[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING VOLKER EISELE OF NAPA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2008

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay 
tribute to Volker Eisele, who is being honored as the Napa County Farm 
Bureau's 2008 Agriculturalist of the Year.
  I have had the honor for the past 10 years to represent in the U.S. 
House of Representatives the Napa Valley, an area known throughout the 
world for its immense beauty, environmental consciousness and bountiful 
agriculture. Were it not for the tireless efforts of Mr. Eisele, Napa 
Valley as we know it today would simply not exist.
  Since arriving in the Napa Valley, Volker Eisele has dedicated his 
life to protecting its rich agricultural tradition. The timeline of his 
community involvement reads like the history of preservation in Napa. 
In 1974, he joined Citizens' Council for Napa Tomorrow, the group that 
passed Napa County's 1 percent growth measure, Measure A, in 1980. In 
1977, he joined the board of what is now Greenbelt Alliance, which has 
become one of the preeminent Smart Growth organizations in the San 
Francisco Bay Area. He has also served on the boards of directors for 
the Napa County Farm Bureau and the Napa Valley Grapegrowers. During 
his term as President of the Farm Bureau, he led the effort to create 
the 160 acre minimum for agricultural, watershed and open space land.
  From 1989 through 1990, in what was perhaps his crowning achievement, 
he led the campaign to pass Measure J, Napa County's revolutionary land 
protection measure. Today, he is organizing the campaign to renew 
Measure J, which will protect Napa Valley agriculture for fifty years.
  Mr. Eisele has been a preeminent activist in Napa Valley for more 
than thirty years, but he has also led by example. He planted the first 
entirely organic vineyard in Napa in 1975, and practiced sustainable 
farming long before it became widely accepted. He has maintained an 
enduring reverence for the land that serves us all so well, respecting 
animal habitat and riparian corridors. As a result, his Volker Eisele 
Family Estate wines reflect the best that Napa has to offer.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, it is my distinct pleasure to recognize 
Volker Eisele for his many years of leadership. The Napa Valley and the 
entire environmental movement owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

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