[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1735]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO AUDREY C. RUST, PRESIDENT OF THE PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST

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                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 18, 2007

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Audrey C. 
Rust, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary of leadership at the 
Peninsula Open Space Trust, POST.
  Ms. Rust is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, and prior to 
joining the Peninsula Open Space Trust as its executive director in 
1987, served as the director of development and membership for the 
Sierra Club. She also directed West Coast capital giving programs for 
Yale University and served in a variety of development capacities for 
Stanford University. She has also served as a member of the board of 
directors of the Land Trust Alliance and the League of Conservation 
Voters in Washington, DC.
  Under her leadership, POST has worked effectively through public-
private partnerships to acquire and protect over 50,000 acres of land 
on the San Francisco peninsula. These lands have become parts of the 
National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, California 
State Parks, county and city parks, regional open space preserves and 
private farmland. Ms. Rust's vision helped bring POST to the national 
stage and on multiple occasions Congress has voted to support her 
efforts by providing funds for public land purchases and the adoption 
of POST lands into national areas of conservation. I am particularly 
proud of our work together on the acquisition of the Phleger estate, 
now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Bair Island, 
now part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
  Ms. Rust's work on land conservation is nationally recognized. She 
has received the League of California Voters Environmental Leadership 
Award, the Times Mirror-Chevron National Conservationist of the Year 
Award; the Cynthia Pratt Laughlin Medal, the Garden Club of America's 
top environmental honor, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Award from John F. 
Kennedy University.
  There are few who embody the commitment to conservation and our 
collective future as Ms. Rust does. In POST's most recent Annual 
Report, Ms. Rust wrote:

       Open space defines our sense of place on the Peninsula, and 
     it is worth saving, because it is where we as humans touch 
     mysteries that last long after we are gone. It is the best 
     gift we can pass down to those who follow us, because it 
     connects us to our past and our future, allowing us to share 
     a communal memory of what it's like to live in this 
     extraordinary place. By setting aside land for permanent 
     protection, we declare to the future, ``This is what we 
     value; this is what we deem precious.''

  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
Audrey Rust whose 20 years at POST have benefitted millions of 
Americans and millions more to come. She is an exceptional leader, a 
powerful voice for conservation, and a great American.

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