[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7300]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING YOSEMITE NATIONAL INSTITUTES ON EARTH DAY 1999

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, what a better way to celebrate Earth Day 
than to honor the great example of a public-private partnership known 
as the Yosemite National Institutes, an organization that provides 
award-winning environmental education programs in America's national 
parks.
  YNI now welcomes more than 32,000 participants each year to its three 
institutes in the magnificent natural settings of Yosemite and Olympic 
National Parks as well as the Golden Gate National Recreational Area.
  Since its founding in 1971, more than 450,000 school children and 
adults have experienced YNI programs. The partnership between YNI and 
the National Park Service is commendable. YNI does not receive 
government funding, but performs a great percentage of the 
interpretation in each of the parks where it exists.
  At YNI, learning occurs in an advocacy-free environment. Ideas and 
values are not forced upon students; instead, they learn important 
processes of applying critical thinking to questions and choices that 
will confront them now and in the future.
  YNI is now celebrating 28 years of extraordinary service. I commend 
all of those who have contributed to this wonderful program and its 
achievements.

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