[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 104 (Thursday, July 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S4943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM H. MEADOWS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I recognize and honor William H. Meadows for 
his long and successful service from 1996 to 2012 as president of The 
Wilderness Society. Bill came to Washington, D.C. with his wife Sally 
to lead The Wilderness Society after years of working as a volunteer 
and then as a professional staff person for the Sierra Club. Since 
then, he has neither lost the passion that first made him a 
conservation activist nor the gracious Southern charm that came from 
his Tennessee upbringing.
  Under his leadership, The Wilderness Society has maintained its focus 
on their core mission of protecting wilderness and inspiring Americans 
to care for our wild places. During his tenure, The Wilderness Society 
has had substantial success, helping Congress expand the National 
Wilderness Preservation System by nearly 6.5 million acres and 
establish the National Landscape Conservation System to increase 
protection for Bureau of Land Management lands. In that time, the 
organization has nearly doubled in size and they provide sound 
scientific, legal, and policy expertise on major issues relating to our 
Federal public lands better than ever.
  I have had the good fortune of working with Bill and The Wilderness 
Society on legislation that impacts our Federal wild lands heritage. He 
and The Wilderness Society have been important partners in successful 
efforts to protect millions of acres of Nevada's finest wilderness in 
Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine counties, as well as establish the Black 
Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area 
and Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. I am tremendously proud of 
that legacy and Bill played a critical role in that effort. He never 
failed to understand the need to work closely with local communities 
and key stakeholders to find areas of common ground and to reach shared 
solutions. He brought to these conservation efforts a level headed, 
reasonable, thoughtful approach that helped move all the parties beyond 
the type of knee-jerk ideology that too often results in gridlock.
  Bill has also been an important ally in many national debates about 
Federal public lands ranging from our energy policy to management of 
healthy forests to the protection of iconic wild lands like the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge. He and his organization were influential in 
the Clinton Administration's establishment of the Roadless Rule, which 
helps protect nearly 60 million acres of our most pristine national 
forests.
  He has always been willing to meet with his opponents. At a time when 
many conservationists were at odds with the George W. Bush 
administration, Bill was able to establish and maintain a working 
relationship with the Undersecretary for Natural Resources in the 
Department of Agriculture. This big tent approach to conservation is 
one of the things that make Bill exceptional. He is further 
distinguished by his ability to clearly understand the dynamics of 
national and local politics without becoming cynical or losing his 
integrity. Thank you, Bill, for your tremendous service as an 
extraordinary conservation leader.

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