THE LAST OF A BREED: Retiring House Republican Sherwood L. Boehlert reflects on his support for science, environment

TWELVE-TERM HOUSE VETERAN Sherwood L. Boehlert is an unabashed cheerleader for investments in science, an avid booster of the environment, and, he would add, a fanatic baseball fan. He is also an endangered species, one of the last of a breed. The congressman from upstate New York, whose district includes the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, is considered a centrist, moderate Republican. He wears that label proudly. Moderate Republicans are fast fading from the congressional landscape. Their numbers will dwindle by at least one next year, from about 20 today, because in March, Boehlert announced that he will give up his seat at the end of this legislative session. Boehlert turns 70 next month, and two years ago he had triple-by-pass heart surgery. In his retirement announcement—which, he stresses, he wrote himself—he used two words to explain why after 24 productive years in Congress he has decided not to run for reelection: "It's ...