[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 163 (Friday, October 3, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      HONORING THE CITIZENS FOR EAST SHORE PARKS 40TH ANNIVERSARY

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 3, 2025

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 40th 
anniversary of Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP), an extraordinary 
community organization founded in 1985 to protect open space and 
wildlife habitat and to provide recreational opportunities along the 
eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay.
  Through their tireless advocacy and partnership with community 
allies, CESP was instrumental in the creation of McLaughlin Eastshore 
State Park, which preserves and protects 8.5 miles of shoreline habitat 
and open space from the Bay Bridge to Richmond. This remarkable park 
provides Bay Area residents access to natural beauty and recreational 
opportunities in one of the Nation's most urbanized regions.
  Over four decades, CESP has helped transform the East Bay shoreline 
from neglected dumping grounds into a connected landscape of parks, 
trails, and ecological preserves. Their efforts have supported the 
creation and protection of McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, Point 
Molate Park, Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex, the Bay Trail 
connection at Golden Gate Fields, and the Albany Bulb.
  Today, CESP continues to lead with vision and purpose, working toward 
incorporating the Golden Gate Fields property into McLaughlin Eastshore 
State Park and ultimately restoring the site to wetlands and marshes 
that will provide a resilient shoreline in the face of sea level rise. 
In this effort, CESP is committed to collaborating with Native American 
communities to restore these historically vital landscapes.
  CESP's long-term vision is bold and inspiring: a connected, 
accessible shoreline of open space and parkland stretching from the 
Carquinez Strait to San Jose. Their work has created a legacy of 
preservation, environmental stewardship, and public access that will 
benefit generations to come.
  On behalf of the constituents of California's 8th Congressional 
District, I commend Citizens for East Shore Parks for their outstanding 
contributions to our region and our environment, and I congratulate 
them on 40 years of remarkable achievement.

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