[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 134 (Monday, September 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1595-E1596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING PETER DOUGLAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 2011

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of an 
exceptional man and public servant. Peter Douglas has dedicated his 
life to defending our natural heritage and promoting conservation along 
the California Coast. Rarely does a single man cast such a long and 
positive shadow over our state; but as an architect of the California 
Coastal Commission, and as its longest-serving Executive Director, 
Douglas's contributions are truly incalculable. His retirement in 
November 2011 will mark the end of a proud era in the history of our 
environmental movement.
  Peter Douglas has long been a passionate fighter for a just cause. As 
a Jewish child born in Berlin in 1942, Douglas's early life was imbued 
with a special sense of purpose. Douglas eventually immigrated via 
Mexico to California, where he attended the University of California at 
Los Angeles, graduating with a law degree in 1969--months after the 
Santa Barbara oil spill, and just as the national environmental 
movement was beginning to make significant strides.
  Douglas wasted little time in putting his passion for public service 
to work, throwing his energy and expertise into the California campaign 
for 1972's Proposition 20. Douglas was key in drafting the language for 
the voter-approval initiative that created one of the country's most 
powerful land-use agencies, overseeing development across California's 
entire Coastal Zone. In 1985, he became the third Executive Director of 
the California Coastal Commission, a position he has held to this day.
  Under Douglas's tenure, the Coastal Commission has become a 
formidable instrument for ensuring that all Californians' voices are 
heard in development decisions affecting our unique coastal 
environment. Douglas has helped to expand public access to our beaches, 
limit private encroachment on public lands, and prevent the spread of 
pollution throughout our fragile ecosystem. His work has ensured that 
our coast remains above all a public landmark, inclusive of any 
individual who wishes to enjoy the same unspoiled natural wonder that 
has inspired others for generations.
  Countless organizations have acknowledged the impact Peter Douglas 
has made as an environmental pioneer. He is the recipient of awards 
from groups as varied as the National Resources Defense Council, the 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Sierra Club, the Environmental 
Defense Center, the California State Legislature, and the National 
Coast Trail Association. He was the first recipient of the

[[Page E1596]]

Julius A. Stratton ``Champion of the Coast'' Award, and the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has named him a National Marine 
Sanctuaries Environmental Hero. Douglas has also participated in an 
advisory role on President Clinton's U.S. Panel on Ocean Exploration, 
the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Policy for 
the Coastal Ocean, and many others.
  Throughout my tenure in the House of Representatives, I have had the 
special honor of calling Peter Douglas a constituent and a friend. A 
longtime resident of Marin County, Douglas has been a powerful advocate 
for the priorities that Marin residents hold dear and a staunch 
promoter of my legislation to extend federal Marine Sanctuary 
protection to the Sonoma coast. He has also had a hand in public 
service at the local level, co-founding community nonprofits and co-
chairing one of California's first successful campaigns to enact a 
parcel tax to support local public schools.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in recognizing a man who has made 
immense contributions to our environment, a man whose tireless advocacy 
has expanded the meaning of the public good. Peter Douglas's work has 
encouraged us to celebrate and protect the richness of our natural 
surroundings, and his legacy lives on in the unrivaled beauty of the 
coastline that defines California.

                          ____________________