[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E356-E357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RETIREMENT TRIBUTE TO SYLVIA McLAUGHLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 21, 2000

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite 
my colleagues

[[Page E357]]

to join me in congratulating Sylvia McLaughlin on the occasion of her 
retirement after thirty-eight years of service to The Save San 
Francisco Bay Association and its Board of Directors, and recognizing 
her for her many years of dedicated public service.
  In 1962 Sylvia McLaughlin was one of three founders of The Save San 
Francisco Bay Association, now called Save the Bay, which has worked 
for nearly four decades to protect and restore the Bay and Delta and to 
improve public access along its shoreline. The San Francisco Bay is one 
of the natural wonders of the world, where saltwater meets freshwater 
from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to form the largest 
estuarine system on the West Coast of North America. The Bay and Delta 
have suffered from 150 years of hydraulic mining, fresh water 
diversion, pollution, fill and shoreline development. For four decades 
Save the Bay has worked to reverse this trend, to keep the Bay alive 
and make it healthier. The Bay-Delta defines our region and contributes 
greatly to the San Francisco Bay's high quality of life, providing 
economic benefits as well as drinking water for more than two-thirds of 
California's population and irrigation for hundreds of crops.
  Sylvia's work led to the creation of the Bay Conservation and 
Development Commission in 1965 and the adoption of the Bay Plan in 
1969, inspiring several generations of grassroots conservationists. 
Sylvia has received international recognition for her efforts to 
protect and restore the San Francisco-Bay Delta and its shoreline--a 
rich web of natural life where hundreds of species of fish, birds, and 
other animals make their homes. Save the Bay is rededicating itself to 
a Century of Renewal as the year 2000 begins, restoring water quality, 
habitat, fisheries and public enjoyment of the Bay for generations to 
come.
  Sylvia is retiring after thirty-eight years of service to Save the 
Bay and its Board of Directors. I know I speak for all the Members when 
I wish Sylvia McLaughlin a very happy and healthy retirement, and when 
I thank her for her unparalleled contributions to environmental 
protection and for her tireless efforts on behalf of the Bay and its 
residents.

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