Jim Kurth speaks at the Conserving the Future Conference

I NOW HAVE THE INCREDIBLE HONOR TO INTRODUCE OUR NEXT SPEAKER.
YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP WITHIN
THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM WITHOUT MENTIONING JIM
KURTH. YOU ALSO CAN'T TRAVEL ANYWHERE,
AT LEAST IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT I THINK IT'S ABROAD AS WELL,
WITHOUT RUNNING INTO FOLKS WHO KNOW JIM AND WHO PROBABLY HAVE A
STORY OR TWO TO SHARE ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE.
JIM HAS SERVED THE REFUGE SYSTEM, THE FISH & WILDLIFE
SERVICE, FOR OVER THREE DECADES IN COUNTLESS STATES, INCLUDING
MICHIGAN, LOUISIANA, RHODE ISLAND AND ALASKA, BEFORE COMING
TO ARLINGTON, NOW 12 YEARS AGO, TO SERVE AS THE DEPUTY CHIEF.
JIM HAS BEEN A PERSISTENT AND FEARLESS LEADER FOR THE REFUGE
SYSTEM. ALWAYS TAKING TIME FOR THE
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT JOB OF MENTORING AND GROWING TOMORROW'S
LEADERS. JIM HAS TAKEN THAT TIME FOR ME,
AND I'M ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME HE HAS SPENT WITH ME ON
THAT. IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I
GIVE YOU THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM,
JIM KURTH. [ APPLAUSE ]
>> SHE'S SOMETHING ELSE, ISN'T SHE?
BEFORE I GET STARTED, I WOULD BE REMISS I THINK AS I LOOK AROUND
THE ROOM AND I SEE PEOPLE LIKE JUDY GREENWALT, MY OWN LOVE LIE
WIFE TRISHA, THE PEOPLE, OUR SPOUSES, OUR LIFE PARTNERS, THE
PEOPLE THAT WE LOVE ARE SO ESSENTIAL TO SUPPORTING ALL OF
US IN OUR WORK. I THINK WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE
THEM AND THANK THEM. LEADING IS ABOUT BROWNIE POINTS.
IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE IN MADISON.
MY FAMILY HAS A LOT OF HISTORY IN THIS TOWN.
MY GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER WHO LEFT IRELAND IN 1850 IS BURIED
HERE IN THE CATHOLIC CEMETERY AND MY GRANDPA, THE ONLY GRANDPA
I EVER KNEW GROWING UP, WHO IS ACTUALLY MY GREAT GRANDFATHER
WAS BORN HERE IN 1877, THE YEAR AFTER CUSTER’S LAST STAND.
IN THE 1870S THE LOGGING BOOM WAS PICKING UP STEAM UNTIL
WISCONSIN'S NORTH WOODS AND THE FIRE OF 1871 BURNED A MILLION
AND A HALF ACRES AND KILLED OVER 1200 PEOPLE.
AMERICANS IN THE 1870S WERE WITNESSING THE SLAUGHTER OF THE
PLAINS BISON AND DEVASTATION OF THE PASSENGER PIGEON.
THEY ALSO SAW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF YELLOWSTONE AS OUR NATION'S
FIRST NATIONAL PARK. GRANDPA'S GRANDDAUGHTER --
DAUGHTER, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN IN WISCONSIN IN 1901 IN
MADISON. BY THIS MEN THE MILLIONS OF
BUFFALO THAT USED TO THUNDER THROUGH THE GREAT PLAINS WERE
LESS THAN A THOUSAND. AND THE PASSENGER PIGEON WAS
VIRTUALLY EXTINCT. ALSO IN 1901 THE PRESIDENT
WILLIAM MCKINLEY WAS ASSASSINATED AND HIS YOUNG VICE
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT SUCCEEDED HIM AS PRESIDENT.
TWO YEARS LATER HE ESTABLISHED PELICAN ISLAND AS OUR FIRST
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. MY FATHER WAS BORN HERE IN
MADISON IN 1928. THERE WERE 82 NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGES THEN AND PLANS WERE BEING DRAWN UP TO UP THAT NUMBER
TO 100 OR 125. BUT THE BOTTOM WAS ABOUT TO FALL
OUT. NOT JUST THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN
THE STOCK MARKET BUT A DEVASTATING DROUGHT GRIPPED THIS
NATION, TURNING MOST OF OUR LAND INTO A DUST BOWL.
