[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S815-S816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING ALEX DIEKMANN

 Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, at the beginning of February, 
Montana lost a true conservationist. Alexander Boris Diekmann, 52 years 
old, passed away peacefully at his Bozeman home after battling cancer 
for many years. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and his two sons, 
Logan and Liam.

[[Page S816]]

  Alex is originally from California, graduated from Yale University, 
and previously worked as a financial analyst and in a commercial real 
estate agency before deciding to pursue his love of the outdoors and 
taking a position with the Trust for Public Land in Bozeman, MT.
  In Bozeman, Alex worked as a senior project manager for the Trust for 
Public Land. He not only worked diligently to increase access to public 
lands, but also strived to secure Montana's beauty for many years to 
come. Alex did just that through his 16 years of work to protect the 
Madison and greater Yellowstone Area, which include the Taylor Fork in 
the Gallatin Canyon, Three Dollar Bridge, Chestnut Mountain, and Frog 
Rock and the restoration of O'Dell Creek in the Madison Valley.
  A large part of his success came from Alex's remarkable ability to 
facilitate open dialogue and cooperation amongst different interest 
groups, such as landowners, government agencies, elected officials, and 
nonprofits.
  Alex was known as a man very passionate about his work and his 
efforts to preserve open spaces will have a lasting impact for many 
years to come. His heartfelt love for conservation can be understood by 
his own words: ``It is unbelievable how proud people are of being 
involved in this (conservation) and that's something you can't put a 
price tag on. The rewards are entirely different. It is all about the 
heartfelt connection we have with the places we help conserve.''
  He worked on more than 55 projects and helped to preserve more than 
100,000 acres during his time with the Trust for Public Lands. Some of 
his accomplishments also include conserving 23,000 acres of forested 
lands surrounding Whitefish, MT.
  As a result of Alex's efforts, there is also an abundance of wildlife 
habitat, water resources, and migratory corridors that are now secured 
in Montana.
  Despite Alex's impressive achievements from his time with the Trust 
for Public Land, he kept a humble spirit and truly cared about the 
people he worked with. He considered the concerns of others when making 
decisions and going about his work. He has been described by some of 
his colleagues as honest, warm, generous, creative, and extremely 
dedicated.
  Alex Diekmann, you will be greatly missed, but your legacy of 
conservation lives on. Thank you for doing what you did to keep the 
beauty of Montana secure for generations to come. Montanans thank you, 
and I thank you.

                          ____________________