[MPWG] Did you attend the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation? - St. Louis, MO - 8/29-31/05

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

I understand that several of our partners attended the White House
Conference on Cooperative Conservation.  I would enjoy hearing how things
went.  Also, if you saw (or took part in) the presentation mentioned below,
I would like to know more about this.

Thanks!
-Patricia

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 750
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Working for the conservation and sustainable use of our green natural
resources.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>


http://news.fws.gov/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=0292FEED-65BF-03E7-25E85A5E985208E9

White House Chooses White Mountain Apache Tribe as Exemplary Model for
National Conference on Cooperative Conservation
Contacts


 Elizabeth Slown, 505-248-6909/363-9592



The White Mountain Apache Tribe has been selected as an outstanding example
of successful conservation partnership to be showcased at the upcoming
White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation in St. Louis, Missouri,
from Aug. 29 to 31, 2005.

Some of Arizona's rarest fish and wildlife species are on the road to
recovery due to the Tribe's careful stewardship of their 1.6 million-acre
Reservation.

"The Tribe has a thriving resource-based economy that benefits from the
quality of wildlife habitat that you find on the Reservation," said Matt
Hogan, Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  "Where other
communities struggle with economic development versus resource protection,
the White Mountain Apache Tribe conducts logging, ranching, world-class elk
hunts and endangered species conservation on their lands.  From them, we
can learn how to take care of wildlife while taking care of our families."

The U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and
the Environmental Protection Agency are co-hosting the conference. Five
cabinet secretaries are invited to attend the national assembly, which aims
to strengthen conservation partnerships with states, tribes and communities
and expand citizen stewardship initiatives.

Apache trout is the only trout native to the White Mountains.  The Tribe
and the Service established a rearing program in the Service fish
hatcheries located on Tribal lands and have transplanted the trout into
streams and lakes on the reservation and the adjacent national forest.
Habitat enhancements along 21 streams, coupled with the removal of
non-native and predatory fish, have greatly improved conditions.

Three years ago the Tribe and the Service entered into a very important
agreement to cooperate on reintroducing the Mexican gray wolf back into
Arizona.  The Tribe opened up valuable acres of habitat and welcomed wolf
packs on their land.  The first release of wolves occurred in  2003.

Tribal Chairman, Dallas Massey, Sr. will make a presentation about the
resource challenges the tribe faces and the accomplishments they have
achieved balancing natural resource management with economic development.
His presentation will take place on the opening day of the conference.

This White Mountain Apache Tribal presentation and other case studies will
highlight some of the very best examples of cooperative conservation,
focusing on what can be achieved when using collaborative strategies to
address conservation, natural resource and environmental issues.
Presentations include cooperative conservation in metropolitan and rural
areas and initiatives that restore and conserve wildlife and habitats in
coastal and marine areas.

Through facilitated discussions, participants will then examine some of the
most challenging aspects of working collaboratively, including how to build
successful partnerships and expand the role of tribes, states and
communities in cooperative conservation; how to improve certainty and
incentives for landowners; and how to coordinate conservation across
different jurisdictions.

President Bush called for the conference last year in his Executive Order
directing federal agencies to promote cooperative conservation by actively
working in partnership with states, local communities, businesses,
non-profit groups and private citizens. The goal is to help empower the
American people as citizen stewards to protect and enhance wildlife, lands,
and waters across the Nation.

This conference reflects the President's continuing commitment to ensure
that the federal government listens to the concerns, ideas and insights of
local citizens and works closely with them in restoring and conserving our
natural heritage.

In response to the President's call, citizens are coming to the national
conference from cities, reservations, and rural towns; from Alaska to
Florida, from Maine to California. They represent conservation groups and
companies; local, state, tribal, and federal agencies; recreation
enthusiasts, ranchers, farmers, hunters and anglers.

The conference will bring together citizens and decision makers who can
advance cooperative conservation by identifying ideas for future
conservation and environmental policies and initiatives; facilitating the
exchange of information and advice for successful partnerships; and
institutionalizing cooperative conservation to enhance on-the-ground
conservation results.

This is the first White House national conservation conference in four
decades. Theodore Roosevelt held the first conference on conservation
almost a century ago. Subsequently, Presidents Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson
held summits that focused on conservation and stewardship.

Since then the modern edifice of environmental statutes emerged; and our
Nation's conservation commitment has grown. Yet these laws and regulations
have limits. They can reduce harm to the environment, but they are less
well suited to inspiring citizens to actively engage in conservation to
restore wetlands, waterways and wildlife. Continued environmental progress
in the 21st century must be based on the idea that enduring conservation
springs from the actions of citizens -- in their backyards, communities and
workplaces -- alone and in partnerships with government.