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 Arizonas rarest fish and wildlife species are on the road to recovery due to the Tribes 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 Presidents 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 Presidents 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 Nations 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.
More information on the conference and registration links are online at http://www.conference.ceq.gov.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
