[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IN HONOR OF MIKE BYRNE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2001

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
selfless contributions of one of the Oregonians I am privileged to 
represent, Mike Byrne of Malin, Oregon. I am also pleased to observe 
his 50th birthday today and offer up my sincere hope that he is blessed 
with another half century among his friends and family.
  Mike Byrne is a long-time rancher on the southern Oregon--northern 
California border. He is a devoted husband and father and a tireless 
servant of his fellow Oregonians. But Mr. Speaker, he is much, much 
more. He is a patient confidant, a visionary, and a man of 
uncompromising principle. Perhaps most importantly, to me and to the 
people of his community, he is simply a good friend.
  Mr. Speaker, in April of this year the Bureau of Reclamation 
announced that, based on biological opinions rendered by the National 
Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
farmers and ranchers of the Klamath Basin would be denied irrigation 
water for agriculture from Upper Klamath Lake. This decision, coming on 
the heels of a severe drought, has subjected the local agriculture 
community to extreme financial hardship. The combination of drought and 
misguided decision-making by the federal government has literally put 
the future of their way of life in doubt, as farming as it has existed 
in the Basin for over 100 years has virtually ceased.
  Before the ink on the government's decision was dry, Mike Byrne was 
hard at work raising awareness about the Klamath crisis and rallying 
the local community. He has been in the trenches everyday, Mr. 
Speaker--in town hall meetings, in negotiations with federal, state and 
local authorities, and around kitchen tables throughout the Basin--to 
lend what help he could in seeing the farmers and ranchers of the 
region through this difficult time. Mike was one of the principal 
organizers of the historic Bucket Brigade on May 7, 2001, which raised 
the visibility of the crisis and brought the plight of the Klamath 
Basin to living rooms across America.
  Since the crisis first arose in the Klamath Basin, Mike has been at 
the forefront of the effort to bring diverse groups together to achieve 
a workable solution. Mike understood that the future of agriculture in 
the Klamath Basin--and throughout the United States--laid in finding a 
balanced, workable solution to the conflict between farming and species 
protection. When this problem is solved and a practical resolution is 
agreed to by the many parties involved, it will be because of the 
patience and dedication of people like Mike Byrne.
  Mr. Speaker, I take enormous pride in Mike's ceaseless efforts on 
behalf of his fellow ranchers and farmers. The perseverance he and 
others like him have demonstrated during this crisis has literally made 
the difference between despair and hope for so many of the farmers in 
the Klamath Basin. Mike Byrne represents the best of what citizenship 
in America means. I offer him both my praise and my most sincere 
gratitude for working on behalf of the people of the Klamath Basin, who 
have faced such significant trials. Many hurdles remain in the path of 
Klamath farmers, and I am grateful that I'll have Mike Byrne by my side 
throughout the challenges that lie ahead. Happy 50th birthday, Mike.
  Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to share with my colleagues the 
extraordinary service of this outstanding American.

                          ____________________