[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15994]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING ANNE CASTLE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WATER AND SCIENCE, U.S. 
                       DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2014

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Representatives Diana 
DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Jared Polis, George Miller, Jim Costa, and 
Jared Huffman, we rise today to recognize Anne Castle, who is departing 
after more than five years as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science 
at the Department of the Interior. Anne has worked to protect our 
nation's water resources for her entire career, and we are grateful for 
her service.
  It is appropriate that Anne hails from Colorado, where engraved in 
the State Capitol is the poem, ``Here is a land where life is written 
in water.'' From the Front Range to the Western Slope, water has shaped 
the character of Coloradans and has no doubt influenced Anne's career.
  Prior to joining Interior, Anne practiced law for 28 years in Denver, 
Colorado specializing in water rights law. She also served on several 
state water initiatives, including the South Platte River Basin Task 
Force, which she was appointed to by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter in 
2007. Anne was twice appointed to the Colorado Groundwater Commission 
by former Colorado Governor Roy Romer and served from 1994 to 2002.
  During her tenure at the Department of the Interior, Anne oversaw the 
creation and implementation of WaterSMART, spearheaded several 
hydropower initiatives, and played a key role in the recent successful 
launch of Landsat 8. She also worked to promote youth and STEM 
initiatives within the Department and mentored the next generation of 
water leaders.
  Perhaps Anne's greatest contribution during her tenure as Assistant 
Secretary is in her leadership on Western water management. Anne was a 
key member of the team that Secretary Salazar brought to Interior to 
improve inter-agency cooperation on addressing complex interstate and 
international water management issues across the West. Anne has 
prioritized the need for the West to respond to historic drought--
focusing on the changing and increasing risks facing water supplies. 
Most recently, Anne led implementation of Minute 319 to the 1944 Treaty 
with Mexico--a historic agreement that guides future management of the 
Colorado River through 2017.
  As she leaves Interior, the coordination between the federal 
government, Indian Tribes, states, and other constituencies are at 
their highest levels on the Colorado River, even during this time of 
record drought. On a personal level, both career and political 
appointees have praised Anne's dedication, energy, intellect and 
professionalism. The West is better off today as a result of Anne's 
contributions.
  We thank Anne, and her family, Frank, Chris, and Beth, for their 
service to the American people. We wish Anne the best as she returns 
home to the land where life is written in water.

                          ____________________