[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 31 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2005-S2006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DUANE HARRIS

 Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition and 
honor of my friend and an outstanding public servant, Mr. Duane Harris 
of St. Simons Island, GA. Duane will be retiring on April 1 of this 
year from his position as the Director, Coastal Resources Division, of 
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. His retirement comes after 
some three decades of service to the people of the State of Georgia and 
this Nation.
  Duane has served in the very important position of Coastal Director 
since 1982, during a time of extraordinary challenge for the Department 
of Natural Resources. The Coastal Division encompasses all of our 
beautiful Golden Isles where we take great pride in our magnificent 
beaches, salt water and fresh water wetlands, and the living creatures 
that depend on those ecosystems for life itself.
  In Georgia, as elsewhere in our Nation, the coastal area is where we 
find some of the greatest pressures for development and population 
growth, and the inevitable confrontation between those pressures and 
environmental protection. And in this difficult arena, Duane Harris has 
served with remarkable distinction.
  Duane joined the Georgia DNR on July 1 of 1970. His service to the 
State's coastal resources through the years has been diverse and 
distinguished. In his initial job of Wildlife Biologist he worked in 
developing the baseline characterization of marine fisheries resources 
in Georgia, including assessing shrimp and blue crab stocks and 
formulating management decisions regarding harvest seasons in specific 
areas. He conducted a coast-wide inventory of Georgia's oyster 
resources and was one of the founders of Georgia's very popular 
Artificial Reef Program in the 1970's. He has championed that program's 
growth to a system that now consists of more than 30 inshore and 
offshore reefs, providing an essential marine habitat.
  Duane was instrumental in the establishment and expansion of the 
Coastal Division's 24-hour on-call network, which has provided round-
the-clock response to fish kill, sea turtle and marine mammal 
strandings since the 1980's. He has personally responded to numerous 
situations involving strandings and injured birds, sea turtles, and 
porpoises. Duane is the contact that local officials, the Coast Guard, 
Law Enforcement, and coastal citizens call upon when no one can be 
reached. He has also worked tirelessly as a volunteer for DNR's annual 
Weekend for Wildlife celebration since its inception in 1989.
  Let me also note that Duane is not simply someone who works to 
enforce a rulebook. He is an innovative and thoughtful planner who 
helps shape new policies. For example, during the 1990's, he played a 
pivotal role in the passage of far-reaching legislation to benefit 
Georgia's unique coastal environment when he spearheaded the successful 
regulatory implementation of The Protection of Tidewaters Act, O.C.G.A. 
Sections 52-1-1 through 52-1-10, and the Right of Passage Act, O.C.G.A. 
52-1-30 through 52-1-39, in 1992, culminating in the removal by 1999 of 
the last remaining river houses that were causing environmental 
degradation and other problems.

  Duane worked very hard to provide information to local municipalities 
and county governments about the benefits of a federally-approved 
Georgia Coastal Management Program, and has assisted in the development 
of the Georgia Coastal Management Act, O.C.G.A. Section 12-5-320, in 
1997, and its very successful implementation since that time.
  Over the past 4 years, Duane Harris spearheaded the efforts to 
regulate driving on Georgia's remote barrier island beaches in a manner 
consistent with the Shore Protection Act. Duane took the lead on all 
required administrative procedures, facilitating a lengthy citizen 
advisory process initiated in August 1998. He formulated the resulting 
regulations to afford the needed protection to shorebirds, nesting sea 
turtles, and the fragile dune environment while accommodating the 
interests of legally-recognized property holders. This was a sensitive 
and controversial issue, for which he forged a reasonable system of 
regulation. Following adoption of these rules in December 1998, he 
worked to implement them prior to the onset of the 1999 sea turtle 
nesting season.
  Duane recently led the deliberations of a diverse Marsh Hammocks 
Advisory Council in an examination of the issue of development of 
coastal marsh hammocks and back barrier islands. His regional and 
national conservation service includes serving as chairman of

[[Page S2006]]

both the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission.
  At the State and local level, he has brought a marine conservation 
perspective to the numerous boards, steering committees, task forces, 
civic and service organizations on which he has served, including the 
Leadership Georgia Board of Trustees, the Brunswick Rotary, the 
Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, and the Keep Brunswick-
Golden Isles Clean and Beautiful Board. In recognition of his marine 
conservation expertise and contributions, he is member of the Skidaway 
Foundation Board.
  This outline of Duane's career gives us an appreciation of his 
professional record, but it does not come close to illuminating the 
strength of his career. It takes a leader of special qualities to meet 
the challenges of administering the laws and regulations that govern 
coast areas. It takes a person of accomplishment in scientific skills, 
but it also takes a person of patience, honesty, and integrity. And it 
takes a person who can deal directly and effectively with immediate and 
difficult problems.
  That is why Duane, in my mind, embodies the special qualities of 
public service that are so important to this Nation. I know that many 
of my colleagues have had distinguished careers of service to local and 
State governments prior to their election to the Senate. Service in the 
Senate is an extraordinary honor and an extraordinary responsibility 
and opportunity. At the same time, we are in many ways insulated from 
the direct consequences of policies on the lives of people.
  As Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Georgia, I had the 
privilege of face-to-face contacts with citizens in need, and I 
struggled with the difficult task of solving real and immediate 
problems. I learned that it is men and women like Duane Harris who are 
truly the ``hands-on'' public servants throughout this great country. 
They must, on a daily basis, operate the enforcement programs that 
transform laws and regulations into action. They must make quick 
decisions that affect people's lives and livelihoods.
  I am proud to have known Duane Harris for many, many years as both a 
dedicated public servant and a friend. I will also add that he is one 
of the best fishermen you will ever have the opportunity to meet, and I 
understand that after some 30 years of service to the State of Georgia, 
that is exactly what he plans to do, go fishing. Except that he will be 
doing that as a professional fishing guide with his own boat.
  Duane is still a young man, and I know that as a private citizen he 
and his accomplished wife, Carol, will continue to be a source of great 
strength and leadership to their community. He is the kind of man who 
will always carry out his work with unselfish energy and sound values.
  On behalf of all of my colleagues in the United States Congress, I 
would like to thank Duane Harris for his devotion to his duty and 
express my heartfelt thanks for a job well done.

                          ____________________