[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO WAYNE ASPINALL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2000

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay homage to a man who sat 
in this august body for 24 years, from 1948 to 1972. Mr. Speaker, he 
served with six Presidents during that time, and was Chairman of the 
House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee. It was during his tenure 
in the House that the focus cleared on land and water issues in this 
great country. Mr. Speaker, I am referring to the late-Congressman 
Wayne N. Aspinall from the small peach and winery town of Palisade, 
Colorado.
  Not only did Wayne Aspinall serve with distinction here, but his 
career in public service spanned over 48 years, including six years on 
his Town's Board of Trustees and 16 years in the Colorado Legislature. 
His six years in the Colorado House of Representatives included service 
as House Speaker for two years. As a state Senator for ten years, he 
served as both Majority and Minority leader. He was also a sergeant in 
the Air Service of the Army Signal Corps during World War I.
  But let me talk further about Wayne Aspinall's time in the U.S. 
Congress. In 1956, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Irrigation and 
Reclamation, he crafted the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956, 
which authorized Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Navajo and Curecanti 
projects, plus several smaller projects authorized for construction and 
others designated for study. Aspinall's legislation was signed into law 
by President Eisenhower on April 11, 1956.
  In 1959, Congressman Aspinall became Chairman of the U.S. House 
Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, as I mentioned. The ensuing 14-
years of his leadership were probably the most productive in history in 
terms of water projects and national parks authorized and built or 
developed, wilderness areas designated, redwoods protected, the states 
of Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union, public land law 
review, and so much more.
  Mr. Speaker, this remarkable Congressman's accomplishments continued. 
In 1964, he paved the way to the Wilderness Act, which became law 
September 3 and designated 9.1 million acres of wilderness and set 
aside more for study. At the same time, the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund was established primarily for parks acquisition.
  Then, in 1968, he created the Colorado River Basin Development Act, 
signed into law by President Johnson on September 30, which balanced 
development in the basin. On October 2 of the same year, his bill was 
signed protecting 58,000 acres of California redwoods and the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund was further beefed-up.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, he returned to his hometown of Palisade, 
Colorado in 1973 to live in a new home overlooking the Colorado River 
which his life's work had done so much to preserve as a valuable 
resource for the entire western United States. He died October 9, 1983.
  Now, the citizens in his hometown plan to honor his memory with a one 
and a half time life-size bronze sculpture by renowned North Carolina 
artist Thomas Jay Warren. The statue will be the central feature of a 
Memorial which will include the representation of a dam and river. 
Several adjacent Memory Walls will be inscribed with the major 
achievements of the man known affectionately even today in Colorado as 
``Mr. Chairman.'' Members of the Aspinall Memorial Commission envision 
the Congressman Wayne N. Aspinall Memorial as an educational one, 
designed as much to teach students and others of the importance of 
sound water conservation, good government, and the history of water in 
the West as to record Mr. Chairman's stellar accomplishments.
  The $165,000 Memorial will sit in the southeast quadrant of what is 
now known as Palisade Park, on a bluff above the Colorado River about 
50 yards from the home to which he had retired.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the people of Palisade and of the entire State 
of Colorado for their effort to honor a man who served the great 
American West with such distinction. And I urge all of who can do so to 
support this project financially.


                  Aspinall Memorial Commission Members

  Tilman N. Bishop, Retired State Senator and Educator.
  Greg Walcher, Executive Director Dept. of Natural Resources.
  Atty. Charles J. Traylor, former Aspinall Washington aide.
  Dean Smith, Mayor of Palisade.
  Rich Helm, Executive Director, Museum of Western Colorado.
  Robert Helmer, Fruit Grower, President of Palisade Chamber of 
Commerce.
  Robert C. Dougherty, Associate Publisher, Palisade Tribune.
  George Distefano, Fruit Grower, representing American Legion.
  Harry Talbott, President, Talbott Farms.
  Elvis Guin, Retired Engineer, representing Palisades Lions Club.
  Don Taylor, former Aspinall student, Retired Military.
  Mike McEvoy, President, Palisades National Bank.
  Mary White, sister of Mr. Aspinall.