[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE CAREER OF RICHARD MARTIN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DEVIN NUNES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 19, 2005

  Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
honor a man who has dedicated his life to protecting our nation's 
treasures so generations of Americans can continue to enjoy their 
riches. Richard Martin, Superintendent of Sequoia and Kings Canyon 
National Parks, is retiring after 48 years of federal land management 
service.
  Without question, my district has some of the finest landscapes in 
the world--from the High Sierras where these parks are found to the 
vast Central Valley where agriculture is king. All of these riches are 
interrelated. I came to know Superintendent Martin during his tenure of 
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Since day one, I have had the 
privilege of working closely with Dick to find solutions to critical 
visitor use issues and I have found him a man of his word and deed. I 
have been especially impressed with his ability to reach out to Valley 
residents to make the park more accessible. Dick has encouraged park 
staff to participate as active members of the many communities the park 
borders and discover how any park decision affects the neighborhood. He 
has developed close friendships with Valley communities and provided 
park educational opportunities for all.
  Superintendent Martin has also tackled issues that go way beyond the 
National Park System to include the war on drugs. This is a problem no 
one expected the park staff to have to undertake until the disgusting 
discovery of a re-routed mountain stream, poisoned by a time release 
fertilizer component, irrigating hundreds of thousands of dollars worth 
of marijuana. Automatic weapons, animal carcasses, and a landfill 
emitting methane gas, are often found in these illegal marijuana 
plantations within the park. I applaud Dick's effort to eliminate this 
destructive cash crop and restore the stream and vegetation. We have 
visitors walking along trails near these locations and private property 
not far away--we want to ensure the safety of everyone and Dick has 
taken this task to heart.
  Superintendent Martin's career has spanned some of this nation's most 
remote and vast landscapes, from the lowest in elevation--Death Valley 
National Park, to a far north locale at Alaska's Wrangell St Elias 
National Park and Preserve, to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. 
Dick is an extraordinary park manager with an eye on retaining our 
parks for future generations. He and I have found ways to provide 
access, along with preservation--all in a desire to maintain our 
national heritage.
  As the sun sets on his government career, I suspect that I will one 
day find him walking or riding along one of our western trails with his 
wife and four grown children. It will be great to see him continue to 
enjoy what he spent 48 years to protect. Dick, I wish you a hearty so-
long and a fond farewell.

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