[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E934]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE NAPA VALLEY AGRICULTURAL PRESERVE

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                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2008

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I have had the honor for 
the past 10 years to represent in the House of Representatives the Napa 
Valley, an area known throughout the world for its immense beauty, 
environmental consciousness and bountiful agriculture. This evening, 
the Jack L. Davies Napa Valley Agricultural Land Preservation Fund will 
celebrate an act of foresight and wisdom that has helped the Napa 
Valley to earn its lofty reputation: the creation of the Napa Valley 
Agricultural Preserve.
  In 1968, the Napa County Board of Supervisors passed Ordinance No. 
274, creating the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve. The ordinance 
ensured that agriculture and open space were the ``highest and best 
use'' of our land and should be preserved for those uses. This 
unprecedented action revolutionized land use policy nationwide and 
paved the way for other landmark measures, such as measure J, to help 
preserve agricultural land.
  Among its many virtues, the establishment of the Ag Preserve proved 
that responsible land stewardship and a thriving economy were not 
mutually exclusive values; indeed, the Napa Valley owes much of its 
economic prosperity and special quality of life to the preservation of 
its agricultural and open space lands.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, it is my distinct pleasure to honor 
Napa County Supervisors Dewey Anderson, Jack Ferguson, and those former 
Supervisors who are with us in spirit Henry Wigger, Julius Caiocca and 
Pete Clark for having the foresight to protect the land so that future 
generations could enjoy the majesty of the Napa Valley. We also salute 
those who are working today to preserve and protect agricultural land 
and open space in Napa County.

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