[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S4154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO JOE STELL

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, if Joe Stell had only 
one career, he would still be worthy of our admiration.
  If he had been only a hard-working and talented New Mexico educator 
who was loved by his students, he would deserve our respect. If he had 
only been a New Mexico State legislator who was admired by his 
colleagues and his constituents, he would deserve our thanks. And if he 
had been only a land and water steward, revered by the many ranchers he 
mentored on land management practices, he would deserve our admiration. 
Or had he been only a tireless advocate for restoring New Mexico 
grasslands and advancing partnerships to restore the land, he would 
deserve our gratitude.
  But Joe Stell was all of these things: A no-nonsense public servant 
who asked tough questions, restored the landscape of New Mexico and 
changed the way government agencies and ranching communities work 
together to improve the land.
  Former Representative Stell retired from the New Mexico Legislature 
after serving 20 years and being recognized as the preeminent 
legislative expert on water issues in New Mexico. Then-Governor 
Richardson referred to him as ``Mr. Water.'' In his ``retirement,'' he 
now runs a cattle ranch in Carlsbad, NM. It is on this ranch and the 
surrounding areas of southeastern New Mexico that he took part in 
Restore New Mexico, reseeding grasslands, bringing back its riparian 
areas and wildlife species and their habitats as part of the Healthy 
Lands Initiative.
  Joe Stell has spent his life dedicated to public service, education, 
and land and water stewardship. He is proactive and constant in his 
efforts to improve rangelands; to communicate and coordinate between 
agencies and individuals and to leave the land in better shape than 
when he first came to it. For this lifetime of work, Joe Stell has been 
the recipient of various prestigious awards and honors, and today back 
in New Mexico he will be awarded the Bureau of Land Management's 
Rangeland Stewardship Award.
  On behalf of the people of New Mexico, I would like to extend my 
sincere appreciation for Joe Stell's statesmanship and dedication to 
our State. Joe Stell's conservation work will always remind us that a 
commitment to the land and environment is powerful. For his more than 
60 years of dedicated work in the public interest, I wish to honor Joe 
Stell.

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