[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2] [EXT] [Page 2048] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO MARGARET WENTWORTH OWINGS ______ HON. SAM FARR of california in the house of representatives Monday, February 8, 1999 Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to memorialize the passing of a friend, a poet, an artist, and a passionate environmentalist. Margaret Wentworth Owings passed away on January 20, 1999 at her cliffside home in Big Sur California high above her beloved Pacific Ocean. Born in Berkeley, California in 1913, Margaret Wentworth graduated from Mills College and studied art at Harvard University. In 1953, she married architect Nathaniel Owings. By that time, she had pledged herself to the preservation of the natural endowments of Big Sur, a place she called ``the most beautiful spot on the globe.'' Margaret began her crusade for environmental protection over fifty years ago when she watched with binoculars as a rifleman killed a Stellar sea lion. She learned that hunters could earn a bounty for killing mountain lions and that sea otters were valued only for their pelts. Margaret co-founded the Friends of the Sea Otter in 1969 and the California Mountain Lion Preservation Foundation in 1987. Through determination, resourcefulness, and unstinting effort, Margaret brought us around to the undeniable conclusion that there is more to gain from saving wildlife than from destroying it. The Big Sur coastline would be a very different place were it not for Margaret's guardianship. She successfully opposed the proposal to straighten the Pacific Coast Highway and widen it to a four freeway. Margaret led efforts to pass Proposition 117 to ban sport hunting of the mountain lions and the setting aside of funds to purchase state parklands. The appreciation of environmental organizations was expressed by the many awards she received, such as the National Audubon Society Medal and being included in its listing as one of the 100 most influential environmentalists of the century. She was given the Gold Medal Award of the United Nations Environment Program. The United States Department of the Interior conferred the Conservation Service award upon her. And the Sierra Club, in recognition of Margaret's lifelong dedication to the cause of conservation, made her an honorary board member. Margaret is survived by her daughter, Wendy Millard Benjamin; her stepson Nathaniel Owings; her stepdaughters Natalie Owings Prael, Emily Owings Kapozi, and Jennifer Owings Dewey; her brother, William Wentworth; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Margaret's advocacy was accomplished with grace, poise, style and spirit. Her memoir ``A Voice From the Sea: Reflections on Wildlife and Wilderness'' evokes, through her articulate and persuasive voice, the spirituality she found in her wild surroundings. There is no conceivable measure for the contributions Margaret made; she has left a permanent legacy. Margaret Owings was our hero. She led us by her example, she taught us through her wisdom, she graced us with her vision, and we learned to treasure all that she valued so deeply. ____________________