[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 23452-23453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        TRIBUTE TO ERIC KINGSLEY

 Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to pay 
tribute to Eric Kingsley as he leaves his position as Executive 
Director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, NHTOA.
  Eric's five year tenure at NHTOA has been marked by progress and 
success. The organization's programs and services have grown to meet 
the needs and concerns of its members, and have established a strong, 
stable foundation for the association's future.
  Through the years, I have grown to value Eric's input on the many 
issues that significantly impact New Hampshire's timberlands. Eric has 
done an outstanding job of keeping me, and other policy makers, 
informed on the issues and has been a true leader in making sure the 
voice of NHTOA was heard throughout the country.
  Of all of Eric's achievements at NHTOA, perhaps his most important 
success came this past spring. Eric helped lead the charge to defeat 
the Environmental Protection Agency's ill-considered proposal to treat 
some forestry activities as ``point source pollution'' under the Clean 
Water Act. These rules, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads--TMDL--would 
have required landowners, foresters, and homeowners to obtain federal 
permits before conducting a timber harvest and could have exposed them 
to lengthy bureaucratic delays and costly citizen lawsuits.
  This past May, I held a field hearing in Whitefield, New Hampshire, 
on the TMDL issue, and not only did Eric successfully testify, but he 
organized hundreds of foresters to ensure their message was heard loud 
and clear in Washington. Thanks in large part to Eric's leadership on 
this issue, the EPA withdrew the section of the TMDL rules that 
adversely affected forestry.
  My staff and I have also worked closely with Eric on issues of 
importance to the White Mountain National

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Forest. When the President issued his ``roadless'' initiative stripping 
the people of New Hampshire and New England with the opportunity to 
have a voice in the management of their public lands, Eric was there to 
ensure we took this measure to task. This time we were not successful, 
but we were very close to creating an exemption for the White Mountain 
National Forest from this heavy-handed proposal.
  Eric also rose to the occasion in the face of destruction from Mother 
Nature's wrath. The Ice Storm in January 1998 brought unprecedented 
challenges to New Hampshire's forest lands. Hundreds of thousands of 
acres were significantly damaged. Eric worked closely with me and my 
colleagues to help us turn this tragedy into an opportunity. Today, not 
only has the federal government provided resources to help recover from 
the storm, but we have a record number of acres under forest 
stewardship plans.
  My staff and I have worked with Eric on a wide variety of other 
issues during his time at NHTOA, and have always been impressed with 
his dedication and the depth of knowledge he displayed on issues 
ranging from estate tax reform to rural economic development. He has 
always been an effective and honest advocate for the causes he holds 
close to his heart, and I know he will be greatly missed by me and 
NHTOA's 1,500 members.
  I wish Eric well in all his future endeavors, and am confident he 
will succeed in whatever pursuits he chooses. It is an honor to 
represent him in the U.S. Senate.

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