[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 184 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6898-S6899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MITCH SILVERS

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I honor Mitch Silvers, who is retiring 
after serving as a fundamental member of my staff for nearly 20 years.
  Mitch has served as my State director of intergovernmental affairs 
and environment since he was promoted to this position in 2008, after 
serving as regional director in my Lewiston office since 2003. His 
responsibilities have included interaction and coordination with local 
governments, State and Federal agencies, and Tribal leaders on a number 
of initiatives involving environmental and natural resources concerns, 
Native American and other issues. He also has shared various 
agricultural assignments. Mitch's steady hand at the helm of some of 
Idaho's most important issues has been invaluable as we have navigated 
some highly contentious and weighty challenges on behalf of and along 
with Idahoans.
  Locally driven collaboration to provide lasting resolution to Idaho's 
public lands management disputes is one of my top priorities in 
Congress, and Mitch has been instrumental in advancing this effort. 
Mitch's great appreciation for the outdoors and the value he places in 
opportunities to collaborate with many throughout the northwest to 
better the resources in our care has been beyond helpful as he has 
represented me in key discussions about critical collaborative efforts 
across the State. This includes his careful work in advancing the 
Owyhee Initiative and other collaborative efforts underway, such as the 
Clearwater Basin Collaborative, the Kootenai Valley Resource 
Initiative, the Payette Forest Coalition, the Boise Forest Coalition, 
and others. As these efforts succeed, they establish lasting examples 
of what can be achieved when we work together to get consensus on 
difficult public policy matters.
  Throughout, I have known that Mitch approaches these discussions with 
foresight deeply rooted in his wealth of on-the-ground experience and 
his great appreciation for responsibly managing natural resources for 
Idaho and the northwest. After graduating from high school and working 
in construction for a few years, Mitch worked his way up the ranks of 
the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, IDPR, from park ranger, 
to assistant manager, to park manager before he retired from IDPR after 
20 years of service. He then, thankfully, continued to use his 
considerable experience to serve Idahoans as a member of my staff. 
Mitch truly enjoys the friendships he has made on a local, State, and 
national level. As his wife Sue shared, ``Mitch has never met an enemy, 
everyone becomes a quick friend.''
  Mitch, while I certainly am saddened to lose you as a member of my 
staff, you can retire knowing you have made a lasting difference for 
Idahoans and our great State. Thank you for your thoughtful, 
knowledgeable service all these years. And recognizing your work has 
frequently brought you to Boise and many other parts of our great

[[Page S6899]]

State, I am grateful to Sue and your family, including your 4 children 
and 14 grandchildren, for their great support over these years. I wish 
you a very happy retirement.

                          ____________________