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Visits National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, October 16, 2004
"Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Patuxent Wildlife Visitors Center, the 65th Anniversary of the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, and the 125th Anniversary of the U.S. Geological Survey.
"The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was established by Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 and is the nation's oldest and largest institution dedicated to wildlife research. This facility has grown into a comprehensive wildlife and ecosystem research center that has rightfully earned international accolade. The refuge includes the Patuxent River and is part of the largest green space in the Baltimore - Washington area.
"Residents are offered significant recreational and educational opportunities; however, we must remember the Patuxent is different from other parks in that it is a refuge. Its purpose is to provide a place for people to enjoy nature, but also provides a variety of habitats for scientists to conduct research.
"The center is a federal research facility where partnerships and collaborations are a tradition and a goal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey work together and with others to deliver sound scientific information for the protection and preservation of our natural resources.
"Protecting wilderness and our resources is the essence of good government. As we continue to lose open space, land conservation is more important than ever.
"When Congress ordered the Army to close part of Fort George G. Meade in the late 1980s, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed selling 3,000 acres of prime open space to a developer for 6,500 residential units, a hotel and 7.8 million square feet of office space.
"I was proud to have joined with Tom McMillen to lead efforts to preserve 8,100 acres in 1992 for the refuge while allowing the sale of 1,400 acres for development. Today, the Patuxent Refuge has grown from the original 2,670 acres to its present size of 12,750 acres.
"Ten years ago, we marked the opening of the National Wildlife Visitor Center. We worked to build community consensus and then we succeeded in Congress to provide over $15 million for the construction. It has developed into a premier educational wildlife center for visitors to our nation's capital.
"The Patuxent Refuge Center is a true environmental success story. We should all take pride in knowing we preserved and developed a Refuge Center that provides sound scientific science for the protection of resources.
"Last month we observed the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. President Johnson's comments when he signed the act into law are even more relevant today:
'If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.'"
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