[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 121 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E770-E771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING DAVID KELLER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 2022

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in celebration of David 
Keller as he retires from the Friends of the Eel River (FOER) Board of 
Directors after 21 years of service.
  Mr. Keller has long been committed to environmental stewardship and 
public service. During his tenure on the FOER board, he played a key 
role as an advocate for critical community projects and restoration 
initiatives, and as an expert on watershed and coastal programs.
  Mr. Keller graduated from the City College of New York in 1967 cum 
laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in Psychology and Sociology, and 
completed his graduate degree in Social Psychology at the University of 
Michigan in 1969. His passion for woodworking brought him to Northern 
California, and since 1976, he has been the manufacturer of his own 
specialized woodworking tools, the Keller Dovetail System.
  Mr. Keller's public service precedes his time on the FOER board. He 
served on the Petaluma City Council from 1996 to 2000. In this role, he 
helped pioneer the first U.S. adoption of form-based building codes for 
downtown redevelopment and led the defeat of the first full 
privatization of a municipal wastewater treatment plant in the U.S., 
which resulted in a city-owned wetland-based treatment facility. He 
also was a strong advocate for utility ratepayer protections in 
community choice aggregation programs. In addition to his service on 
the city council, Mr. Keller also served as an elected member of the 
Bolinas Fire Protection District Board of Directors, the Sonoma County 
Conservation Action Board of Directors, and is the founder and former 
Director of the Petaluma River Council. He also served on the Bolinas 
Lagoon Technical Advisory Committee where he led the campaign to 
reconstruct the Bolinas beach and groin after a 1982 storm disaster.
  Mr. Keller's vast and successful service to the community was 
invaluable during his tenure on the FOER Board. After two years as a 
general board member, Mr. Keller took on the role of FOER Bay Area 
Director in 2003. He's worked tirelessly for dam removal on the Russian 
River, salmonid fisheries and watershed restoration, resolving inter-
basin water transfer conflicts. and to help transform the defunct North 
Coast Railroad's line to the Great Redwood Trail. Mr. Keller also 
played a role on the Potter Valley Project Ad Hoc Committee where he 
represented Eel River interests to ensure the protection of salmon and 
steelhead populations.
  Madam Speaker, David Keller exemplifies what it means to be a 
community-minded public servant and environmental steward. His 
dedicated service both in the City of Petaluma and to the Friends of 
the Eel River has played a significant role in community action and 
environmental stewardship in the North Bay. Therefore, please join us 
in congratulating him for decades of inspiring work and in wishing him 
a fulfilling and relaxing retirement.

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