[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2455-E2456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAYING TRIBUTE TO JOHN H. ADAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2005

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor John H. Adams, a 
longtime resident of the Hudson River Valley in New York State, whose 
tremendous vision and distinguished career in environmental protection 
have left a significant and lasting legacy for our entire nation. I am 
very pleased to recognize and pay tribute to Mr. Adams as he celebrates 
his retirement from the position of president of the Natural Resources 
Defense Council (NRDC) after more than thirty-five years of dedicated 
leadership of the organization.
  John Adams co-founded NRDC in 1970 as an organization of public 
interest lawyers focused on the development and enforcement of emerging 
environmental laws. As its Executive Director from 1970-1998, Mr. Adams 
built an effective and influential non-profit organization of lawyers 
and scientists, which is today supported by a national membership of 
more than one million people. As president of NRDC since October 1998, 
Mr. Adams has advised policy makers and members of industry on the 
growing importance of protecting and conserving our nation's natural 
resources for future generations.
  Mr. Adams grew up on a farm in the Catskills of New York State. He 
earned a B.A. in History from Michigan State University in 1959, 
followed by a law degree from Duke University in 1962. Mr. Adams 
returned to New York after graduating from law school and, several 
years later, worked as the Assistant United States Attorney for the 
Southern District of New York, during which time he met and worked with 
a number of people who inspired him to enter public interest law.
  With the unflinching and invaluable support of his wife Patricia, Mr. 
Adams established NRDC and became the organization's first employee. 
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Adams and NRDC's lawyers took on their first 
environmental case: preventing the construction of the Storm King 
Mountain pumped storage facility. This historic environmental battle, 
which eventually succeeded in protecting one of the most recognizable 
natural features in the Hudson Valley, has been viewed by many as the 
birth of the modern environmental movement, establishing important 
legal precedents and inspiring similar citizen efforts throughout the 
country.
  Mr. Adams joined the adjunct faculty of New York University's School 
of Law in 1972 where he taught Clinical Environmental Law for 26 years. 
A year later, Mr. Adams reconstituted the defunct Open Space Institute 
(OSI), a conservancy devoted to the protection of open space, and has 
served as Chairman of the Board since this time, during which OSI has 
purchased or protected thousands of acres of land in the Hudson Valley, 
the Adirondacks, and the Catskills. One of the organization's most 
notable successes was its pivotal role in purchasing Sterling Forest, 
an area now consisting of more than 20,000 protected acres between New 
York and New Jersey, made possible through an historic partnership 
between the federal government, two states and numerous private 
organizations.
  Mr. Adams serves on the boards of the League of Conservation Voters, 
Woods Hole Research Center, Center for American Progress and Duke 
University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. In 
1999, he completed his membership on the President's Council on 
Sustainable Development and his participation in Environmental 
Protection Agency's Common Sense Initiative. Mr. Adams has received 
many notable honors and environmental awards including: One World One 
Child Lifetime Achievement Award (2005); NRDC's Forces For Nature Award 
(2005); the Wilderness Society's Robert Marshall Award (2005); the 
Natural Resources Council of America's Award of Honor (2001); the Green 
Cross Millennium Award for Individual Environmental Leadership (2000); 
the Judge Lumbard Cup for public service from the United States 
Attorney's Southern District of New York; the National Conservation 
Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation (1999); and the 
Francis K. Hutchinson Conservation Award from the Garden Club of 
America (1990). In 1998, Mr. Adams was named one of the National 
Audubon's 100 Champions of Conservation. In 1997, he received the 
Environmental Careers Organization's 25th Anniversary Award. In 1991, 
he received Duke University's Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 1992, 
Duke University Law School's Charles J. Murphy Award. Mr. Adams was 
also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws from Duke University 
and Knox College and an honorary doctorate from Cedar Crest College.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to congratulate and honor John Adams on 
the occasion of his retirement as president of NRDC after his many 
years of hard work and committed service on behalf of the Hudson River 
Valley and

[[Page E2456]]

our entire nation. I offer my deep appreciation and thanks for the 
outstanding leadership that John has provided over his impressive 
career in protecting this country's natural resources, fighting for the 
health of our communities and forging a more rationale and sustainable 
future. Though he is retiring as NRDC's president, I am grateful that 
he will remain involved in as the organization's founding director so 
that the environmental movement can continue to benefit from his wisdom 
and experience. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my very 
best wishes for the future to John, Patricia and their family as they 
celebrate this important milestone.

                          ____________________