[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVE WHITE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, after nearly four decades of service with 
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, at the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, last week, Mr. Dave White settled into 
retirement. He will be missed for his dedication, enthusiasm, and 
steadfast support of conservation causes, as well as his keen sense of 
humor and sharp wit, which kept both his staff, and Members of 
Congress, on their toes.
  During his long career, Dave has shown great leadership in 
conservation, improving the Nation's land management policies and 
practices, and ensuring that we meet our shared goal for sustaining 
agriculture and natural resources. His work has ensured that private 
lands are conserved, restored, and more resilient to environmental 
challenges, a goal that has grown in importance as weather disasters 
like Tropical Storm Irene, Hurricane Sandy, and the record drought 
still gripping the Midwest become more frequent and severe.
  Dave wore many hats during his time at NRCS. From 2002 to 2008, he 
served as the State Conservationist in Montana where he helped farmers 
and ranchers improve agricultural production, while at the same time 
reducing their impact on the environment. After learning about Dave's 
many outstanding achievements in Montana, my only regret was that we 
were not able to add NRCS State Conservationist in Vermont to Chief 
White's already sterling resume.
  Later, in 2007 and 2008, Dave was detailed to Senator Harkin's 
office, where his help in drafting the conservation title of the 2008 
farm bill was immeasurable. I am deeply thankful for his assistance on 
this vital legislation, and for his thoughtful consideration of 
programs that have been so vital to Vermont's conservation efforts, 
such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Farmland 
Protection Program, and Regional Equity, which have all contributed to 
the protection and improvement of Lake Champlain. President Obama then 
appointed Dave to lead NRCS, a role that he has filled admirably for 4 
years working closely with Secretary Vilsack to advance voluntary, 
incentive-based private land conservation.
  I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to Chief White for his 
years of dedicated service to this Nation. I wish him well in his 
retirement and I hope he will come visit us soon in Vermont to sample 
our many delicious ``value-added'' agricultural products.

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