Western Governors to Summit

The Western Governors’ Association and the White House Council on Environmental Quality will co-sponsor the Second Environmental Summit on the West in Salt Lake City, Utah April 24 to 26, 2002 to advance successful approaches for addressing tough environmental and natural resource issues.

DENVER, Colorado – April 12, 2002 [SolarAccess.com] Governors will be joined by key administration officials and other dignitaries including, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton; Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman; White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James L. Connaughton; and Fred Krupp, Executive Director, Environmental Defense. Agenda topics include: species conservation while assisting landowners in maintaining working landscapes; meeting growing and competing demands for water; expanding the use of Renewable Energy resources; cooperative locating of interstate energy infrastructure; reducing wildland fire risks to communities while restoring forest health; industrial environmental innovation: value for the community, globe and bottom line; assessing Western perspectives on multi-pollutant proposals for utilities and carbon dioxide strategies; successful partnerships and new tools to conserve open lands. The first Environmental Summit on the West was held in Phoenix in December 1998.With the assistance of hundreds of stakeholders who participated in the interactive sessions, the governors adopted the eight principles of Enlibra for making progress on complex environmental and natural resource management problems. Since then, the principles have been adopted as a guiding philosophy and incorporated into the work of small community groups; large corporations; and state, tribal, regional, and federal organizations and institutions. “We believe that much can be learned from these success stories,” said Gov. Jane Dee Hull of Arizona, WGA Chairman. “By hearing what others have done, participants will go home with some new tools for addressing their own issues.” Govs. John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Mike Leavitt of Utah are WGA’s co-leads for Enlibra. “The principles of Enlibra help reframe issues so that we can move collectively and collaboratively toward actions that have beneficial environmental outcomes while meeting social and economic needs,” Kitzhaber said. “The cases we review will illustrate the progress that can be made by taking this approach. Just as important, stakeholders will help us assess opportunities for moving forward on a number of current, complex issues facing the country and the West. “Environmental progress is our goal,” said Gov. Mike Leavitt. “To increase the velocity of this progress we need new tools, more collaboration and fresh approaches. This summit will bring all three to stakeholders.”