[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 40 (Friday, April 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E516-E517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING PEGGY WAYBURN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 11, 2002

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, during the recent District Work 
period, we learned of the death of Peggy Wayburn. An accomplished 
author and photographer, her work taught us about some of the most 
special parts of our country and the importance of saving them for 
future generations.
  She was a New Yorker by birth but a Westerner at heart, drawn to wild 
country. And she played an important role in the efforts to protect it.
  In the late 1950s, she joined her husband, Dr. Edgar Wayburn, in 
working for establishment of a Redwoods National Park. In 1961, 1963, 
and 1965 she was the organizer of the biennial national wilderness 
conferences sponsored by the Sierra Club. At the 1961 conference, she 
sat next to Interior Secretary Stuart Udall and first broached the 
subject of a new national park to him. While he didn't come out to the 
proposed park site, as a follow up to her suggestion he did send his 
assistant, who toured the area with the Wayburns and Martin Litton. 
This was one of the key developments that ultimately led to the 
establishment of the park.
  And, like her husband, she had a special love for the Alaska. Her 
writings about that ``Great Land'' were influential in the debates that 
led to the enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 
Act, signed into law by President Carter in December, 1980. Her role in 
passing that monumental act was recently recognized by our colleague, 
Representative Nancy Pelosi who said, ``Dr. Wayburn and his wife Peggy 
were captivated by the unique beauty of the Alaska landscape on their 
first visit almost thirty years ago . . . Today, 104 million acres 
remain wild largely because of that first visit made to Alaska by the 
Wayburns.''
  She also was involved in working for establishment of the Point Reyes 
National Seashore, Redwoods National Park, and the Golden Gate National 
Recreation Area.
  In addition to serving as Honorary Vice President and Trustee of the 
Sierra Club Foundation, Peggy Wayburn co-founded People for Open Space, 
directed the Point Reyes Seashore Foundation, and served on the Board 
of Audubon Canyon Ranch. Her efforts earned numerous awards including 
the Sierra Club's Special Achievement Award, the California 
Conservation Council Award, and the Sierra Club of California's Special 
Service Award. In 2001, both of the Wayburns were honored with the 
Wilderness Society's Robert Marshall Award, their highest honor 
presented to private citizens who have devoted lifetime service to, and 
have had notable influence upon, conservation and the fostering of an 
American land ethic.
  Mr. Speaker, America and the conservation movement are diminished by 
Peggy Wayburn's departure. For the information of our colleagues, I am 
attaching reports from two newspapers concerning her life and 
accomplishments.

              [From the Los Angeles Times, Mar. 30, 2002]

       When Peggy Wayburn sat down to write her second book about 
     Alaska, she chose to begin with a simple statistic: Anyone 
     wishing to explore the entire state would have to visit about 
     one million acres per day--for a year.
       It was a simple, elegant number meant to impress upon 
     readers the enormity of a place that Wayburn argued should be 
     left as is.
       A prolific nature writer and environmentalist who was 
     instrumental in preserving millions of acres in Alaska and 
     creating some of Northern California's most cherished parks, 
     Peggy Wayburn died March 21 in San Francisco after a long 
     illness. She was 84.
       Known primarily for five books she wrote on the outdoors, 
     Wayburn also was published in a variety of magazines and was 
     an accomplished photographer whose images graced many 
     calendars. She was involved in a number of conservation 
     organizations, including the San Francisco-based Sierra Club.
       A native of New York City who was a member of Phi Beta 
     Kappa at Barnard College, she moved to San Francisco in 1945 
     and quickly fell in love both with the area's beauty and with 
     doctor and outdoorsman Edgar Wayburn. Their first date was 
     spent hiking on Mt. Tamalpais, just north of the city. They 
     were married in 1947.
       Edgar Wayburn was a rising figure in the Sierra Club, and 
     by default--at least initially--Peggy Wayburn was thrust into 
     some of the state's most contentious environmental battles.
       In California, the club was battling to protect small but 
     important places previously overlooked by the state and 
     federal governments. The Wayburns were part of the push that 
     would eventually lead to the creation of Point Reyes National 
     Seashore in 1962 and, later, Redwoods National Park and 
     Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
       But in 1967, the Wayburns took their first trip to Alaska--
     a voyage they would take dozens more times over the next 30 
     years.
       ``What Peggy and Ed found in Alaska were vast, intact, 
     pristine ecosystems,'' said Deborah Williams, executive 
     director of the Alaska Conservation Foundation.
       ``Peggy felt that human beings have a profound obligation 
     to be good stewards to the

