[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 140 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E887-E888]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING DOROTHY LOUISE LEONARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 30, 2022

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dorothy (Dot) 
Louise Leonard of Stevensville, Maryland, on the occasion of her 90th 
birthday. Ms. Leonard has contributed enormous energy and talent over 
the years to the protection of our Nation's coastal resources, 
particularly our shellfish and the industry they support. Not 
surprisingly--for Dot--she is still immersed in shellfish restoration 
work as we speak.
  A public policy graduate of New York's Syracuse University, Dot 
Leonard's local government land use planning work soon drew her into 
coastal conservation matters following Congress' adoption of the 1972 
Coastal Zone Management Act. Dot took on the monumental task of 
creating an atlas of shellfish production areas around the Nation's 
entire coastline for the purpose of protecting those areas. She 
proceeded to develop Best Management Practices for Shellfish 
Restoration, now used by State and local governments to set sanitary 
control standards for our Nation's shellfish waters and industry.
  Dot was recruited by the State of Maryland to lead its Department of 
Fisheries where she worked with all her might to help her Chesapeake 
Bay `watermen' protect and restore their oyster grounds and other 
fishery resources. She worked with the State of Washington, as 
executive director of the non-profit Willapa Alliance, to improve 
shellfish culture in the southwest corner of that State.
  Dot has been a `mover and shaker' in the international shellfish 
restoration scene, helping to pull together the initial gathering of 
what has become the International Shellfish Restoration Conference, now 
in its 20th year. Some of her favorite international shellfish 
restoration gatherings are those that have taken place in Ireland, from 
where her grandparents immigrated to America more than a century ago. 
As Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, 
and Wildlife, I know Dot's contributions to shellfish restoration and 
coastal conservation are far-reaching.
  Madam Speaker, it is appropriate to recognize Dot Leonard for her 
extraordinary commitment to coastal conservation and shellfish 
restoration as she celebrates her 90th birthday in Ireland surrounded 
by many of the friends that she has won over the years from the U.S., 
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and beyond. Please join me in 
expressing deep appreciation for her service and in

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wishing her `La breithe shona duit'--Happy Birthday, Dot.

                          ____________________