[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 16, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING SYLVIA McLAUGHLIN

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring the life of Sylvia McLaughlin, an ardent environmental 
activist; a caring and involved community member; a loving wife; and a 
proud mother and grandmother who passed away on January 19, 2016.
  Sylvia McLaughlin was born in Denver, CO, on December 24, 1916. 
Inspired by the surrounding Rocky Mountains, Sylvia was drawn to nature 
from an early age and participated in many outdoor sports, including 
skiing and mountain climbing. After receiving a bachelor's degree in 
French from Vassar College in 1939, she married Donald McLaughlin, and 
the couple settled in Berkeley, CA, where she became engaged in the 
growing environmental movement.
  In response to the city of Berkeley's plan to build on 2,000 acres of 
the Bay's shoreline, Sylvia co-founded the Save San Francisco Bay 
Association in 1961, mobilizing thousands of residents in opposition to 
the Berkeley proposal. Their efforts succeeded, and Save the Bay 
subsequently championed a 1965 State law designating the San Francisco 
Bay as a State-protected resource and establishing the Nation's first 
coastal-zone management agency, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and 
Development Commission, BCDC. These efforts prevented further 
unregulated shoreline development, helped preserve the health of the 
remarkable bay estuary as vital habitat for local wildlife, increased 
public access along the shoreline, and helped set the stage for later 
bay and wetland restoration projects that protect this precious 
ecosystem.
  In addition to her pioneering work with Save the Bay, Sylvia remained 
an environmental activist throughout her life. She served as a board 
member for organizations, including the National Audubon Society, 
Citizens for East Shore Parks, Save the Redwoods League, the Trust for 
Public Lands, Greenbelt Alliance, and East Bay Conservation Corps.
  For more than half a century, Sylvia worked tirelessly to preserve 
the natural resources of the Bay Area and all those who enjoy the 
beautiful shoreline of San Francisco Bay owe her an enormous debt of 
gratitude. I send my deepest condolences to her children Jeanie 
Shaterian and George McLaughlin; her stepson, Donald McLaughlin, Jr.; 
and her many grandchildren.

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