[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E673-E674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO DAVID E. ORTMAN FOR 21 YEARS OF SERVICE ON BEHALF OF THE 
                              ENVIRONMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 1997

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and pay 
tribute to one of my constituents, David E. Ortman, who stepped down in 
February as director of the Northwest Office of Friends of the Earth to 
become director of the Seattle-based Wise Use Movement. On this first 
day of Earth Week, it is most appropriate to recognize his career 
dedicated to the protection, restoration, and rational use of our 
planet's natural ecosystems and precious resources.
  Mr. Ortman began working for Friends of the Earth in 1975 through the 
Mennonite Voluntary Service program. His endeavors for Friends of the 
Earth encompassed a broad array of environmental and humanitarian 
issues. During the late 1970's, he worked with the Alaska Coalition in 
urging Congress to designate Federal land in Alaska as national parks 
and wildlife refuges. He participated in the United Nations Habitat 
Conference in Vancouver B.C., as well as the United Nations Special 
Session on Disarmament in New York.
  In the 1980's David's work on wetlands and coastal issues culminated 
in the establishment of the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge in 
southwestern Washington.
  In the 1990's, David organized the Seattle Citizen Host Committee for 
the 1993 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, working with 
labor unions, environmental organizations, and human rights groups to 
develop and publicize new approaches to international trade policy.
  Mr. Ortman has testified before congressional committees many times 
during the past 21 years addressing such diverse matters as trade, 
forest habitat, wetland and coastal ecosystems protection, oil spill 
prevention, and the Panama Sea Level Canal. He authored a number of 
position papers for Coastal Zone Management conferences, served on the 
Department of the Interior's Outer Continental

[[Page E674]]

Shelf Policy Advisory Committee, and on the Aquaculture Assessment 
panel for the Office of Technology Assessment. In addition, Mr. Ortman 
is a founding board member of the Puget Sound Alliance and of Earth 
Share of Washington.
  David's work has earned him awards from the Seattle and Black Hills 
Audubon Societies. The Young Alumnus Award from Bethel College, Kansas, 
and the national Chervon Conservation Award are among other 
acknowledgments of his commitment to the environment.
  Mr. Ortman plans to continue this work as director of Wise Use 
Movement. He will lead this organization's campaign to preserve and 
protect wise use of public lands and resources, to educate the public, 
and to promote environmentally sound regulation of private lands and 
activities.
  Mr. Speaker, our natural habitat is healthier and the diversity of 
our ecosystems more sustainable thanks to the work of David E. Ortman, 
a true world citizen. I thank him for his many years of hard work, and 
wish him well in his future endeavors.

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