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OAKLAND, CA - February 19 - The California League of Conservation Voters, the political arm of the environmental movement, applauded a group of environmental appointments announced by Governor Davis today in Sacramento.

"These environmental appointments hold promise. Hopefully, with Governor Davis' leadership and direction they will fulfill the promise," said Jon Rainwater, the California League of Conservation Voters' new executive director.

Appointed as chairman of the California Air Resources Board is Dr. Alan Lloyd, a highly respected and longstanding air quality expert, who the League said "will bring a high degree of scientific integrity to solving California's air quality problems."

Former Fairfield Assemblyman Tom Hannigan will become director of the Department of Water Resources, a department that has been criticized by environmentalists for favoring water development over environmental water needs. Hannigan's district included portions of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. He was also appointed by Davis to serve on the state's Fish and Game Commission, which sets policy for the Department of Fish and Game. The League noted that Hannigan, who in the Assembly was part of a group of progressive leaders dubbed the "Grizzlies," will bring a "watershed" of cooperation to the process of allocating California's water resources in a fair and balanced manner.

Former Central Valley Assemblyman Rusty Areias has been chosen as director of Parks and Recreation, a department that shifted its mission under the Wilson Administration toward leasing and concessioning. "There have been too many concessions under the Wilson Administration, both in the interest of the environment and in the commercialization of public parks," said Rainwater.

The League is the non-partisan electoral arm of the environmental movement. It campaigns for candidates who are committed to solving environmental problems and, through its annual California Environmental Scorecard, holds elected representatives accountable to the public for their votes on the environment.