[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E669-E670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING MARTIN (MARTY) GRIFFIN, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2020

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Martin 
(Marty) Griffin, Jr. who celebrates his 100th birthday on Thursday, 
July 23, 2020.
  Born in 1920 and raised in Utah, Mr. Griffin's passion for the 
environment started at an early age when he spent time as a Boy Scout 
in West Marin and the Bolinas Lagoon. His passion developed as he 
studied botany and zoology at the University of California at Berkeley 
from 1938-1942. He went on to study medicine at Stanford University 
before opening a medical practice in Marin County, where he was well 
known for prescribing his patients time outdoors in nature.
  In the 1950's, Mr. Griffin worked hard to successfully lead the 
effort to preserve Richardson Bay. And, as land acquisition chairman of 
the Marin Audubon Society for eleven years, he worked tirelessly to 
protect open space in Marin County and stop projects like a city on the 
east shore of Tomales Bay or a planned nuclear facility near Bodega 
Bay. In 1962, Mr. Griffin founded Audubon Canyon Ranch, an 
environmental non-profit known for its instrumental work to protect 
landscapes in Marin County including the Bolinas Lagoon, Richardson 
Bay, Tomales Bay, and parts of what is now the Point Reyes National 
Seashore. Audubon Canyon Ranch became a nonprofit educational center 
that has taught generations of people the importance of protecting and 
respecting our environment.
  Furthering his environmental stewardship footprint, in 1972 Mr. 
Griffin cofounded the Environmental Forum of Marin, which provides 
environmental training programs for environmental advocates and 
volunteers in Marin County. For 15 years starting in the 1980's, Mr. 
Griffin also served as the Sonoma Developmental Center's public health 
director where he led teams fighting against Hepatitis B and AIDS. In 
1990, Mr. Griffin founded the Russian River Task Force, the Russian 
River Environmental Forum, and co-founded Friends of the Russian River, 
now known as the Russian RiverKeepers, all of which are instrumental in 
protecting the Russian River. In 1998, Mr. Griffin wrote a book, Saving 
the Marin-Sonoma Coast, which was later adapted into a 2012 documentary 
called Rebels with a Cause, a local favorite for many environmentalists 
to this day.
  In addition to his many personal and professional accolades, Mr. 
Griffin's work has been recognized by many environmental groups such as 
the Environmental Education Council of Marin, which awarded Mr. Griffin 
the Environmental Leader of Marin Award in 2007. He has also received 
the Bay Nature Award in 2011 for his lifetime achievement as a 
conservation leader, the inaugural John Muir Legacy Conservation Award 
from the John Muir Association in 2013, and the Marin Conservation 
league's Peter Behr Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. Further, in 
2018 Mr. Griffin was recognized by the University of California at 
Berkeley, School of Public Health as one of the 75 most influential 
living alumni. The school also honored him and his loving wife Joyce by 
creating the Martin and Joyce Griffin Terrace Garden at the school's 
new campus.
  Mr. Griffin has been an inspiration and mentor to me personally and 
to many environmentalists over the years. Madam Speaker, on behalf of 
those individuals and many more to come, I urge my colleagues to join 
us in expressing deep appreciation for Mr. Griffin's many achievements 
and enduring commitment to protecting the environments of Marin and 
Sonoma Counties, and in wishing him a very happy 100th birthday.

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