[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING LEOPOLDO MIRANDA-CASTRO

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON

                             of puerto rico

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 21, 2022

  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Madam Speaker, today I recognize the 
distinguished public service career of Leopoldo ``Leo'' Miranda-Castro, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeast Regional Director. He 
has served the Service with distinction and honor for more than 30 
years and will be retiring at the end of this month.
  Leo began his career with the Service as a private lands biologist in 
our native Puerto Rico. Notably, his efforts in this position helped 
pioneer Puerto Rico's shade-grown coffee restoration, benefiting our 
Island's people and wildlife. An advocate of public-private 
conservation partnerships, he often points to the success of the shade-
grown coffee industry as an example of how government and private 
landowners can work together to achieve win/win outcomes for wildlife 
conservation.
  After a decade working with private landowners in Puerto Rico, Leo 
went on to make contributions to conservation on a national level. As 
the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Coordinator in the Service's 
Headquarters, he developed a strong national network of partners in 
support of nonregulatory, voluntary habitat restoration. Later, he 
became the Project Leader of the Service's Chesapeake Bay Field Office, 
where he encouraged collaboration and cooperation among public and 
private stakeholders to conserve the bay's complex ecosystem and the 
species that depend upon it.
  In 2012, Leo joined the Service's Southeast Region, serving as the 
Assistant Regional Director for Ecological Services. In this role, he 
promoted collaborative efforts to conserve species at-risk of needing 
federal protection, oversaw recovery activities for listed species like 
the Puerto Rican parrot, and applied innovative approaches to reduce 
the regulatory burden on private landowners and partners.
  For the last 4 years, he has led the Service's Southeast Region. His 
resolve to achieve outcomes through collaboration resulted in many 
conservation successes throughout the Southeast and the Caribbean. For 
example, the productive relationship with the Puerto Rico Department of 
Natural and Environmental Resources was enhanced under his leadership 
and resulted in the removal of the Monito gecko--found only in Puerto 
Rico's Monito island--from the endangered species list.
  As Puerto Rico's sole Representative in Congress, I have been proud 
to work and partner with Leo over the last couple of years to advance 
our Island's conservation priorities. His efforts helped us secure 
critical investments to improve management and access for Puerto Rico's 
protected lands in partnership with local communities. This includes 
resources to rebuild the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge's 
headquarters and visitor center, as well as road repairs at the 
Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
  Most recently, he was instrumental in leading a coalition of federal, 
state, and private stakeholders to secure funding to protect and 
restore our iconic Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, the most important stopover 
for migratory birds and shorebirds in the Eastern Caribbean and an 
important tourism and economic asset for southwestern Puerto Rico.
  Throughout his career, Leo has spent considerable time developing 
future conservation leaders, especially young talent underrepresented 
in the conservation workforce. Drawing from his own experience, he 
championed the Service's internship programs and initiated efforts to 
foster a welcoming culture and connectedness for students and new 
employees through mentorships and exposure to a wide array of Service 
programs and people.
  We are forever grateful to Leo for his leadership in conservation and 
commitment to keeping Puerto Rico a vibrant, beautiful place we call 
home.
  Gracias, Leo.

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