BUT EVEN IN THOSE MOST DIFFICULT OF TIMES, PEOPLE LIKE DING
DARLING AND IRA GABRIELSON AND J. CLARK SALYER LED AN
UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH. SYSTEM.
BY THE END OF THE DECADE THERE WERE 266 WILDLIFE REFUGES.
MY OLDER BROTHER WAS BORN HERE IN MADISON IN 1953.
WE HAD A WAR WEARY NATION THEN AND A BABY BOOM WAS BEGINNING.
AND THE ECONOMY WAS BOOMING AS WELL AND SUBURBS WERE POPPING UP
ALL ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH WAS FILLING
THE AIR WITH A TOXIC BREW. THERE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS
QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT WHO WORKED FOR OUR SERVICE, AND SHE
LEFT TO WRITE FULL TIME. AND RACHEL CARSON WARNED US OF
AN IMPENDING SILENT SPRING, AND SHE CHANGED THE WORLD.
AND MY FAMILY LEFT MADISON JUST BEFORE I WAS BORN.
I'VE TAKEN THIS STROLL THROUGH MY FAMILY HISTORY TO MAKE A
POINT, AND THAT'S MANY OF YOU HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERN RECENTLY
ABOUT OUR ECONOMY AND THE DEFICIT AND HOW IT MAY STOP US
FROM IMPLEMENTING THIS VISION WE'VE WORKED SO HARD TO CRAFT.
THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE MARKED US UP BIG CUTS AND MANY
OF YOU HAVE BEEN WHISPERING TO ME ABOUT THAT.
AND -- AND FOR I THINK THE THIRD TIME IN THIS CONFERENCE I WILL
TELL YOU, DO NOT BE AFRAID. HISTORY TELLS US OVER AND OVER
AGAIN THAT WE CAN HAVE GREAT SUCCESSES IN DIFFICULT TIMES IF
WE HAVE CLEAR VISION, IF WE HAVE STRONG LEADERSHIP.
I FIRST STARTED WORKING FOR "UNCLE SAM" IN 1978 WITH THE
FOREST SERVICE ON THE WAYNE NATIONAL FOREST IN SOUTHERN
OHIO. WE WERE OUT ONE DAY CRUISING
TIMBER AND I WAS WORKING WITH THE RANGER DISTRICT'S MOST
SENIOR FORESTRY TECHNICIAN, A MAN NAMED DICK MOORE.
DICK HAD BEEN WITH THE FOREST SINCE ITS EARLIEST DAYS STARTING
THERE IN THE CCC'S. DICK BEGAN TO QUIZ ME ABOUT MY
SKILLS. IT TAKES A LITTLE EXPERIENCE AND
I WAS STILL A NOVICE. THE FIRST ONE HE ASKED WAS EASY,
A WHITE OAK. THE SECOND ONE WAS A RED OAK.
GOT IT RIGHT AND WAS PLEASED. ON THE THIRD HE ASKED ME, I TOLD
HIM, A SCARLET OAK? HE REPLIED, HOW DID YOU KNOW
THAT, YOUNG MAN? I SAID, LUCKY GUESS.
WELL, HE ALREADY KNEW THAT. HE POINTED HIGH UP INTO THE TREE
AND HE SAID, LOOK, SEE HOW THE LIMBS COME OFF THE TRUNK OF A
SCARLET OAK DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS?
THEY'RE KIND OF RANDOM AND GNARLY?
I JUST HADN'T SEEN THAT. I WAS REALLY PLEASED THAT HE HAD
TAKEN THE TIME TO TEACH ME. IT WAS A LITTLE THING BUT THE
LITTLE THINGS ARE THE BIG THINGS.
I'VE REMEMBERED THAT DAY MY ENTIRE LIFE.
I STARTED WITH OUR SERVICE IN 1979 AT MISSISSIPPI SANDHILL
CRANE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. I HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE THERE
OF MEETING JAKE VALENTINE. JAKE GOT HIS BACHELOR'S DEGREE
HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WITH US WISCONSIN WHEN ALDO LEOPOLD
WAS STILL ON STAFF. AFTER A SHORT STINT IN THE ARMY
IN WORLD WAR II HE RETURNED TO EARN A MASTER'S DEGREE.
JAKE CAUGHT ME ALL THE ORCHIDS AND PICTURE PLANTS AND SUN DOS
OF MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST SAVANNAH.
WE VISITED BRETTON REFUGE A FEW TIMES TOGETHER.
