[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 215 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DR. KEITH WEAVER

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 14, 2021

  Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Keith 
Weaver ahead of his retirement this month.
  Dr. Weaver's 37 years of dedicated service to the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and to the conservation and management of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System played a critical role in protecting important 
natural resources in Arkansas and throughout the nation. Wildlife 
refuges are an essential piece to both the economy and culture of the 
Natural State, and we owe many thanks to Dr. Weaver for his leadership 
in conservation.
  His career officially began at Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge 
in northeast Louisiana as a forestry technician. There he oversaw 
logging contracts, participated in reforestation activities, dealt with 
nuisance beaver control, and later became the refuge's first Wildlife 
Biologist where he conducted important research on the area's black 
bears. He served outside of the Southeast in refuge leadership 
positions at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland's Eastern 
Shore and Nulhegan Basin Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish 
and Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Vermont. Dr. Weaver took his 
current position as the project leader at the Central Arkansas National 
Wildlife Refuge Complex in 2007. He is responsible for managing six 
refuges at Bald Knob, Big Lake, Cache River, Holla Bend, Logan Cave, 
and Wapanocca, Arkansas--five of which are primarily managed for 
wintering waterfowl.
  Throughout his career, he invested in future conservation leaders and 
earned a reputation of the highest character, integrity, and honesty. 
He engaged with national, regional, and local stakeholders and was a 
dependable resource for my staff and I, always ready to help serve 
Arkansans.
  Dr. Weaver's dedication and leadership has not gone unnoticed, and in 
September 2021, he was awarded the Department of the Interior's 
Distinguished Service Award, the highest honorary recognition an 
employee can receive within DOI. This award is reserved for outstanding 
individuals who make significant contributions to science or to the 
public service.
  Both the state of Arkansas and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are 
losing an exceptional public servant. I thank Dr. Weaver for his 
decades of commitment to keeping the Natural State a vibrant, safe, and 
beautiful place to call home.

                          ____________________