[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 110 (Monday, July 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BRUCE GUNGLE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 2010

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a community leader 
who has made a significant and long-lasting contribution to shaping 
Pima County, Arizona. For the last 13 years, Bruce Gungle has served as 
a respected member of the Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission, 
of which he was Chair for two years.
  Originally from the north shore of Boston, Massachusetts, Bruce has 
had a longstanding interest in and acumen for the sciences and 
literature. He obtained dual Bachelors degrees in Earth Science and 
Creative Writing from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he 
was also a member of the track team. Bruce went on to earn a Masters of 
Art in Creative Writing from the University in New Hampshire before 
moving to Tucson in 1984.
  That relocation transformed Bruce into a committed desert 
conservationist and activist, as well as a fervent University of 
Arizona Wildcat partisan (although he will always remain a Red Sox 
fan). Bruce earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 1990 
and a Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences in 2000, both from the 
University of Arizona.
  Although I am honoring Bruce today for his exemplary public service 
as a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, a position to which I appointed 
him in 1997 during my tenure as a Pima County Supervisor, his public 
service as a hydrologist at the United States Geological Survey has 
also contributed significantly to federal and public knowledge about 
the San Pedro River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the 
southwest United States. In his role at the USGS, Bruce has overseen 
the production of the annual ``321'' reports to Congress. These 
reports, which stem from Public Law 108-136, Section 321, describe the 
progress in achieving sustainable yield of the regional aquifer so as 
to protect the Upper San Pedro River and the San Pedro Riparian 
National Conservation Area in Arizona.
  Bruce has been a key voice for protecting the Sonoran Desert, which 
has experienced historic levels of human development in Pima County 
over a relatively short period of time. Bruce was appointed at a time 
when Pima County was developing the nationally acclaimed Sonoran Desert 
Conservation Plan. Using this plan, Bruce consistently favored 
protecting delicate riparian areas, wildlife movement corridors, and 
other special areas from the ravages of bulldozers, asphalt and 
buildings.
  In the face of myriad requests to amend the County's comprehensive 
plan, along with subsequent requests to rezone property and to make 
other land use changes, Bruce always dug into the mounds of paperwork 
to get to the core of an issue. His clear understanding of matters 
before the commission, and his perceptive questions from the dais, 
earned him the great respect of his fellow commissioners, county staff, 
applicants, the conservation community, and the public.
  Bruce is one of those rare individuals who can maintain his 
principles and parlay his grasp of the issues into meaningful 
compromises that protect the County's unique physical assets and enable 
property owners to move forward on their proposed projects.
  Bruce has shaped Pima County, and his absence from the Commission 
will be felt by all those with whom he worked. Perhaps no one will feel 
it more strongly than Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, who 
followed me in re-appointing Bruce to his last eight years on the 
commission as a District Five representative. The communities of 
unincorporated Pima County are much richer because of the invaluable 
contributions of Bruce Gungle.

                          ____________________