[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 98 (Friday, June 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7337-S7339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MOLLIE BEATTIE WILDERNESS AREA ACT

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Energy 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1899, and 
further that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1899) entitled the Mollie Beattie Wilderness 
     Area Act.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the bill?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 4434

                      (Purpose: To amend S. 1899)

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf 
of Mr. Murkowski and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Nickles], for Mr. Murkowski, 
     for himself, Mr. Jeffords, and Mr. Graham, proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4434.

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
     thereof the following:
       ``Section 702(3) of Public Law 94-487 is amended by 
     striking ``Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness'' and 
     inserting ``Mollie Beattie Wilderness''. The Secretary of the 
     Interior is authorized to place a monument in honor of Mollie 
     Beattie's contributions to fish, wildlife, and waterfowl 
     conservation and management at a suitable location that he 
     designates within the Mollie Beattie Wilderness.''

  Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, like many of my colleagues, I rise to 
express my profound sadness concerning the death last night of Mollie 
Beattie. Until a few weeks ago, Mollie had served the Nation as the 
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ms. Beattie, who was 
the Service's first female Director, was a very warm and talented 
public servant. She had a gift for working with people an was 
interested in solving problems; two traits that are all too rare in 
these days of partisanship and confrontation. She was also a 
knowledgeable and hard working professional who put her considerable 
training and expertise to work every day in dealing with the many 
complex issues facing the Fish and Wildlife Service.
  Ms. Beattie's dedication to her work went beyond the norm, as 
evidenced by her willingness to support new and exciting concepts for 
fish and wildlife protection. Just last year, she traveled to Louisiana 
for a ground-breaking ceremony on the research center for endangered 
species, the ACRES facility, which was dedicated earlier this month at 
the Audubon Institute in New Orleans. The facility is dedicated to 
using the latest reproductive technology to help stem the rising tide 
of extinction among the world's most threatened animals. Her support 
was essential to making this effort a reality.
  Mollie was well liked by all who knew her, even those who did not 
always agree with her on policy matters or her efforts to promote the 
views of the Department of the Interior, because she reminded us that 
people in public service can disagree without being disagreeable. That 
is a good lesson for all of us to think about, Mr. President, as we 
remember Mollie and mourn her loss.
  My thoughts and prayers, and those of my colleagues, are with 
Mollie's family and friends.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I am saddened to hear that Mollie 
Beattie died last night after a year-long battle against brain cancer. 
Mollie was the first female Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service and served in that position until earlier this month. I wish to 
offer my condolences to her husband Rick Schwolsky of Grafton, VT, and 
to her mother, Patricia Beattie and sister, Jane Beattie, both of 
Ketchum, ID.
  I appreciated Mollie's honesty and candor with me and my staff, 
whether in public hearings before a committee or in a private meeting 
in my office. All of my experiences with Mollie were positive. While we 
didn't always approach a situation from the same perspective, we shared 
the common goal of doing what is right for species and people.

[[Page S7338]]

