Oct. 31, 2013
Contact:
Chris Wood, President and CEO, Trout Unlimited (571) 274-0601
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
TU Supports Jewells Conservation Vision
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, gave an address on conservation Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The following is the official statement from Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited, in response to Jewells speech:
Secretary Jewell highlighted some of our most pressing conservation challenges: engaging youth in outdoor activities, sustaining important federal investments in conservation, and balancing energy production with the outstanding fishing and hunting values on our public lands.
Trout Unlimited welcomes the Secretarys leadership on engaging the next generation of environmental stewards in the outdoorssomething we agree is essential to sustaining our conservation legacy. We support the Secretarys vision for avoiding harmful impacts to fish and wildlife habitat by steering development to low-conflict areas, and using a landscape-scale approach to mitigating the impacts that cannot be avoided. And we are pleased to hear the Secretary speak of the importance of balancing energy production with habitat conservation using tools like master leasing plans that will provide certainty for industry and irreplaceable habitat that leads to quality fishing and hunting. We look to Secretary Jewell to play a leading role in ensuring that the Interior Departments oil and gas leasing reforms are carried out in a way that helps us achieve that balance.”
Trout Unlimited is the nations oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North Americas trout and salmon and their watersheds. Follow TU on Facebook and Twitter, and visit us online at tu.org.