[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 135 (Tuesday, October 15, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ADDITIONAL STATEMENT

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                        TRIBUTE TO STEVE JORDAN

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
outstanding public servant and marine scientist, Steve Jordan. Steve is 
retiring after a distinguished 28-year career with the Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources, in higher educational institutions in 
Maryland and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I want to extend my 
personal congratulations and thanks for his many years of service and 
contributions to improving our research and management capabilities in 
the Chesapeake Bay and one of the Bay's premier research laboratories, 
the Oxford Cooperative Lab.
  Steve has dedicated nearly three decades of his life to solving some 
of the key living marine resource problems of the Chesapeake Bay, the 
diseases that have devastated the Bay's oyster populations, the loss of 
critical habitat, and the impacts of pollutants and low dissolved 
oxygen on the Bay's finfish and shellfish populations. A graduate of 
The American University, Steve worked his way through a master's degree 
in Biology at Morehead State College in Kentucky and a Ph.D. in marine, 
estuarine and environmental science from the University of Maryland. He 
was selected as a Sea Grant Fellow with the University of Maryland and 
Horn Point Environmental Laboratory and served as a faculty research 
associate with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore before being 
named to head up the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Habitat 
Impacts Program which managed several aspects of Maryland's 
participation in the Chesapeake Bay Program.
  I came to know Steve 10 years ago when he was appointed director of 
the Oxford Cooperative Laboratory in Oxford, MD. For those who are not 
familiar with the Oxford Lab, it is a unique partnership between the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources. Located on a tidal tributary of the 
Chesapeake Bay, the lab has long been considered one of the preeminent 
centers in the Nation for its work in diagnosing all aspects of 
diseases, infectious and non-infectious, which affect living marine 
resources. At the time that Steve joined the facility, the laboratory 
was 33 years old and in great need of capital improvements. The poor 
physical condition of the facility was contributing significantly to 
low employee morale and a high staff attrition rate. Thanks to Steve's 
creative leadership, a major renovation and expansion of the laboratory 
was completed, leveraging a $750,000 Federal appropriation into a $2 
million project through the use of DNR construction crews. The project 
not only served as a model for interagency cooperation, but provided 
substantial savings to the taxpayers as well. Steve also added new 
research programs, modern equipment, and helped bring about a renewed 
workplace atmosphere.
  In addition to his management responsibilities and achievements, 
Steve has continued to conduct research that is vital to improving our 
understanding of the Bay's living marine resources. He has published or 
contributed to numerous studies and symposia on oyster diseases, 
lesions in fish, and other critical problems. He has chaired or 
participated in many work groups examining key living resource research 
needs and management strategies and is a member or leader of half a 
dozen professional associations including the American Fisheries 
Society, National Shellfisheries Association, Atlantic Estuarine 
Research Society, and National Association of Marine Laboratories. In 
recognition of his outstanding service, Steve has received numerous 
awards and commendations, including certificates of appreciation from 
both the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Maryland Department of Natural 
Resources and an excellence award from Maryland Governor Schaefer for 
the Chesapeake Executive Council.
  The efforts of Steve Jordan throughout the past 28 years have earned 
him the respect and admiration of everyone with whom he has worked. The 
Chesapeake Bay restoration effort has been enhanced due to his labors 
and the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory has been renewed. I want to 
extend my personal congratulations and thanks for his many years of 
hard work and dedication and wish him the best in his future 
endeavors.

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