  When Mollie testified on the role of recovery in the Endangered 
Species Act before my Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife 
Subcommittee last year, we found that the goals we envisioned for 
endangered species were very much in harmony.
  I agreed with her testimony that, ``Recovery is the soul and the 
purpose of the Endangered Species Act.'' In fact, one of my principles 
of ESA reform is to return to the original intent of the act, which was 
to recover species. And on our watch, we have been making progress 
toward that purpose.
  Director Beattie was active in negotiations with Senators Chafee, 
Baucus, Reid and me on a number of bipartisan changes to the Endangered 
Species Act. Prominent among these improvements is a new, more rigorous 
recovery section. If made a part of the law, the new recovery planning 
process will actually recover species and make them once again a part 
of a healthy biologically diverse habitat.
  I want to recognize the firmness and clarity of purpose that Mollie 
Beattie brought to the process of negotiating a reformed Endangered 
Species Act. Now it is up to the rest of us to get this reform passed 
and implemented. I can't think of a better tribute to her than to make 
real progress toward recovery of the species that she clearly cared 
about very much.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, it is with great sadness and regret that I 
rise today in support of S. 1899, a bill to name the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge Wilderness for Mollie Beattie, the former Director of 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As most of you now know, Mollie 
passed away last night after a long battle with brain cancer.
  She fought that battle gallantly with great courage and dignity, just 
as she had fought so hard for this Nation's fish and wildlife resources 
during her recent tenure as the first woman Director of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service. I extend my heartfelt condolences to her husband 
Rick Schwolsky, and the rest of her family.
  Mr. President, the Nation owes Mollie a deep debt of gratitude. In a 
time of unprecedented challenge to some of this Nation's most important 
environmental laws, Mollie stepped forward to remind us that threatened 
and endangered species, and the national wildlife refuges on which many 
of those species depend, must be protected for future generations of 
Americans to treasure and enjoy. It is therefore fitting that one of 
the most magnificent wilderness areas in the United States, the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness, be named for her.
  I hope my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, will join me and 
the sponsors of this bill in ensuring its quick passage for signature 
by President Clinton. It is a small tribute to a truly outstanding 
individual who has made an invaluable contribution during her lifetime 
to the benefit of the entire country.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last night Mollie Beattie passed away after 
a hard battle with cancer throughout which she continued to show her 
dedication to the Fish and Wildlife Service and her public duty.
  Those who serve in government are often maligned and denigrated in 
today's press. But Mollie's example will shine as one who committed her 
life and career to the public good. Her life was an example of courage 
and purpose. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the 
Interior, and the Nation have lost a dedicated public servant.
  When Mollie joined the Department of the Interior in 1993, she faced 
serious threats by those who wanted to turn the clock back on 
endangered species preservation. Mollie persevered and initiated 
necessary administrative reform of the Endangered Species Act. Her work 
on habitat and species stewardship is a foundation for future 
conservation efforts.
  I am honored to have known her and recognize the service that she 
bestowed the Nation by her energy and focus.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Mollie 
Beattie, who embodied the best of government service--diplomatic, 
creative, dedicated and thoughtful.
  Mollie, who recently stepped down as Director of the Fish and 
Wildlife Service, passed away last night, after a courageous fight with 
brain cancer.
  When Mollie joined the national political fray as Director about 3 
years ago, no doubt she knew what she was in for. She knew she was 
jumping into a portfolio of among the most contentious national 
issues--administration and reauthorization of the Endangered Species 
Act, the Pacific Northwest forest issue, and wetlands and habitat 
protection, to name a few. She didn't back down. Instead, she charged 
ahead, viewing her role as a consensus builder, a communicator, an 
advocate, and a pioneer towards a new way of doing business.
  She cared deeply about our Nation's fish, our wildlife, our open 
spaces, our forests, indeed, all our natural resources. Her depth of 
feeling and dedication gave her the strength to approach her role as 
Director with vitality and optimism, even in the face of increased 
budget cuts and intensified public scrutiny. And, as is rare in public 
service, she found more admirers and accorded more respect every day 
she was on the job.
  She recognized the importance of our ecosystem and the species upon 
which it depends, including our own. She recognized the importance of 
jobs and the economy, upon which we depend as well. She sought to work 
within this structure and needs, with the optimism and faith that it 
could be done.
  Mr. President, Mollie said it best when she testified to the Senate 
Environment and Public Works Committee almost 3 years ago, on July 28, 
1993:

       I would ask the Service to deliver this broad message about 
     the conservation of fish and wildlife: that the choice 
     between people and animals is not a real one because nature 
     binds us to a common fate. We must have jobs and development 
     that maintain all species, including our own. The public must 
     be given faith that this is possible given some new ways of 
     thinking and doing business.

