[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING JAMES D. RANGE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2009

  Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember James D. Range, a 
beloved father, son, brother, and friend.
  Jim died peacefully, surrounded by family and loved ones, on Tuesday, 
January 20, 2009 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, after an 
extraordinarily courageous battle with kidney cancer. He was 63 years 
old.
  A Johnson City, Tennessee, native, Jim was a life long outdoorsman 
who loved America's wild spaces and loved hunting and fishing.
  He was respected as a passionate advocate for the country's fish and 
wildlife and their habitat and one of the Nation's most prominent 
champions of natural resource conservation.
  In the 1970's, Jim was a trusted advisor and counsel to Senate 
Majority Leader Howard Baker and the Senate Environment and Public 
Works Committee where he served with verve and integrity.
  During his time in the Senate, Jim was instrumental in the 
conservation of many different corners of the American landscape and 
integral in the crafting and final passage of a string of landmark laws 
such as the Clean Water Act.
  Even after his time spent on Capitol Hill, Jim displayed an unrivaled 
commitment to our nation's natural resources and outdoor traditions by 
co-founding and serving as chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt 
Conservation Partnership.
  He furthered his service to the cause of conservation through work on 
the Boards of Directors for Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, the 
Wetlands America Trust, the Recreational Boating and Fishing 
Foundation, the American Sportfishing Association, the American Bird 
Conservancy, the Pacific Forest Trust, the Yellowstone Park Foundation, 
the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, the National Fish and Wildlife 
Foundation, the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, the 
Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Council, and the Valles Caldera 
Trust.
  Through this work, Jim received such honors as the U.S. Department of 
the Interior's Great Blue Heron Award, the 2003 Outdoor Life Magazine 
Conservationist of the Year and the Norville Prosser Lifetime 
Achievement Award presented by the American Sportfishing Association.
  He left both the political and natural landscape in which he lived, 
loved, worked and played better than when he found it. His achievements 
in conserving the valuable wild and natural resources of the country 
are unparalleled and he lived his extraordinary life with integrity, 
humor and goodwill he displayed in all his pursuits.
  He left a legacy to all his family, friends and colleagues of a 
vision for a growing understanding and appreciation of our natural 
world and a daily commitment to conserving it for future generations.
  Madam Speaker, please join our colleagues and me in recognizing Jim 
Range's accomplishments and contributions.

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