[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING ELIZABETH HARTWELL EARTH DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this 
opportunity to honor a friend of Northern Virginia, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Hartwell, who dedicated her life to protecting the environment. I want 
to recognize her life and all of her contributions to the Eleventh 
District of Virginia.
  Mrs. Hartwell began her quest to protect the environment in 1966, 
when she learned of plans to rezone part of Northern Virginia, Mason 
Neck, a wildlife habitat. She made modest films of the wildlife that 
thrived there and showed it to civic organizations around the region. 
She even gave tours by boat along Mason Neck's waterways. She formed a 
committee and, with the backing of local officials, saved 5,000 acres 
of Mason Neck for use as park land.
  She served on many boards to help care for the environment. She was a 
member and vice chairman of the Northern Virginia Regional Park 
Authority. Mrs. Hartwell also served as secretary and vice president of 
the Conservation Council of Virginia and chairman of the Citizen's 
Council for a Clean Potomac. Some of her time was spent with the 
Audubon Naturalist Society.
  Mrs. Hartwell was the organizer of ``Friends of Mason Neck.'' Due to 
her efforts, the 2,277-acre Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge was 
formed, making it the first area established for the protection of bald 
eagles. Also created were the 1,804-acre Mason Neck State Park and the 
1,003-acre Pohick Regional Park.
  During his term, former Governor Linwood Holton appointed her to the 
Virginia Board of Agriculture. Later she was appointed to the board of 
Fairfax County Wetlands for seven years. Former Governors Charles Robb 
and Gerald Baliles both appointed Mrs. Hartwell to the Northern 
Virginia Potomac River Basin Committee.
  Her efforts to protect the environment were rewarded with dozens of 
honors and awards. In 1976, Mrs. Hartwell was named the Virginia 
Wildlife Federation Conservationist of the Year. In 1990, she won the 
Fairfax County Park Authority's Elly Doyle Park Service Award.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I wish the very best to Mason Neck State 
Park as they honor Mrs. Elizabeth Hartwell on April 21, 2001 in 
Fairfax, Virginia. She dedicated her life to nature and helping the 
environment and I call upon all of my colleagues to join me in 
celebrating her remarkable life. Because of her efforts, Northern 
Virginia today is an even better place to live, work, and raise a 
family.

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