ONCE WE WALKED THE ENTIRE ISLAND CHAIN AND FINISHED OUR JOURNEY
WITH A TRIP TO CHANDELIER LIGHTHOUSE, WHICH HURRICANE
KATRINA SINCE SENT TO A WATERY GRAVE.
THESE WERE MAGICAL ADVENTURES. I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE OR
SINCE SUCH A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY OF BIRD LIFE.
JAKE WAS PRETTY GOOD ABOUT TEACHING ME ABOUT THE BIRDS, AND
THERE WAS ONE BIRD THAT WAS KIND OF COMMON AND I WORKED HARD TO
TIDE IT. I WENT UP TO JAKE AND ASKED WAS
ARE THOSE WILSON'S PLOVERS. HE WAS PLEASED I GOT IT RIGHT.
HE SAID TO ME FOLLOW IT UP HERE. WE WALKED OFF THE BEACH INTO
SOME LOW DUNES AND JAKE SAID TO ME, YOU KNOW, THE LITERATURE
SAYS THERE ARE NO CITY TERNS NESTING NORTH OF THE DRY
TORTUGAS. IN A FEW MINUTES WE DISCOVERED
FOUR NESTS. I FELT WE HAD DISCOVERED GOLD.
JAKE HAD TAKEN THE TIME TO SHARE HIS EXPERIENCE WITH ME AND HELP
ME LEARN A SPECIAL SECRET OF THE CHANDELIERS I WOULD HAVE NEVER
KNOWN ON MY OWN. IT WAS A LITTLE THING BUT IT WAS
A BIG THING BECAUSE A LITTLE -- THE LITTLE THINGS ARE THE BIG
THINGS AND I REMEMBER THAT DAY MY ENTIRE LIFE.
JAKE DIDN'T SHARE EVERYTHING WITH ME.
IT WASN'T UNTIL WHEN HE DIED AND I READ HIS OBITUARY THAT I
LEARNED JAKE HAD BEEN AWARDED THE SILVER STAR FOR HEROISM IN
COMBAT. HE SWAM UNDER ENEMY FIRE A RIVER
SEVERAL TIMES TO SAVE WOUNDED COMRADES AND BRING THEM TO
SAFETY. WE DIDN'T USE WORDS LIKE
COACHING AND MENTORING IN THOSE DAYS BUT OVER THE YEARS I'VE
REALIZED THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN HAD DONE FOR
ME. THEY HAD TAKEN THE TIME TO SHARE
THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH ME. JAKE BECAME A MENTOR IN THE
TRUEST SENSE OF THE WORD. JAKE WAS A LIFELONG FRIEND.
WE STAYED IN TOUCH UNTIL HE DIED.
AND HE CAME TO VISIT MY FAMILY LOXAHATCHEE.
JAKE WOULD GO ANYWHERE TO VISIT WHERE THERE WERE CRANES.
THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT FOR OUR SERVICE THAN DEVELOPING
THE NEXT GENERATION OF CONSERVATION LEADERS.
WE HIRE SUCH TALENTED PEOPLE. IF WE CAN JUST TAKE THE TIME TO
SHARE OUR EXPERIENCES WITH OUR YOUNG FOLKS TO MAKE THE TIME SO
THAT THE LITTLE THINGS WILL BE THEIR BIG THINGS THEY'LL TAKE ON
THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP AND THEY'LL BE THE ONES WHO CONSERVE
THE FUTURE. YOUNG LEADERS, YOU SHOULD
REMEMBER THIS... THE MOST POWERFUL TWO WORDS IN THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARE STILL THANK YOU AND I GUARANTEE YOU YOU'LL
BRING A SMILE TO EVEN THE GRUMPIEST OLD CODGER IF YOU HAVE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY TO HIM OR HER, THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME.
I HAVE A CASSETTE TAPE RECORDING SOMEONE GAVE ME OF THE
RETIREMENT FESTIVITIES OF MARCUS C. NELSON IN 1979.
MARK WAS THE CHIEF OF REFUGES WHEN HE RETIRED.
DURING ALL THESE FESTIVITIES MARCUS WAS TALKING ABOUT THE JOY
OF WORKING AT MEDICINE LAKE REFUGE IN 1937 DURING THOSE DUST
BOWL DAYS. BUT MARK TOLD HIS FRIENDS WHAT
HE HAD LEARNED WAS THE WAY TO MAKE PROGRESS, WAS THE WAY TO
GET THINGS ACCOMPLISHED, WAS TO NEVER QUIT DIGGING.
