[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 75 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF OSSABAW ISLAND FOUNDATION AND IMPORTANCE OF WORKING TO 
                       PRESERVE NATURAL HABITATS

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                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 24, 1999

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Ossabaw 
Island Foundation and the Georgia Commissioner of Natural Resources for 
their efforts to preserve Ossabaw Island, Georgia's first Heritage 
Preserve.
  Georgia's high rate of population and economic growth have created 
statewide expansion into previously uninhabited areas. Efforts to 
preserve and protect endangered natural areas is vital to the well-
being of Georgia's environment.
  Ossabaw Island is one of the few remaining barrier islands on the 
Atlantic Coast to remain in an undeveloped state. The fragile 
ecosystems of the island should be preserved so that natural areas 
along the coast will work to protect estuaries, wildlife, marshes, and 
coastal shorelines. If Ossabaw Island remains in its natural state, it 
will provide needed protection for the mainland from Atlantic storms, 
permit the functioning of marshes which provide water and air 
purification essential to habitation of Georgia's mainland, and provide 
conditions not tainted by human intervention for environmental 
research.
  I would like to commend the Ossabaw Island Foundation, a public/
private partner with the State of Georgia's Department of Natural 
Resources, for diligently serving as a voice for the preservation of 
the island. The Foundation has worked to incorporate educational and 
cultural programs in the island's historical buildings and to provide 
appropriate access and utilization of the Ossabaw Heritage Preserve.
  Through the efforts of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, 
Ossabaw Island was included on the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation's Eleven Most Endangered Properties List of 1995. The 
island was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places by 
the United States Department of the Interior in 1996.
  The importance of preserving natural habitats is a common belief 
among the members of the House of Representatives. We must not allow 
the natural beauty and resourcefulness of our nation to be sacrificed 
for lesser purposes. The benefits of protecting and preserving areas of 
natural habitat range from aesthetic to practical and must not be 
ignored.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my colleagues join me in recognizing 
the partnership and hard work of the Georgia Commissioner of Natural 
Resources and the Board of Trustees of the Ossabaw Island Foundation. 
Their combined efforts have protected and will continue to protect and 
ensure a healthy environment on Georgia's Ossabaw Island for many years 
to come.

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