MEDIA ADVISORY: Top Administration Officials to Tour Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Salazar, Jackson, Lubchenco and Sutley to review ongoing Gulf restoration efforts
VENICE, La. - At the direction of the President, on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley will tour the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Venice, Louisiana and the areas affected by the BP oil spill to assess the on-going federal response efforts and to discuss the Administration’s commitment to long-term Gulf Coast restoration and recovery.
A large section of Delta’s 49,000 acres that has been closed to the public since early April will reopen on August 22. The area was closed due to oiling from a ruptured pipeline, and the subsequent threat from the BP oil spill. The Delta is home to many fish, waterfowl and animals, including the brown pelican, American alligator, the endangered pallid sturgeon and the threatened piping plover.
On Thursday morning, Secretary Salazar, Administrator Jackson, Administrator Lubchenco, and Chair Sutley will participate in the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Steering Committee in New Orleans.
WHO: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco
CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley
Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife Tom Strickland
WHAT: Delta National Wildlife Refuge tour and media availability
WHEN: Thursday, August 19, 2010
11:45 a.m. CDT - Boat Tour
2:30 p.m. CDT - Press Briefing
WHERE: Delta National Wildlife Refuge, 215 Offshore Shipyard Road, Venice, La., 70091
MEDIA: The boat tour of the Wildlife Refuge will be pooled press.
The press briefing is open to all credentialed news media. Media unable to attend may join a listen-only teleconference by dialing 1-800-779-9539, access code DELTA.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov or http://www.fws.gov/southeast.
