[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 94 (Thursday, June 7, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E796-E797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MEMORIAL PARK: A HAVEN FOR HOUSTON

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, lately Houston has become synonymous 
with flooding, but seven years ago a devastating drought caused our 
beloved Memorial Park to lose nearly 80 percent of its thousands of 
trees.
  Maybe you've never heard of Memorial Park. It is Houston's largest 
public space; its haven in the heart of Houston--and almost double the 
size of New York's Central Park. Daily commuters drive through winding, 
wooded roads, free of billboards and businesses, as they head to work. 
The park's 600-acre urban wilderness is one of the largest centrally 
located urban forests in the country. Memorial Park is also remarkable 
because it is home to Camp Logan, the only former World War I training 
camp site in the United States that is not completely developed.
  The 2011 drought underscored the need to fast-track Memorial Park's 
Master Plan to create the best urban park in America. This month 
Houston's Kinder Foundation granted $70 million to this effort and 
energized the park's public and private partners to invest up to $205 
million more. These efforts will take the Master Plan from proposal to 
reality in just 10 years and enhance and protect Memorial Park for 
today and for generations to come.
  The restoration will be directed by the Memorial Park Conservancy, 
Houston Parks and Recreation Department, and Uptown Development 
Authority. These partners have set new standards in green space 
planning and public-private funding partnerships.
  Kinder Foundation's inspiring public-private partnerships have 
changed Houston's color palette from gray to green. Some of their 
landmark successes include Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, and 
Bayou Greenways 2020. Their legacy continues with Memorial Park. Kinder 
Foundation chairman Rich Kinder said Memorial Park will now reach its 
full potential and include a signature land bridge, a restored prairie 
ecology, natural storm drainage and retention systems, in addition to 
adding over 30 miles of trails for hiking, biking, running, and 
equestrian use.
  Many joggers, runners and walkers hit the park's trail daily to make 
the nearly three-mile loop. I know this park well, Mr. Speaker. In my 
past life as a criminal court judge, I took to the gravel trail for my 
daily run, as later did my kids. I can't tell you how many miles I've 
run in Memorial Park, but I can tell you it's no overstatement to say 
the Kinder's grant along with the day-to-day work by its partners will 
save this cherished haven in Houston.
  And that's just the way it is.

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