[[Page E517]]

     land,'' Williams said, ``and she saw in Alaska both an 
     opportunity and responsibility to do that.''
       Upon returning to California, the Wayburns began pushing 
     the Sierra Club to pay more attention to Alaska. It was a 
     critical time for the newly created state, with tremendous 
     pressures to divvy up tens of millions of acres of federally 
     owned land between the fledgling state government and the 
     many tribes native to the area.
       It also was a time when there was a growing awareness that 
     intact ecosystems in the United States were rare. 
     Environmentalists began pointing out how the West--even with 
     its expansive national parks and forests--was missing vital 
     members of its natural communities. Not only did Alaska still 
     have all its native species, but it had them in almost 
     unimaginably large numbers.
       Inspired, Wayburn wrote two books on the state. The first, 
     ``Alaska, the Great Land'' was co-written by Mike Miller and 
     published in 1974. Along with John McPhee's ``Coming Into the 
     Country,'' it was influential because it expressed how 
     different--and how wild--Alaska still was to an audience that 
     mostly never had seen the state, nor ever would. The book 
     also became a staple on Capitol Hill in the 1970s as the 
     debate over federal land in Alaska heated up in Congress.
       The second book, ``Adventuring in Alaska,'' was the first 
     Sierra Club adventure guide and remains in print. It was one 
     of the first comprehensive guidebooks for the state, offering 
     readers practical travel tips and a myriad of facts on 
     Alaska's natural wonders.
       In December 1980, just weeks before leaving office, 
     President Carter signed the Alaska Lands Act, which set aside 
     104 million acres in the state as either national parks, 
     national wildlife refuges or national forests. Carter has 
     since called it one of the most important accomplishments of 
     his presidency.
       In 1999, President Clinton awarded Edgar Wayburn a 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom, citing his and Peggy's work in 
     Alaska during a White House ceremony.
       ``I think what captivated my parents about Alaska was that 
     it was California 500 years ago and there were such great 
     pressures [to develop it],'' said Cynthia Wayburn of Seattle, 
     one of the couple's four children.
       ``What Mom was able to convey in her books was that there 
     should be places where life can go on as it has gone on for 
     thousands and thousands of years.''
       In addition to her husband and daughter Cynthia, Peggy 
     Wayburn is survived by two other daughters, Diana Wayburn of 
     New York and Laurie Wayburn of Boonville, Calif.; a son, 
     William of Seattle; and three grandchildren.
       A memorial service is planned April 7 at the Presidio in 
     San Francisco. Donations in her name can be made to the 
     Sierra Club Foundation, Alaska Conservation Foundation or 
     Earthjustice.

                                  ____
                                  

                   [From the San Francisco Chronicle]

       Peggy Cornelia Elliot Wayburn, a nature author and 
     conservationist who worked to protect millions of acres of 
     park and wilderness lands, died last Thursday at her home in 
     San Francisco. She was 84.
       Mrs. Wayburn published five books through the Sierra Club, 
     including two adventuring books that focused on Alaska and 
     the Bay Area. Her book ``Alaska: the Great Land'' is credited 
     with helping persuade Congress to pass the Alaska National 
     Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. That law protected 
     104 million acres of wilderness. She also wrote ``The Edge of 
     Life,'' an in-depth look at Bolinas Lagoon in Marin County. 
     The lagoon has since been designated as a National Natural 
     Landmark.
       Working alongside her husband, former Sierra Club President 
     Edgar Wayburn, she helped establish some of Northern 
     California's most treasured wildlife areas. The pair helped 
     establish the 58,000-acre Redwood National Park, the Golden 
     Gate National Recreation Area and the Point Reyes National 
     Seashore. They also helped expand the Mount Tamalpais State 
     Park from about 870 to 6,300 acres.
       Mrs. Wayburn served as a trustee on the Sierra Club 
     Foundation for six years and was named an honorary vice 
     president of the Sierra Club board in 1999. She was also 
     former director of the Point Reyes Seashore Foundation.
       Born in New York City in 1917, Mrs. Wayburn graduated from 
     Columbia University's Barnard College in 1942. In 1945, she 
     moved to San Francisco, where she met and married her 
     husband.
       During their years in the Bay Area, the pair lived almost 
     entirely in San Francisco and spent their last year together 
     at a retirement home on Post Street. Mrs. Wayburn died after 
     struggling with diverticulitis for more than three years.
       In addition to her husband, Mrs. Wayburn is survived by 
     three daughters, Diana Wayburn of New York, Laurie Wayburn of 
     Boonville (Mendocino County) and Cynthia Wayburn of Seattle; 
     a son, William Wayburn of Seattle; and three grandchildren.

     

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