[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 30 (Monday, February 24, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING TIM LILLEBO

 Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, earlier this month, Oregonians--
and indeed all those who cherish America's natural treasures--lost one 
of their most ardent champions, Tim Lillebo. Today, I wish to join his 
wife Karen, his father Tom and a multitude of friends and colleagues in 
mourning the passing of this true son of Oregon.
  Tim will be remembered as someone with a deep-felt love of Oregon's 
magnificent wild places. Those of us in Congress who had the honor to 
meet Tim and get to know him were impressed by his vast knowledge of 
Oregon, his personal history as a timber faller and an unmatched 
passion for Oregon's mountains and rivers.
  He was not your stereotypical lobbyist. More comfortable in hiking 
boots than wing-tips, Tim would have much rather been out hunting elk 
in the Strawberry Mountains than tracking down Members of Congress. He 
was, in many ways, like former President Teddy Roosevelt--someone who 
liked to test himself against the elements, whether it was rowing down 
the John Day or Owyhee rivers or hiking into the Oregon's backcountry 
to camp among his beloved Ponderosa Pines.
  Tim Lillebo was uniquely suited to help heal the differences between 
rural and urban residents. As a product of both Prairie City in Eastern 
Oregon and Salem in Western Oregon, he was at home on either side of 
the mountains, simultaneously maintaining a local's knowledge of the 
backcountry and an insider's perspective of the legislative process.
  Tim and I did not always see eye-to-eye on forest management 
policies. But our differences were never personal, never acrimonious. 
He could disagree but was never disagreeable. As issues relating to 
Federal forests management changed, Tim adapted. He helped plan 
thoughtful restoration projects that improved forest health and 
protected rural communities, and did it with an air of collaboration. 
Without sacrificing his convictions and wilderness advocacy, he led by 
example in proving there were sometimes agreements in this often 
divisive issue. When he testified for my original Eastside Oregon 
forestry bill, he made it very clear that he strongly supported 
legislation to increase thinning restoration projects and at the same 
time it was necessary to protect old growth. One of those projects, the 
Glaze Meadow restoration project outside Sisters, OR, would not have 
gotten off the ground if Tim had not done the heavy lifting.
  I will miss Tim Lillebo, both his wise counsel and his ready smile, 
along with his love of our State and his ability to bring people 
together to solve difficult problems. Our country could use more 
citizens like Tim.
  On behalf of his family and friends, and his fellow Oregonians, I 
want to express my profound appreciation for the life and labors of Tim 
Lillebo.

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