[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18019]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JENNY NEELEY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2007

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to take the opportunity to 
honor an environmental leader who has given southern Arizona many 
reasons to be proud. Arriving to Tucson after years split between 
Hawaii and Flagstaff, AZ, Jenny received her masters degree in public 
administration from the University of Arizona.
  In Tucson, Jenny fell in love with the Sonoran Desert, and dedicated 
her professional career to protecting the native ecosystems of the 
Borderlands region.
  Ten years ago, Jenny began working for a diverse coalition of 
neighborhoods, community groups, and environmental organizations called 
the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. Focused on producing the 
best Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan ever assembled under the 
Endangered Species Act, Jenny became a leader in advocating for sound 
public policy, the incorporation of science, and public oversight in 
Pima County's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
  Her contributions to the southern Arizona community and the U.S.-
Mexico borderlands go much further. In 2001, Jenny took a position with 
Defenders of Wildlife, a nationally respected wildlife and habitat 
protection organization, in their southwest regional office. Over the 
last 6 years, Jenny has become a national leader in speaking out for 
wildlife and public lands in the ongoing immigration debate. She has 
continually advocated for an open and fair process behind the 
construction of border infrastructure, while pointing out the impacts 
that fence and wall construction have on the natural ecosystems that 
sustain our quality of life and environment.
  Jenny builds alliances, and through her border wildlife work at 
Defenders of Wildlife, she brought together a diverse coalition of 
human rights, indigenous rights, environmental, and labor 
representatives to call for comprehensive immigration reform and the 
reversal of decisions to build walls on our southern border. In 2007, 
Jenny was honored with Derechos Humanos' Corazon de Justicia award for 
her commitment to justice and social change.
  Jenny Neeley leaves her post as a professional land and wildlife 
conservationist this month as she heads to University of Arizona law 
school. Whether she returns to environmental advocacy work or not, she 
will leave a legacy that cannot be adequately expressed in words, and 
gives all of us that have known and worked with her hope that we can 
truly achieve the goals that we set out to accomplish together. The 
Tucson community and the wildlife of the Sonoran Desert will sorely 
miss Ms. Neeley, but I have no doubt she will go on to accomplish great 
things in her future endeavors. I wish her the best of luck.

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