[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E181-E182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              LEE BOTTS--

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 13, 2008

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor and pleasure 
that I stand before you today to honor one of Northwest Indiana's most 
dedicated, distinguished, and honorable citizens. I have known Lee 
Botts for many years, and she is one of the most active and involved 
citizens I have ever known, especially when it comes to her service to 
protecting the Great Lakes and Lake Michigan's National Lakeshore. 
Today, Lee is celebrating a milestone, her 80th birthday. In her honor, 
a celebration will be taking place on Thursday, February 21, 2008, at 
the Metropolitan Club in Chicago, Illinois.
  Lee Botts spent her childhood in Kansas and Oklahoma, and as a young 
woman, Lee

[[Page E182]]

moved with her four children to Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. In 
Chicago, Lee became active in neighborhood associations, such as the 
Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, and became active in the 
preservation of the Great Lakes. In 1966, Lee participated in the 
campaign to acknowledge the Indiana Dunes as a National Lakeshore. 
While Lee was active in the protection of the lakeshore, she was also a 
columnist for the Hyde Park Herald, a weekly community publication of 
which she later became the editor. As well as being active in community 
press, Lee also established the Hyde Park Garden Fair, which is still 
held on an annual basis. In the late 1960s, Lee also became a staff 
member of the Openlands Project in Chicago, an organization dedicated 
to preserving and enhancing public open space around Chicago and 
northern Illinois.
  In 1971, Lee founded the Lake Michigan Federation, known today as the 
Alliance for the Great Lakes. The Federation was the first independent 
citizen organization dedicated to the preservation of a specific Great 
Lake. As the leader of the Federation, Lee became dedicated to 
protecting the lakeshore and actively lobbied Congress to tackle issues 
of environmental protection, focusing on the first federal Clean Water 
Act. Because of her dedication to the environment, Lee served on the 
staff of the Environmental Protection Agency for several years when the 
agency was in its infancy, and in 1977 was appointed by President 
Carter as the head of the Great Lakes Basin Commission, headquartered 
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Following this position, Lee worked with Mayor 
Harold Washington and the city of Chicago as a staff member and 
consultant for the city's newly developed Department of the 
Environment.
  Lee also founded the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, a 
summer camp offering children of U.S. Steel employees an opportunity to 
learn about the environment and the necessity of its preservation. In 
addition to the numerous organizations Lee founded, she also made time 
to serve in various capacities at several other organizations, such as 
the Save the Dunes Council, the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life 
Council, Great Lakes United, the State of Illinois' Task Force of 
Global Climate Change, the State of Indiana Water Pollution Control 
Board, Chicago Wilderness, and the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning 
Commission.
  Madam Speaker, Lee Botts has given her time and efforts selflessly to 
the protection of our environment and lakeshore throughout her many 
years of service. At this time, I ask that you and all of my 
distinguished colleagues join me in commending her for her lifetime of 
service and dedication to her community. I also ask that you join me in 
wishing her a very happy 80th birthday.

                          ____________________