[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E16-E17]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DONALD J. HELLMANN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 2017

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Donald 
``Don'' J. Hellmann. Don is retiring from his position as the Assistant 
Director for Legislative and Congressional Affairs in the National Park 
Service after 22 years of communicating the mission and goals of the 
National Park Service to Congress and working closely with our members 
and staff to advance the Service's legislative priorities. Don's vast 
knowledge of environmental law and policy, his expertise in drafting 
National Park Service legislation, and his exemplary dedication to 
public service will be greatly missed by those of us who have had the 
pleasure of working with him.
  Don joined the National Park Service in 1994 as the Deputy Assistant 
Director for Legislative and Congressional Affairs. He led a staff of 
legislative specialists in developing National Park Service 
legislation, advised National Park Service leadership on pending 
legislation, and served as a liaison with members of Congress on 
legislation affecting the National Park Service. He was promoted to the 
position of Assistant Director in 2009 by Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.
  Over the course of his career, Don drafted hundreds of bills and 
amendments affecting national parks, national heritage areas, wild and 
scenic rivers, and national scenic and historic trails that were 
ultimately enacted by Congress. He was instrumental in crafting all the 
major park-related legislative packages of the last two decades, 
including the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 
(P.L. 104-333), the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 (P.L. 
105-391), the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-
229), the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11), and 
Title XXX of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2015 (P.L. 113-291).
  Don also played a key role in the reorganization and transfer of 
National Park System-wide laws from title 16 to title 54 of the United 
States Code, enacted in 2014 (P.L. 113-287) which has made the drafting 
of park-related legislation significantly more streamlined. Most 
recently, he was the principal author of the legislative proposal, the 
National Park Service Centennial Act, that President Obama sent to 
Congress in 2015. Legislation based on that proposal passed the House 
on December 6.
  Prior to working for the National Park Service, Don was Vice 
President for Conservation at The Wilderness Society, where he directed 
the conservation advocacy program and coordinated the litigation agenda 
of the organization. Before assuming this position, Don served as 
Legislative Counsel for the society. Don joined The Wilderness 
Society's staff in 1988.

[[Page E17]]

  Don also worked here on Capitol Hill as Legislative Counsel to House 
Majority Whip Tony Coelho (D-CA) from 1985 to 1988 and as a Legislative 
Assistant and in other roles to U.S. Senator Walter D. Huddleston (D-
KY) from 1977 to 1985. Don taught History and English to junior high 
school students in Kentucky from 1973 to 1976.
  Don is a native of Kentucky who received a B.A. in History/Secondary 
Education from Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, an 
M.A. in Politics from Catholic University of America, and a J.D. from 
the University of Baltimore. He is a member of the District of Columbia 
Bar and holds a Life Certification as a Secondary Education Teacher 
from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  A resident of Annandale, Va., his favorite national park is Maui's 
Haleakala, which is centered around a volcanic crater that he described 
as ``like walking on the moon.''
  I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating Don on his 
retirement and expressing our deep appreciation for his outstanding 
contributions to the National Park Service and to the Nation.

                          ____________________