[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MIKE POULSON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2019

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mike 
Poulson's career and service to Washington's Fifth Congressional 
District as Senior Policy Advisor focusing on Agriculture and Natural 
Resources.
  Mike's experience with farming extends back to his family settling in 
the Columbia Basin of Washington State after his father went through 
the very detailed process of eligibility to purchase land in the 
Connell area. After graduating from Connell High School, Mike enlisted 
in the Army National Guard because, in his words, ``he just assumed 
that everybody pulled a stint in the military.'' In 1965, Mike bought 
some farmland of his own in a unit close to his family unit and started 
to build his own home. In the mid 1980s, Mike was elected Vice 
President of the Washington State Farm Bureau, a position he took on 
even while farming full time.
  Mike ventured outside of farming in the 1990s when he began 
consulting on public policy and environmental issues. Mike had a way of 
being able to communicate complex, and often controversial, 
environmental issues to the public. I had the fortune of meeting him 
during my time in the Washington State House and came to have a deep 
respect for his understanding of these issues which affected many in my 
district. A few short months after I was elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives, Mike leased out his farmland and joined my staff--
becoming the longest serving member on my team until his retirement on 
February 28, 2019.
  Mike has many significant accomplishments in his career including: 
developing solutions for Columbia Basin water shortages; speaking out 
against the harmful impacts of the Waters of the United States 
regulation; combatting the recent falling numbers of our wheat and 
coordinating an effort to find long-term solutions with the Washington 
Grain Commission and Washington State University; and bringing the A to 
Z project to fruition on the Colville National Forest--which is a 
national model for restoring the health of our forests. In the words of 
Derek Sandison, Director for the Washington State Department of 
Agriculture ``Mike has the ability to sort through rhetoric around 
complex issues to get to the core facts and quickly get to the right 
side of the issues.''
  I am grateful for his friendship, advice, and most importantly, 
service to Eastern Washington over the past 15 years. I wish Mike well 
in his retirement.

                          ____________________