[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 71 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5655-S5656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO THE MARSH BILLINGS NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, June 5, 1998, is a great day for 
Vermont and for the Nation as we open Vermont's first, and the Nation's 
newest, National Historic Park. On behalf of all Vermonters I want to 
welcome the National Park Service and express my deepest gratitude to 
Laurence and Mary Rockefeller for making this possible.
  Vermonters have always drawn a special strength from the land. And as 
Vermonters, we have a responsibility to the land. I was proud to 
introduce for myself, Senator Leahy and all Vermonters, the legislation 
that created this National Historic Park in 1991. A perfect ``Vermont 
scale'' National Park, its size fits our State's landscape, 
incorporating many of the most significant attributes about Vermont: 
our stewardship of the working agricultural and forest landscapes, our 
dedication to conservation, and our commitment and respect for our 
towns and communities.
  Mr. President, the beauty and significance of this site will now 
forever receive the same recognition as our other great National Parks, 
such as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Gettysburg.
  George Perkins Marsh, Frederick Billings, and Laurence Rockefeller's 
devotion and commitment to the issues of conservation, forest 
management, and agriculture have helped develop this nation's attitudes 
for how we treat and respect our lands. Private land owners throughout 
the country have followed the example of these distinguished leaders. 
Today, those who work and own the land, and hold true to the ideals of 
Marsh and Billings, are this Nation's most important stewards. The 
preservation and conservation of the Nation's working landscape, and 
historic and natural resources are increasingly important and yet are 
becoming more difficult to maintain. The Marsh Billings National Park 
will forever serve Vermont and the Nation as a model for conservation.
  I salute Mary and Laurence Rockefeller for their vision in providing 
this park to the people of Vermont and the United States. The 
Rockefeller family has given future generations of Vermonters, indeed 
all Americans, access to a truly historic and beautiful site. This is 
only the most recent accomplishment in Mr. Rockefeller's more than 50 
years of conservation leadership. Laurence Rockefeller was the first 
person ever awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for conservation work, 
and that award was richly deserved. I am proud to have been an original 
cosponsor of the legislation that granted him the award.
  Mr. President, the people of Woodstock and the entire State of 
Vermont have lived a long time in harmony with the landscape. Our first 
national park not only recognizes the two founders of the American 
conservation movement,

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it is a tribute to all Vermonters and to the Vermont way of 
life.

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