Son of the West

Stewart Udall, who was Secretary of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and one of the most influential figures in protecting America’s natural environment, died last week at his home in Santa Fe. Sen. Bingaman paid respect this week to his late friend and advisor.

MR. BINGAMAN: “Mr. President, I rise to speak about a great American who has inspired me and countless others with his leadership and commitment to public service. That great American is Stewart Udall. At the outset, I do extend my condolences to my friend and colleague, Stewart’s son Tom Udall, and his wife Jill, his nephew, my friend and colleague Mark Udall and his wife Maggie, and all the Udall Family for this enormous loss.

“In several conversations I had with Stewart in recent years, it was clear that Tom’s own exemplary public service (and I’m sure Mark’s as well) were a source of great pride for him.

“Stewart Udall is best known for his lifetime of service in preservation of our public lands. His accomplishments as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson are legendary. Those accomplishments were recounted in The New York Times. It said: He presided over the acquisition of 3.85 million acres of new holdings, including four national parks – Canyonlands in Utah, Redwood in California, North Cascades in Washington State and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas – six national monuments, nine national recreation areas, 20 historic sites, 50 wildlife refuges and eight national seashores. I ask unanimous consent that the obituary from the Times be printed in the Record after my comments.”

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: “Without objection, it is so ordered.”

MR. BINGAMAN: “Stewart Udall’s commitment to, and achievements in conservation and preservation are unequaled in our country. He was a moving force behind all of the landmark environmental legislation of the 1960s, including the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1965, the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, the Endangered Species Act of 1966, the National Trail System Act of 1968 and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Long after leaving public service, he was instrumental in securing the enactment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, which I was proud to support.

“But his commitment to our public lands was part of a larger lifetime commitment -- a commitment to public service. With all of the rancor and heated rhetoric that surrounds us in Washington today, it is easy to lose sight of what is good about our system of government, and one of the very best things about our great country and our great system of government is that it has attracted to public service many of the best among us to devote their lives to work for us all.

“Stewart Udall was one of those people. He devoted his life to pursuing the common good, the greater good, and he left this Nation a better place because of it.

“Stewart cared very deeply about the people of this great country, and that caring was evident in each encounter that he had. My wife Anne has fond memories of heartfelt conversations she had with Stewart where he spoke forcefully about the challenges we face. I myself was fortunate to always hear from him words of encouragement and constructive advice whenever we would visit.

“Stewart Udall set the highest standards for public service and for decency as a human being. As Ben Jonson said of Shakespeare, ‘He was not of an age, but for all time.’ Stewart Udall had -- as he urged his grandchildren to have – ‘a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the Earth.’ We are all the richer for it.”

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