has 
made the Big Sur region one of California's most prized natural 
treasures.
  Before arriving in Big Sur just a few years back, Mrs. Owings had 
already stockpiled an impressive list of achievements from graduating 
Mills College to doing post-graduate work at Radcliffe College. Before 
turning her expertise to political activism, she was a renowned artist 
whose paintings have graced the walls of the Santa Barbara Museum of 
Art, Stanford Art Gallery, and the Museum of International Folk Art in 
Santa Fe. However, during the past 30 years, she has dedicated her life 
to the conservationist movement.
  Margaret Owings has always followed the credo that ``once you come to 
live in an area you have the responsibility to help preserve it.'' And 
perhaps not remarkably to those who know her, this is just what she has 
done. Mrs. Owings' contributions are immense. Confronted by a legion of 
hunters and a California statues enabling these hunters to savagely 
kill mountain lions, she battled to have a new law championing the 
rights of the mountain lions. Though hunters tried to have the law 
repealed, Mrs. Owings still did not quit. She adamantly supported the 
California Wildlife Protection Initiative to create a safe home for 
these animals. What's more, she also started Friends of the Sea Otter. 
This 4,000-member organization has fought to establish the coastline as 
a refuge for the otters.
  Mrs. Owings not only has made her town a safer place for animals to 
live. She has also made it a better place for all of us to live. She 
diligently argued to preserve the scenic beauty of Big Sur by 
preventing legislation to widen State 1. Finally, Mrs. Owings, in 
conjunction with her Big Sur neighbors, agreed to prevent construction 
of hotels and golf courses along the coast that would obstruct and rob 
Big Sur of its natural beauty.
  For this tireless effort, she has received the Conservation Service 
Award of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Joseph Wood Krutch 
Gold Medal of the Humane Society, the Audubon Medal, and the Directors 
Conservation Award from the California Academy of Sciences. Yet, 
despite these achievements I still feel it is necessary for this 
Congress to pay its tribute. I am proud to have people like Margaret 
Owings in my district. Her unfaltering dedication to maintaining the 
natural beauty and species diversity sets an example that we all should 
strive to follow.

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