TO NEVER QUIT HACKING AWAY. HE SAID BECAUSE IF YOU GIVE UP,
AND YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE TRYING, THEN ALL PROGRESS STOPS.
WHEN I FIRST HEARD THOSE WORDS I DIDN'T THINK THEY WERE
PARTICULARLY ELOQUENT, BUT THEN AS I THOUGHT ABOUT THEM, I
THOUGHT, WHAT A PERFECT METAPHOR THAT MARCUS HAD GIVEN US.
ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE EVER MADE YOUR LIVING IN MAN WILL LABOR --
MANUAL LABOR HAVE USED A SHOVEL AS YOUR TOOL KNOW WHAT HE MEANT.
KEEP DIGGING AND DIGGING AND SOONER OR LATER YOU'LL HAVE A
DITCH THAT CAN MOVE WATER OR FOOTERS FOR A BUILDING.
IF YOU KEEP HACKING AWAY, SOONER OR LATER YOU'LL HAVE A BOUNDARY
LINE BLAZED OR TRAIL MARKED BUT YOU CAN NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL
YOU'VE FINISHED. MARK AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES MADE
PROGRESS IN THOSE DIFFICULT DAYS BECAUSE THEY NEVER GAVE UP.
THEY HAD THAT PERSISTENCE AND PERSEVERANCE REBECCA SPOKE OF.
WE ALL LEAD THROUGH THE EXAMPLE WE SET FOR OTHERS, AND I WANT TO
SHARE A STORY WITH YOU THAT DAN POOLE TOLD YEARS AGO ABOUT IRA
GABRIELSON. THE STORY TAKES PLACE IN
AUGUSTA, MAINE WHERE GABE SAT AT THE SPEAKER'S TABLE ACCOMPANIED
BY THE GOVERNOR. IT WAS GABE'S DUTY TO DELIVER A
BANQUET ADDRESS TO THE ASSEMBLY OF STATE CONSERVATION OFFICERS.
HE SAT SLUMPED WITH HIS HEAD IN HIS HAND EXHAUSTED.
HE WAS IN HIS 70S THEN, AND HE HAD JUST COMPLETED A HALF-WEEK
FLOAT TRIP AND CANOE TRIP EXPLORING THE RIVER COUNTRY.
FRESH AIR, PLENTY OF EXERCISE, LONG HOURS HAD DONE THEIR WORK.
THE MAN WAS READY FOR BED, NOT SPEECH MAKING.
WELL, DAN APPROACHED A CONSERVATION OFFICER AND SAID:
IS THERE ANY BOURBON AROUND HERE?
I KNOW A MAN IN NEED. THERE'S SOME OUTSIDE IN MY CAR
HE SAID, AND YOU'LL NEED A GLASS.
ONE WAS QUICKLY OBTAINED AND FILLED AND A WAITRESS SHYLY
BROUGHT IT TO THE TABLE AND PUT IT UNDER GABE, WHO HEAD WAS
STILL IN HIS HAND AND ALIGNED THE GOLDEN BOURBON IN HIS LINE
OF SIGHT. HE NEVER MOVED HIS HEAD BUT WITH
HIS OTHER HAND HE REACHED OUT SLOWLY, FINGERS GNARLED, GRABBED
THE CLASS OF BOURBON LIKE A RED TAIL HAWK, TALONS ON A GROUND
SQUIRREL AND SLOWLY LIFTED IT. HE SAT ERECT.
GABE WAS INTRODUCED TO SPEAK NEXT.
HE WALKED INTO THE ROOM, SNUGGLED HIS BULK UP AGAINST THE
LECTERN AND WITH THE SWEEP OF HIS ARM BROUGHT IN THE WHOLE
CROWD, INCLUDING THE GOVERNOR. NOW I'M GOING TO TELL YOU BOYS
SOMETHING TONIGHT, HE SAID. AND HE DID.
HE TOLD THEM OF THE IMPORTANT WORK CONSERVATION OFFICERS MUST
DO TO HELP WITH AMERICA'S WILDLIFE, OF THE NECESSITY OF
EACH OF THEM BEING PROFESSIONALS IN THE TRUEST SENSE OF THE WORD.
HIS MESSAGE WAS LACED WITH ANECDOTES AND OBSERVATIONS GOING
BACK TO A TIME BEFORE MANY IN THE ROOM WERE BORN.
