[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 69 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING ED HASTEY'S 46 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 1999

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ed Hastey 
upon his retirement after 46 years of public service. Ed brought a new 
philosophy to the management of public lands in California and Northern 
Nevada through his astute leadership. His guidance has set a high 
standard for the stewardship of the 16 million acres of public lands 
managed by the California State office of the Bureau of Land 
Management.
  Born in Pacific Grove, Ed is a fourth generation Californian. He 
joined the Bureau of Land Management in 1957 after service as a 
paratrooper in the Army Airborne. In the mid-1960's, Ed worked as an 
engineer building campgrounds, public access routes and other 
facilities throughout the state and was active in resolving personnel 
management issues in support of his employees. Ed then went to 
Washington, DC, serving first as a budget officer, then as assistant 
director and finally as associate director of BLM. When Ed was tapped 
to be California State Director, he began building the coalitions that 
have resulted in effective land use planning that now safeguard 
California's diverse natural resources.
  In 1991, Ed founded the California Biodiversity Council, bringing 
state and federal agencies together to collaborate on resource 
management. Ed directed a land exchange and acquisition program in 
cooperation with the State and private land conservancies which has 
protected the King Range National Conservation Area; the Carrizo Plain; 
the Santa Rosa Mountains; the Cosumnes Preserve; and Headwaters Forest. 
He headed a four-state oversight management group on the threatened 
desert tortoise to facilitate the species recovery while minimizing the 
impact on public land use. Ed planned and implemented the California 
Desert Plan, coordinating with hundreds of organizations and agencies 
as well as thousands of interested citizens. Nearer home, Ed 
participated actively in the acquisition of 8,000 acres at the former 
Fort Ord Army base, opening it up to the public for parkland and 
wildlife habitat.
  Ed Hastey's approach has been that of developing local solutions 
tailored to particular regional needs. His contributions have merited 
many awards including the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, the 
highest honor in the elite Senior Executive Service; two Presidential 
Meritorious Service Awards; and the Departmental Distinguished Service 
Award.
  Ed, you have my heartiest congratulations on your retirement! Your 
family--your wife Joyce, your sons Robert and Michael, and your 
grandchildren--will be pleased to take advantage, along with you, of 
the public spaces you have worked so hard to protect.

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