[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1507-S1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNITION OF MIKE BUCK, ENUMCLAW HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER

 Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, two weekends ago I had the pleasure 
of joining a unique group of volunteers and high school students in 
Enumclaw, WA, in the first steps toward restoring a forested wetland on 
Newaukum Creek.
  This project is sponsored by the city of Enumclaw and the Mid-Puget 
Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group (MPSFEG). MPSFEG and the city of 
Enumclaw have entered into an agreement for the group to remove 
nonnative vegetation and plan various native wetland species. The group 
will monitor the project for 3 years to ensure success of the project.
  MPSFEG's Troy Fields and Fiona McNair were kind enough to explain the 
challenges facing Newaukum creek salmon, and how restoring such 
wetlands will increase water quality and habitat, and therefore 
increase the chances of young fish surviving.
  MPSFEG is joined in this effort by a group of enterprising students 
from Enumclaw High school, led by their teacher Mike Buck. Mr. Buck has 
used many different sites in the watershed including this one as an 
outdoor laboratory for his science classes. Projects have included 
water quality and stream insect monitoring and restoration.
  Mike's approach to teaching is unique, and one that I am wholly 
impressed with. He has taken it upon himself to involve these young 
people in science-based restoration projects where they can best 
witness the results of their efforts--in their own backyard.
  It is for this reason that I was proud to award Mike Buck with an 
Innovation in Education award for excellence and creativity in hands-on 
science learning. This project is yet another example of why decisions 
affecting our children's education should be made locally, not in 
Washington DC. No federal bureaucrat could understand the

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difficult prospects Newaukum Creek salmon face in their return home to 
spawn. And no federal bureaucrat could successfully turn that challenge 
into an educational opportunity that also works for returning salmon as 
Mike Buck has.
  Therefore, I propose to my colleagues here in the Senate that this 
successful venture is further proof that local educators will be able 
to make the best decisions about the unique needs of their 
students.

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