Department Of Interior

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Office of the Secretary
Contact: Patty Matteson (919) 856-4520x25
For Imediate Release: April 21, 2003
patty_matteson@fws.gov
Interior Secretary Gale Norton to Visit Restored Wetland In Orange County to Celebrate Earth Day
U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton will travel to the Kuenzler Wildlife Habitat Preserve in Chapel Hill, N.C., to celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Norton will celebrate the land and wildlife administered by the Department and call for all Americans to become citizen stewards dedicated to restoring and conserving public and private land.

WHO: Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and local conservation partners will highlight the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.

WHAT: Secretary Norton will meet with landowner Jutta Kuenzler who carried on her late husband's wishes of restoring an area of the farm as a wetland, wildlife preserve and conserving the entire property through a conservation easement. Mrs. Kuenzler will also receive the Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director's Conservation award.

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22

WHERE: 6015 Greensboro Road, Chapel Hill, N.C. (directions at the end of release).

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS: Secretary Norton will meet with the Kuenzler family. She will then receive a site and project overview from staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Triangle Land Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The group will then move to the wetland where they will seine for aquatic life, place wood debris into the wetland, and plant a native tree. Secretary Norton will present Kuenzler with a conservation award. There will also be a media opportunity after remarks by the Secretary and Mrs. Kuenzler.

This project is an example of partnership projects between federal, state and private agencies. Points of contact follow:

If you plan on attending please call or email Patty Matteson, Public Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Field Office, Raleigh, N.C. (919) 856-4520x 25 and/or patty_matteson@fws.gov by c.o.b. on Monday, April 21. For a fact sheet visit: http://nc-es.fws.gov/es/partners/featureproj.html.

For information on Triangle Land Conservancy contact Doug Nicholas, (919) 833-3662 or e-mail doug@tlc-nc.org, or visit www.tlc-nc.org.


Directions from Chapel Hill:
Take US 15-501 south/NC 54 west Bypass around Chapel Hill. When US 15-501 south exits, stay on NC 54 west Bypass. Exit NC 54 west Bypass at Jones Ferry Road. Turn left onto Jones Ferry Road. Follow about .9 miles to traffic light at junction of Old Greensboro Road and turn right. Follow Old Greensboro Road about 8 miles, look for White Cross Fire Station on the left; the gravel drive for 6015 is just ahead on the right, marked on a black mailbox.

Directions from Raleigh:
Take I-40 west to exit 273 B for NC 54 west. Follow NC 54 west about 3 miles, then exit to take US 15-501 south/NC 54 west Bypass around Chapel Hill (follow the signs indicating Carrboro). When US 15-501 south exits, stay on NC 54 west Bypass. Exit NC 54 west Bypass at Jones Ferry Road. Turn left onto Jones Ferry Road. Follow about .9 miles to traffic light at junction of Old Greensboro Road and turn right. Follow Old Greensboro Road about 8 miles, look for White Cross Fire Station on the left; the gravel drive for 6015 is just ahead on the right, marked on a black mailbox.

Directions from Pittsboro:
Take NC 87 north about 7.2 miles to Chicken Bridge Road; turn right. Follow Chicken Bridge Road about 3.6 miles to Crawford Dairy Road; turn left. Follow Crawford Dairy Road about 1.1 miles to Collins Mtn. Road; turn right. Follow Collins Mtn. Road about 3 miles to Old Greensboro Road; turn left. 6015 Old Greensboro Road is just ahead on the right, marked on a black mailbox.

-DOI-


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