[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14004-14005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING LENNIE ROBERTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2016

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Lennie Roberts, a tireless 
advocate for our open spaces and wild creatures, a conscience for 
elected officials on the local, state and federal level for all things 
environmental and a

[[Page 14005]]

personal friend for over 35 years. Lennie will be honored today with 
the extremely rare ``Guardian of Nature Award'' from the Sierra Club's 
Loma Prieta Chapter for her four decades of exemplary service. This is 
only the second time in the chapter's 83-year history that this honor 
will be bestowed. There is no one who comes close to Lennie Roberts in 
vigilance of our environment.
  Lennie served on the original California Coastal Commission after it 
was established by voter initiative in 1972. In 1974, she was a 
founding docent for Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological 
Preserve. Whether as policymaker or docent, Lennie Roberts seems to 
advocate and educate because the laws of nature command her to these 
tasks.
  One of Lennie's greatest accomplishments was her fight against 
construction of a six lane freeway at Devil's Slide, a treacherous 
stretch of Highway 1 along California's beautiful coast. Instead, 
Lennie Roberts had the audacity to proffer to Caltrans a pair of 
tunnels. These tunnels now connect communities long threatened with 
periodic isolation when massive rock and debris slides, or the loss of 
the roadway, occurred during storms.
  Construction came after a decades-long, hard-fought battle by the so-
called tunnelistas. A handful of visionaries saw that San Mateo's 
beautiful coast could be protected and the public's safety ensured.
  Vast stretches of the Santa Cruz mountain range from San Mateo 
through Santa Clara counties have been preserved because Lennie and her 
friends established, with voter approval, the Midpeninsula Regional 
Open Space District. Working with local philanthropists such as Tom 
Ford and the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Lennie's vision of a permanent 
mechanism to identify and preserve precious tracts of land has given 
the Bay Area a crown jewel: huge Redwood forests, hundreds of miles of 
walking and riding trails, recreational opportunities for people and 
pets, and habitat that nourishes endangered and threatened species. In 
part because of Lennie's advocacy, local farmers and ranchers now 
transition agricultural lands into permanent conservation, often 
permitting sustainable agriculture to remain on the property even when 
the land is in public ownership.
  Lennie's interests are not simply in the mountains. The coast and 
coastal waters, and streams that serve as endangered species habitat, 
are all enriched and preserved through her efforts. Vast stretches of 
open space along the coast have been preserved by a local ordinance, 
passed by voters, that was inspired by Lennie's direction and 
standards.
  The Yosemite Trust is an important steward of Yosemite National Park, 
and Lennie is an active member of the trust's board of directors. The 
planning and long-term vision for John Muir's most precious place on 
earth is in skilled hands through Lennie's thoughtful advocacy.
  Some say that Lennie Roberts knows every square inch of rural San 
Mateo County. I can tell you that she certainly knows every square inch 
that is worth preserving. At the same time, she is also willing to 
support thoughtful development and this includes using land within 
already-developed areas for housing and public services. In short, she 
is a public steward and compromise is often offered but only with the 
public's best interests in mind.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representative to join me in honoring 
San Mateo County's version of a Mount Rushmore figure, Ms. Lennie 
Roberts. Where Caltrans once proposed to carve a bypass, we might carve 
her visage although she would undoubtedly oppose such a sacrilege 
against the pristine nature of our coast, and perhaps file a lawsuit, 
if anyone seriously made such a proposal. The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta 
Chapter may be honoring Lennie Roberts with a Guardian of Nature Award, 
but in truth they are only stating the obvious over the past many 
decades. Mother Nature has no greater local and regional guardian, and 
we are all honored to call her friend and leader as she is honored on 
October 1st for her lifetime of achievement in service to this nation's 
environment.

                          ____________________