[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 5 (Monday, January 31, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO HAZEL WOLF

 Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, it is with great respect and 
admiration that I rise today to pay tribute to Ms. Hazel Wolf, of 
Seattle, Washington, who passed away at the age of 101 on Wednesday, 
January 19, 2000. A tireless advocate for conservation and social 
justice, Ms. Wolf was an outstanding example for all Americans. She 
combined humor with persistence as she set about combating injustice. 
She will continue to live in the hearts and minds of the many who knew 
her. And there are many, for Hazel had the remarkable ability to engage 
just about anyone, from Senator to second grader.
  Hazel Wolf was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on March 10, 1898. 
In 1923, she moved to the United States with her daughter, Nydia. She 
was a union organizer for the Works Progress Administration and avidly 
followed politics, eventually becoming a Democrat. Until 1965, she 
worked as a legal secretary for the Seattle civil rights lawyer John 
Caughlan. It wasn't until her retirement that she became such an 
involved environmental activist and leader.
  Ms. Wolf began working with the Audubon Society in the early-1960s 
and helped start 21 of the 26 Audubon Society chapters in Washington 
State. In 1979, she worked to organize the first statewide conference 
to bring together environmentalists and Native American tribes, the 
Indian Conservationist Conference. She served as Secretary of the 
Seattle Audubon Society chapter for three decades, and for 17 years she 
edited an environmental newsletter, `Outdoors West'. In 1990, her 
discussions with a Soviet delegation led to the creation of the 
Leningrad Audubon Society in Russia. Ms. Wolf was also a founder of 
Seattle's Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, which works to 
improve environmental safety in poor city neighborhoods. She also 
belonged to the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the Earth Island Institute. 
Ms. Wolf was a frequent and favorite speaker at schools and 
environmental conferences throughout the Northwest.
  In 1997, the National Audubon Society awarded her the prestigious 
Audubon Medal, for Excellence in Environmental Achievement. She 
received numerous other awards, including the State of Washington 
Environmental Excellence Award, the National Audubon Society's 
Conservationist of the Year Award and the Washington State Legislature 
Award for environmental work. To celebrate her 100th birthday in 1998, 
the Seattle Audubon chapter created the Hazel Wolf ``Kids for the 
Environment'' endowment, which will fund programs to provide urban 
children from lower-income communities with opportunities to experience 
the natural world. In Issaquah, Washington, there is a 116-acre wetland 
named after her. On the other side of the Cascade Mountains near 
Yakima, a bird sanctuary bears her name.
  Hazel Wolf served as the environmental conscience of the Northwest, 
with her dedication to protecting forests, saving salmon, educating 
young people and preserving the outdoors for future generations to 
enjoy. The most significant and important tribute we can give to Hazel 
Wolf is to continue the work which she pursued with such vision and 
passion. We will miss you Hazel, but rest assured, we will continue the 
work you started.




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