Department of the Interior

DOI News Header
Office of the Secretary CONTACT: Joan Moody
April 7, 2005 202-208-6416

MEDIA ADVISORY:

Scheduled for Aug. 29-31 in St. Louis:
2005 White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation
 

The Bush Administration announced today that invitations to the 2005 White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation have been distributed to a broad cross-section of private individuals; agricultural and forestry organizations; local community groups; businesses; outdoor organizations, conservation groups; local, state and tribal governments; heritage groups; philanthropic foundations; members of Congress and state governors.

Federal participants include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Interior, as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency.

From Aug. 29 - 31, 2005, these representatives will convene in St. Louis, Mo., to consider President Bush's cooperative conservation vision defined in his Executive Order issued on Aug. 26, 2004.

The White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation seeks to:

  • Broaden cooperative conservation with state, tribal and local governments, communities, private for profit and non-profit organizations, and private citizens;
  • Enhance and integrate public and private land stewardship;
  • Bring together interested participants and decision makers who can advance cooperative conservation;
  • Identify ideas for future conservation and environmental policies and initiatives;
  • Facilitate the exchange of information and advice for successful partnerships; and
  • Institutionalize cooperative conservation to enhance on-the-ground conservation results and progress.

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, a leader in cooperative conservation, will be a keynote speaker at the conference. To foster a nation of citizen stewards, Secretary Norton is advancing a 4 C's philosophy - conservation through communication, consultation and cooperation. Many of the case stories and issues at the conference will showcase Interior agencies and partners. Department of the Interior is expanding the conservation tools available to private land owners and federal land managers. These tools include conservation grants, the Cooperative Conservation Initiative (CCI), which includes funds for the highly successful Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, DOI Coastal Program, and cooperative conservation challenge cost-share grants. The DOI Private Stewardship Grant program and Landowner Incentive Program, founded on initiatives envisioned by President Bush when he was Governor of Texas, provide assistance to private land owners in their voluntary efforts to protect threatened, imperiled and endangered species.

The text of President Bush's Executive Order can be viewed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040826-11.html. More information on the Department of the Interior's cooperative conservation
activities can be viewed at http://www.doi.gov/initiatives/conservation.html.

 

 

 

-DOI-


Selected News Releases