[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S863-S864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                     TRIBUTE TO DAVID M. PITTENGER

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today, I honor the career and 
contributions of David M. Pittenger, who is retiring after 30 years 
with the National Aquarium, 15 years as executive director. Dave joined 
the National Aquarium as director of education in 1979 and implemented 
award-winning conservation education programs in Baltimore City public 
schools 2 years before the aquarium officially opened its doors in 
1981. Now, each year, 70,000 Maryland schoolchildren, on average, visit 
the National Aquarium for free as part of their curriculum and Aquarium 
educators give curriculum training to more than 1,000 teachers.
  Through programs that are onsite, in schools and hands-on in the 
field, the National Aquarium engages children of all ages in raising 
young terrapins and releasing them into the Bay, taking water and soil 
samples, growing plants, and going on nature hikes. Children paddle 
canoes and kayaks, wade in creeks, count birds in wetlands, snorkel in 
Florida coral reefs, and patrol sea turtle nesting areas in Georgia. 
For some children, these programs offer their first encounter with an 
environment outside their neighborhood.
  During Dave Pittenger's tenure as director, the National Aquarium has 
expanded its footprint in Baltimore's Inner Harbor to three buildings, 
adding an engaging dolphin amphitheater and the award-winning Australia 
exhibit. The aquarium has also moved beyond its Inner Harbor location, 
acquiring 12.5 acres of once-contaminated waterfront land in South 
Baltimore and remediating this ``brownfield'' to make way for a 
publicly accessible waterfront park.
  Dave has fostered Baltimore's alliance with the National Aquarium in 
Washington, DC, creating a venue that now showcases 70 exhibits 
featuring America's Aquatic Treasures, highlighting the animals and 
habitats of freshwater ecosystems in the United States and other 
conservation hot spots through the National Marine Sanctuaries Program. 
Under Dave's leadership, however, the National Aquarium has taken on a 
role greater than its exhibits. He is committed to using the National 
Aquarium as a stage to educate parents and their children about the 
importance of aquatic conservation. Dave's priorities of conservation 
and education are firmly rooted in the conviction that zoos and 
aquariums have both the capacity and the responsibility to increase 
public awareness of environmental issues and to implement conservation 
action programs.
  Dave has provided the leadership to make the National Aquarium a true 
conservation organization with programs around the Chesapeake Bay and 
the world that restore habitats, rebuild tidal wetlands, strengthen 
eroding shorelines, reestablish islands, rehabilitate endangered sea 
turtles, and research lionfish and coral reefs. When the BP oilspill 
occurred, for instance, scientists from the National Aquarium were 
available to provide expertise to government and conservation officials 
trying to ameliorate the damage to the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, 
work they continue today.
  In 2010, building on the aquarium's strong legacy of service to the 
environment, the National Aquarium Conservation Center was established 
to research aquatic species and environments and provide advocacy and 
programs that tackle pressing conservation issues that affect the 
aquatic environment.
  Under Dave's leadership, the National Aquarium has been an economic 
engine for the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland, welcoming 
some 1.5 million visitors annually. The National Aquarium is a world-
class entertainment attraction and Maryland's No. 1 tourist attraction. 
The aquarium generates millions in tax dollars and tourism revenue 
while employing more than 450 staff and engaging local businesses to 
support its operations.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Dave Pittenger for his 
steadfast contributions to our aquatic environment in Maryland and 
throughout the Nation and the world. The foundation he has laid will 
produce benefits for all of us as we continue to work to educate and 
advocate for clean water and a clean environment for all the 
inhabitants of this Earth.

[[Page S864]]



                          ____________________