[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12442-S12443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE'S NATURE CONSERVANCY CHAPTER FOR RECEIVING THE 
                    NATIONAL PROGRAM PROGRESS AWARD

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I today pay tribute to New 
Hampshire's Nature Conservancy for receiving the National Program 
Progress Award. The New Hampshire chapter was presented with this 
award, one of the Nature Conservancy's highest honors, at the Nature 
Conservancy's National Annual Trustees Meeting on September 30.
  The New Hampshire chapter has earned this award for their outstanding 
work in protecting Sheldrick Forest, a 227-acre old-growth forest 
located in Wilton, NH. The conservancy launched a multifaceted 
grassroots campaign to save the forest from development. Through its 
campaign the conservancy raised the property's purchasing price to 
$550,000. The New Hampshire chapter also purchased Sheldrick Forest, 
making it the conservancy's 17th preserve in the State. This was an 
outstanding accomplishment.
  In addition to the conservancy's dedicated actions to save Sheldrick 
Forest its members were recognized for their efforts to protect the 
Great Bay estuary system, for supporting the Maquipucuna Cloud Forest 
Reserve in Ecuador, and for creating the Mount Teneriffe preserve in 
Milton, which is home to a federally listed endangered orchid species. 
The New Hampshire Nature Conservancy chapter has worked hard to 
preserve New Hampshire's

[[Page S12443]]

beautiful environment. The conservancy's members should be proud of 
this distinguished award and their great success in preservation that 
it celebrates.
  A national awards committee, drawn from among the Nature 
Conservancy's 50 State chapters, its 21 programs in Latin America, and 
its offices on the Pacific Rim and in Indonesia, selected the New 
Hampshire Chapter for the National Program Progress Award. The award 
recognizes a conservancy chapter that has made the greatest progress 
during the past year in building its overall program, and achieving the 
conservancy's mission of protecting land that harbors rare and 
endangered plants, animals, and ecosystems.
  At the Nature Conservancy's National Annual Trustees Meeting last 
month, the group's president and CEO, John Sawhill, spoke about the 
dedication and inspiration of the New Hampshire chapter by saying, ``I 
was amazed that so many people from all walks of life were involved in 
raising the money for this project and how the local community embraced 
our effort to save the forest * * * I believe Sheldrick Forest can 
serve as an inspiration to us all.'' The New Hampshire chapter sets an 
excellent example for environmental preservation in New Hampshire and 
for other parts of our country.
  The New Hampshire chapter has certainly made our State very proud of 
their efforts. Congratulations to the New Hampshire Nature Conservancy 
on this distinguished award. May they continue to protect and preserve 
our beautiful New Hampshire's forests.

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