  Perhaps the most telling indication of Mollie's extraordinary ability 
to bridge the gap is a survey of the laudatory comments that we are 
hearing today. The Defenders of Wildlife said, ``Whatever success 
society ultimately achieves in the crucial fight to protect endangered 
species and conserve our precious but deteriorating biological 
diversity, it will be due in part to the conservation advances for 
which she was directly responsible and to the commitment to responsible 
stewardship she inspired in literally thousands of friends and 
admirers.''
  And, from the Chairman of the House Resources Committee, Congressman 
Don Young: ``She was able to bring all sides of an issue to the table 
in order to reach common sense agreements. Because of this she was 
respected by all of those who knew and worked with her.''
  These two comments embody Mollie's spirit and effectiveness as a 
leader.
  Today the Senate will pass a bill, sponsored by Senators Murkowski, 
Stevens, Leahy, and Jeffords, to designate 8 million acres of 
wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Mollie Beattie 
Alaska Wilderness Area. This bill is a fitting tribute to a respected 
professional and government servant.
  Mr. President, Mollie Beattie--conservationist, academic, 
communicator, and leader--will be missed.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I know all of my colleagues in the 
Senate are saddened to hear of the passing last night of Mollie Beattie 
who, until her very recent resignation for medical reasons, was 
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  She has been a good friend, a devoted citizen and public servant, and 
a champion for God's creatures when others did not always have the 
courage and grace to step forward. It is my sincere hope that her 
vision of a brighter and more abundant future for our Nation's wildlife 
heritage will become a reality for us, and for the many generations of 
Americans that follow. I would like her family and her husband, Rick, 
to know that our thoughts and prayers are with him, and Mollie, always.
  I am reminded of the quote by Admiral Rickover that: ``the more you 
sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.'' I think Mollie's 
professional life is a testament to this great truth. She toiled as a 
public servant not just in Federal Government, but in State government 
and academia, to ensure that democracy represented our deep concern for 
our wildlife heritage, and that we avoided senseless losses that might 
otherwise occur in the heat of conflict.
  She worked to ensure that our scientific knowledge, education, and 
public awareness recognize the values and

[[Page S7339]]

complexities of our relationship with fish and wildlife, and with our 
broader natural heritage.
  It is the real human sacrifice of people like Mollie, working day in 
and day out with honesty, integrity, intelligence, and sensitivity, 
that spares us the crisis of mismanagement and neglect that all too 
often has avoidable, irreversible consequences. Much of the peace and 
abundant life we enjoy as Americans is founded on such devotion.
  On Monday of this week my good friend, Senator Stevens, honored a 
last request of Mollie's by introducing a bill to name 8 million acres 
of the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as the Mollie 
Beattie Wilderness Area. Senator Stevens is to be commended for such a 
decent and honorable act, and I am pleased to offer my support.
  I understand Mollie had a special connection with this part of the 
Brooks Range after visiting it a few years ago, and that she wished to 
have her ashes spread there. Of all the many special natural areas in 
this Nation Mollie visited, this pristine landscape on the North Slope 
of Alaska must have made the greatest impression on her.
  It is no secret that other parts of this refuge have been the source 
of discord in the Senate. But I think it is entirely fitting that we 
might join hands to bless one special part of it in Mollie's name. By 
doing so, we can remember that this land was saved in peace and 
remembrance, and not in conflict.
  Mollie will be missed, but not forgotten.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be considered agreed to, the bill be deemed read the third 
time, passed, as amended, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the bill be placed at the 
appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4434) was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 1899), as amended, was deemed read the third time, and 
passed, as follows:

                                S. 1899

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
     section 702(3) of Public Law 96-487 is amended by striking 
     ``Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness'' and inserting 
     ``Mollie Beattie Wilderness''. The Secretary of the Interior 
     is authorized to place a monument in honor of Mollie 
     Beattie's contributions to fish, wildlife, and waterfowl 
     conservation and management at a suitable location that he 
     designates within the Mollie Beattie Wilderness.

                          ____________________