[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN SUPPORT OF MRS. LEAH GALANTE SCHAD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 26, 2008

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
memory and life of Mrs. Leah Galante Schad, a woman who devoted over 40 
years of her life to protecting Florida's Everglades and a driving 
force in the American environmental movement. Her contributions helped 
bring about a new era in our country in which organizers, activists, 
and politicians worked together to implement courses of action that 
would improve our environment and our lives. After her recent passing, 
I am moved to reflect on her accomplishments and legacy as we strive to 
enact environmental policies for our districts, States, and Nation.
  A native of Kentucky, Leah Schad became active in Florida's 
environmental movement shortly after she moved to the State in 1961. In 
the following decades, Mrs. Schad would become renowned for her fierce 
determination and uncompromising will to improve Florida's Everglades 
and wildlife, earning her the title of ``The Grand Dame of 
Environmentalism.'' Realize, this title was not given to Mrs. Schad 
arbitrarily. As a board member of the National Audubon Society and the 
South Florida Water Management District, chairwoman of the Florida 
Audubon Society, and president and treasurer of the Audubon Society of 
the Everglades, Leah Schad had the audacity to successfully challenge 
decades of environmental mismanagement and to lead the effort to leave 
the earth in better shape than when we got it.
  Without doubt, Mrs. Schad's passion and persistence inspired 
communities, organizations, and elected officials to engage in efforts 
to preserve and improve our environment. She received numerous awards 
for her decades of service including: the Florida Audubon Society's 
Chapter President of the Year Award in 1979, the Women's Chamber of 
Commerce of the Palm Beaches Award in 1997, and the American Diabetes 
Society Valor Award in 2002. However, those who knew and admired Mrs. 
Schad understood that she worked in pursuit of a greater reward.
  Mrs. Schad fought for environmental protection and restoration in 
Florida despite the people and institutions that threatened her mission 
and the cancer that threatened her life. Although we in Congress have 
made enormous environmental progress, our battle is far from over. Leah 
Galante Schad's struggles and successes remind us that we must confront 
adversity to ensure that we achieve our goal of comprehensive 
environmental restoration and protection.
  Madam Speaker, in 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt told Congress, 
``The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use 
constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other 
problem of our national life.'' As we reflect on the life and legacy of 
Mrs. Leah Galante Schad, we must enhance our efforts to restore the 
Everglades and other national treasures to their natural state. I urge 
my colleagues to continue the work of Leah Galante Schad, and other 
pioneers who fought to ensure that our Nation's unique habitats and 
wildlife are preserved for the enjoyment of the present generation and 
for generations to come.

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