[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13959-S13960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF JIM SCHLINKMANN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the life of a public 
servant who worked in one of the most beautiful corners of Nevada, 
Great Basin National Park. James ``Jim'' Schlinkmann was chief ranger 
of the park and passed away while returning home from an assignment on 
the National Park Service Team assisting with Hurricane Wilma recovery.
  I met Jim several times at the park, most recently during this year's 
Fourth of July weekend when I traveled out to Baker, NV, for the grand 
opening of the new Great Basin Visitor Center. On that day, Jim 
personally presented me with a spectacular photo of a Great Basin 
National Park icon, an ancient bristlecone pine.
  I have an especially clear recollection of that day, and of Jim, 
because the opening of the new visitor center was such a special event. 
Cowboy poetry was read, patriotic songs were sung, and friends came 
together to celebrate the tremendous landscape that exists at Great 
Basin National Park. The picture that Jim presented to me is now 
hanging in my Reno office and is a joyful reminder of that day and of 
the last time I got to visit with Jim.
  I know from my conversations with Jim and from the park's 
superintendent that Jim loved the mountains of Great Basin National 
Park where he spent the last 5 years. He will most definitely be 
remembered fondly there. And I will remember his dedicated public 
service at Great Basin and all the many parks he served during his 23-
year career.
  Some of Jim's many accomplishments include his expertise as a rock

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climber that allowed him to make enormous contributions to the National 
Park Service technical rescue program. Jim helped develop some of the 
first organized technical rescue courses at Joshua Tree National Park 
and for 7 years was a lead instructor for the National Park Service 
Technical Rescue Course, which is taught annually at Canyonlands 
National Park.
  Before coming to Great Basin, Jim served as the chief ranger at 
Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. The former superintendent of 
Devils Tower recalls Jim as an outstanding liaison to both the climbing 
community and to the American Indian community. In addition to his 
tours of duty at Great Basin, Joshua Tree and Devils Tower, Jim also 
served as a ranger at Shoshone National Forest, Denali National Park 
and Rocky Mountain National Park.
  Jim Schlinkmann was a man who dedicated himself to protecting the 
very best of America's lands and who represented the very best of 
America's spirit.
  I will miss seeing him on my next visit to Great Basin National Park. 
And I will be thinking about him the next time I look up at the 
remarkable snow-covered peaks of the south Snake Range.

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