[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 52 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E722-E723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         BAHIA GRANDE'S NATIONAL COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 4, 2006

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the U.S. Fish & 
Wildlife Service and the Bahia Grande Restoration Project's 60 partners 
upon their receipt of the Department of the Interior's 2005 Cooperative 
Conservation Award. This award acknowledges the collaboration activity 
among diverse agencies working to restore our environment.
  The legacy we leave our children and our grandchildren is the 
condition of the Earth beneath our feet. Some of the most fragile--and 
at the same time, most important--parts of that legacy are the delicate 
wetlands that buffer our continent.
  The project's participants have demonstrated an understanding of this 
delicate intersection of wetlands and our continent by finding new and 
creative ways to sustain the Bahia Grande wetland in South Texas.
  Through their teamwork and innovativeness, the Bahia Grande partners 
have managed to walk the line between environmental and economic 
prosperity to achieve an ecologically and economically successful 
community. Federal, state, local and tribal governments, as well as 
private groups, nonprofit institutions, and nongovernmental entities 
have worked together on discerning a path to solve what seemed to be an 
unsolvable problem, further exemplifying the cooperative spirit this 
award honors.
  The Bahia Grande suffered from the construction of the Brownsville 
Ship Channel in the 1930s, which blocked the natural tide action 
necessary to maintain the basin under water. The basin eventually dried 
up and began blowing clouds of dust, jeopardizing the health of nearby 
residents and damaging area schools.
  With the help of many people, these consequences were addressed and 
mitigated. By allowing the Port of Brownsville to flood the Bahia 
Grande, the moisture will prevent the dry sand from blowing around and 
affecting the health of those in the area.
  What was once an idle dust bowl plaguing surrounding cities has now 
become the largest wetlands restoration effort in U.S. history. Once 
completed, more than 10,000 acres of the Bahia Grande wetland system 
will be permanently flooded and restored.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me today in honoring the 
active support and involvement of those contributors in the Bahia 
Grande Restoration Project. Mr. Speaker, they have recognized the 
importance of environmental conservation on our lives; and for that, we 
must recognize them.

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