HIS SPEECH ENDED IN A STANDING OVATION, AN HONOR DENIED THE
GOVERNOR FOLLOWING HIS REMARKS BECAUSE THE CONSERVATION
OFFICERS HAD BEEN WON OVER BY THE GENUINE ARTICLE, A MAN WHO
WAS A MASTER OF COMMON SENSE AND PLAIN DEALING.
ALL GABE DID WAS GET UP WHEN HE WAS TIRED AND SHARE HIS
EXPERIENCES WITH HIS COLLEAGUES. IT WAS A LITTLE THING AMONGST
HIS MORE CELEBRATED ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BUT THE LITTLE
THINGS ARE THE BIG THINGS. EACH OF US NEEDS TO FIND THE
STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO ASCEND THE STAGE AND SPEAK OUT, TO GIVE
VOICE TO THE PROTECTION OF WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES.
THOSE OF US THAT MAKE OUR LIVING IN THIS BUSINESS HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE NATURE IN A MUCH MORE INTIMATE WAY THAN
MOST PEOPLE. I WANT TO SHARE ANOTHER STORY
WITH YOU. IT WAS MAY AND WE WERE FLYING
BACK TO FAIRBANKS FROM A MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL PORCUPINE
CARIBOU BOARD AT FORT MCPHERSON IN CANADA'S
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. WE WERE FLYING LOW ALONG THE
PORCUPINE RIVER THAT LENDS ITS NAME TO THAT GREAT CARIBOU HERD.
THE RIVER WAS IN BREAK-UP, AND THICK SHEETS OF ICE WERE
HURRYING DOWNSTREAM. AN ANCIENT CALL WAS URGING THE
CARIBOU TO HEAD NORTH TO THE COASTAL PLAIN OF THE ARCTIC
REFUGE WHERE THE CARIBOU MOTHERS WOULD FIND THESE GREEN CHUTES
THAT WOULD GIVE THEM THE NOURISHMENT THEY NEEDED TO NURSE
THE NEXT LEGION OF CARIBOU CALVES AND DESPITE THE DANGER,
THE CARIBOU CROSSED THE MIGHTY RIVER, AND AS THE PLANE BANKED I
TURNED IN MY SEAT TO GET A BETTER LOOK AND I SAW ISAAC
BEAMING THIS BIG SMILE. ISAAC IS AN ELDER FROM ALASKA, A
SMALL VILLAGE, AND HE SAID I HAVE HEARD OF THIS ALL OF MY
LIFE BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.
IT WAS AN HONOR, A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE TO WITNESS THAT
SPECTACLE WITH ISAAC. ALDO LEOPOLD TOLD US, ONE OF THE
PENALTIES OF AN ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION IS THAT ONE LIVES
ALONE IN A WORLD OF WOUNDS. MUCH OF THE DAMAGE IN FLICKED ON
THE LAND IS QUITE INVISIBLE TO LAYMEN, AND ECOLOGISTS MUST
EITHER HARDEN HIS SHELL AND MAKE BELIEVE THE CONSEQUENCES OF
SCIENCE ARE NONE OF HIS BUSINESS OR HE MUST BE THE DOCTOR WHO
SEES THE MARKS OF DEATH IN THE COMMUNITY THAT BELIEVES ITSELF
WELL AND DOES NOT WANT TO BE TOLD OTHERWISE.
EACH OF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STORIES, SPECIAL MEMORIES THAT
ARE ETCHED IN YOUR HEARTS THAT YOU DRAW STRENGTH FROM.
I HOPE THAT YOU CAN FIND THE COURAGE TO SHARE THESE DEEPLY
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH OTHERS, HELPING THEM TO KNOW AND
TO REMEMBER WHY CONSERVING THE FUTURE IS SO IMPORTANT.
OVER THE YEARS I'VE LEARNED, AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS TO ASCEND THE
STAGE AND SPEAK OUT, SOMETIMES IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO SIT DOWN
AND LISTEN. YOU HEARD FROM JIM STONE ABOUT
THE SUCCESSES OF THE BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE YESTERDAY.
ITS SUCCESS REQUIRED THAT PEOPLE HAD THE HUMILITY TO SIT DOWN AND
LISTEN TO EACH OTHER. GENTLE CONVERSATIONS WITH GENTLE
MEN AND WOMEN YIELD FAR MORE THAN ANGRY WORDS AND ENTRENCHED
POSITIONS. CONSERVATION IN THE 21ST
CENTURY IS GOING TO REQUIRE THAT THOSE WHO LIVE CLOSEST TO THE
LAND HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE. SOMETIMES AS THE LEADERS.
