[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 120 (Monday, July 14, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO E. CLEMENT ``CLEM'' SHUTE, JR.
Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to E.
Clement ``Clem'' Shute, Jr., as he receives the 2025 Dianne Feinstein
Lake Tahoe Award. For over 50 years, Mr. Shute has been a fierce
advocate and champion for the environmental protection of Lake Tahoe.
After graduating from the Boalt Hall School of Law in 1964, now known
as the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Mr. Shute dove
into environmental law and advocacy. Mr. Shute helped pioneer
California environmental law, initially through his position as the
assistant attorney general in the California Attorney General's Office,
where he was responsible for the environment and consumer protection
section, and later through his law firm. As assistant attorney general,
he was legal advisor to the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
and counsel to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission, where he led innovative environmental litigation that
safeguarded the Bay Area's natural beauty and environment.
In 1980, Mr. Shute joined fellow environmental lawyers Marc Mihaly
and Mark Weinberger to establish Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP law
firm, where upon cofounding the business, he represented the town of
Tiburon in the groundbreaking decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to
uphold open space zoning against claims of inverse condemnation.
With Mr. Shute's particular expertise in wetland regulation, solid
waste regulation, airport expansion, and other issues affecting Lake
Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay area, he is a valued and consistent
environmental law advisor not only in the northern California area but
also throughout the State. He served on the California Advisory Board
of the Trust for Public Land, helping preserve, expand, and increase
accessibility to green spaces across the State. Mr. Shute is also
credited for helping launch the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, where
he served as a board member for nearly a decade and played a vital role
in negotiating the regional plan update.
Mr. Shute notably has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award
from the California Lawyers Association for his contributions to
environmental law, the Peter Behr Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Marin Conservation League, and has been named a California Super Lawyer
for several years, among other honors.
I ask all Members to join me in thanking Clem Shute for over half a
century of dedicated service as one of Lake Tahoe's greatest advocates
and congratulate him upon receiving the Dianne Feinstein Lake Tahoe
Award.
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