[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 102 (Thursday, July 11, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7787-S7788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO PAUL BOFINGER

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Paul 
Bofinger from Concord, NH, as he retires as president of the Society 
for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Paul ends a distinguished 
35-year career with this organization, serving as its president for the 
last 23 years. This exceptionally hard-working man has long been 
recognized as one of the top conservationists in our State.
  The last 35 years have seen a steady period of growth and awareness 
of conservation issues in New Hampshire, and Paul has played a large 
role in this development. In the last three and a half decades, New 
Hampshire became the first State to establish statewide control over 
septic systems, and the first to take steps toward preserving wetlands. 
Paul is justly proud of his record and the fact that the number of New 
Hampshire residents who are concerned about protecting the environment 
is increasing each year.
  Paul is described by many as a master of negotiations. During the 
struggle over the Wilderness Protection Act, he negotiated a balanced 
agreement which set aside 77,000 acres as national forest land while 
preserving land for timber as well. He demonstrated understanding for 
both sides but always urged what was best for the land. Another of 
Paul's brilliant negotiations involved the construction of the 
Franconia Notch Parkway, a compromise between the preservation of 
forest lands and the construction of a four-lane interstate highway. 
Paul had a rare intuition for politics and policy and his heart was 
always in the right place when it came to protecting our State.
  Paul's many projects, from the Trust for New Hampshire Lands and the 
Northern Forest Lands Council to the fight against acid rain and his 
support of current use legislation, have earned him numerous awards. 
Some of his more prestigious awards include: the John Aston Warner 
Medal for American Forests, the President's Conservation Achievement 
Award from the Nature Conservancy, and the Tudor Richards Award from 
the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
  As Paul leaves the field of nature conservation, he will be sorely 
missed, but his memory and work will endure. It is he and others like 
him whom we should credit for preserving our beautiful New Hampshire 
wilderness for the next generation of Granite-staters. I thank Paul for 
his 35 years of service

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and commend him for an extraordinary job. We will miss his strong voice 
on behalf of our State's forests and his devotion to protecting our 
natural environment.

                          ____________________