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EPA To Participate in White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation

Release Date: 04/15/2005
Contact Information: Megan Barnett, (202) 564-9828/ [email protected]

(Washington, D.C. - 04/15/05) EPA Acting Administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, will participate as a keynote speaker at the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation. This conference will convene in St. Louis, MO, from August 29-31, 2005 to advance President Bush's vision for cooperative conservation defined in his Executive Order issued on Aug. 26, 2004. Mr. Johnson will highlight EPA's goal of continuing to build on the four cornerstones of new technologies, market incentives, collaborative networks, and results to achieve greater gains in environmental protection.

The White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation (WHCCC) seeks to broaden cooperative conservation with state, tribal and local governments, communities, private for profit and non-profit organizations, and private citizens and to enhance and integrate public and private land stewardship. The conference will bring together interested participants and decision makers who can advance cooperative conservation and identify ideas for future conservation and environmental policies and initiatives. Participants will be encouraged to exchange information that will build successful partnerships and institutionalize cooperative conservation to enhance on-the-ground conservation results and progress.

The Bush Administration announced that invitations to the 2005 WHCCC 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 Environmental Protection Agency, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Interior, as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Current EPA programs such as watershed protection, Brownfields redevelopment, and the Great Lakes Legacy Program are built upon effective community involvement and partnerships to promote the conservation of our nation's resources. EPA looks forward to furthering our mission to protect human health and the environment by exchanging ideas and best practices on cooperative conservation.

The text of President Bush's Executive Order can be viewed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040826-11.html

For more information about the Cooperative Conservation Conference, go to: http://www.conservation.ceq.gov