SOMETIMES AS SUPPORTING PARTNERS.
BUT ALWAYS RESPECTED AND LISTENED TO.
AT EVENTS SUCH AS THIS, THERE'S MUCH TALK OF OUR CONSERVATION
HEROES, LEOPOLD, IRA GABRIELSON, SALYER, CARSON.
THERE'S AN INTANGIBLE QUALITY ABOUT THOSE LEADERS, I THINK.
I BELIEVE THAT THEY FELT A FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY TO
GIVE AND TO GIVE BACK. LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT GIVING.
THEY BECAME AWARE OF THEIR SPECIAL GIFTS AND THEIR UNIQUE
TALENTS AND THEY USED THEM TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH
OTHER PEOPLE. THEY WROTE, TAUGHT, DREW,
PAINTED, RALLIED, SPOKE AND SPOKE OUT.
THEY SHARED THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH OTHERS TO INSPIRE THEM.
IT TAKES COURAGE TO SHARE AND LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT GIVING THE
LITTLE THINGS BECAUSE THE LITTLE THINGS ARE THE BIG THINGS.
OUR VISION PROCESS STARTED OUT WITH REFLECTION ON OUR HISTORY
AND OUR HEROES WITH HOW THE REFUGE SYSTEM CAME TO BE AND HOW
IT HAS GROWN OVER TIME. IT IS GOOD TO REFLECT.
WE MUST LEARN HISTORY'S LESSONS OR WE WILL REPEAT OUR MISTAKES.
BUT WE SHOULDN'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN THE PAST THINKING ABOUT
HOW GOOD IT WAS OR HOW BAD IT WAS, ABOUT OUR MISTAKES, ABOUT
OUR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES, HOW IT WAS, HOW IT WOULD HAVE, COULD
HAVE, SHOULD HAVE BEEN, IF ONLY. THAT TALK DOESN'T HELP ANYTHING.
THERE ARE NO OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION IN THE PAST.
LIKEWISE, WE MUST ENVISION THE FUTURE AND UNDERSTAND HOW EVENTS
ARE LIKELY TO AFFECT THE CONDITIONED WE'RE STRIVING TO
BUILD, THINGS LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE AND HABITAT
FRAGMENTATION, SCARCITY OF WATER AND OTHERS, IMPORTANT THINGS TO
KNOW, BUT WE SHOULDN'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN THE FUTURE.
THERE IS NO OPPORTUNITY FOR AN ACTION IN THE FUTURE THAT HAS
NOT YET ARRIVED. THE SUCCESS OF OUR VISION IS
PREMISED ON THE FACT THAT AFTER WE REFLECT AND ENVISION WE MUST
TAKE ACTION. TODAY, RIGHT NOW, IS THE ONLY
TIME TO TAKE ACTION. WE SHOULD FOCUS OUR ENERGIES ON
OUR LEADERSHIP ON TODAY. THE TIME FOR CONSERVING THE
FUTURE IS NOW. REBEKAH MARTIN IS HERE NOW AND
SHE'S READY TO TAKE ACTION. VICKI MUELLER IS HERE NOW AND
SHE'S READY TO GO. KEENAN ADAMS IS HERE.
HE'S GOOD TO GO. MICHAEL GALE IS ALWAYS READY TO
GO. YOU'LL HEAR FROM DAN ASHE
TOMORROW, AND I GUARANTEE YOU HE IS READY FOR ACTION, AND HE WILL
CALL YOU TO ACTION TOMORROW. SO LET'S REFLECT, ENVISION AND
TAKE ACTION. IT CAN BE A LITTLE DAUNTING
EVEN -- EVEN FRIGHTENING TO FOCUS ON THE PRESENT, TO SEIZE
THE MOMENT, TO TAKE BOLD ACTION. WE OVERCOME THOSE FEARS THROUGH
FAITH THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR VISION AND STRONG LEADERSHIP.
LOOK AROUND THE ROOM. SEE YOUR COLLEAGUES, THEIR
PASSION, THEIR ENERGY, THEIR SENSE OF URGENCY TO TAKE ACTION.
IF EACH ONE OF US, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US WILL MOVE
FORWARD JUST A LITTLE BIT, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD BECAUSE,
REMEMBER, THOSE LITTLE THINGS ARE THE BIG THINGS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME WITH YOU HERE.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL. GOD BLESS YOU.
THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ]