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For Immediate Release
Contact:


Drew Bush
202.429.7441 or Steve Smith (Colorado), 303.650.5818,
ext. 106

Statement of William H. Meadows, President on Nomination of Sen. Ken Salazar as Secretary of Interior

Senator Salazar is an excellent choice to lead the Department of the Interior at a critical time when the West faces extraordinarily complex energy, conservation, and development challenges. He has a lifelong understanding and involvement in the West's public lands issues and, as Senator, has demonstrated time and again that protecting Colorado's natural features is a priority for him. He understands the need to defend the West's land, water, wildlife, and communities while appropriately exploring for oil and gas and other extractive resources.

WASHINGTON

Senator Salazar is an excellent choice to lead the Department of the Interior at a critical time when the West faces extraordinarily complex energy, conservation, and development challenges. He has a lifelong understanding and involvement in the West's public lands issues and, as Senator, has demonstrated time and again that protecting Colorado's natural features is a priority for him. He understands the need to defend the West's land, water, wildlife, and communities while appropriately exploring for oil and gas and other extractive resources.

We at The Wilderness Society have always been impressed by the openness with which Senator Salazar conducts his responsibilities as senator on public lands issues. Because he has been a leader in negotiations on several Colorado wilderness bills that are poised to be passed by Congress, including Dominguez Canyon and Rocky Mountain National Park, we are confident that, in his new role, he will continue his work to protect the West's most beautiful and ecologically significant landscapes.

Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the conservation movement in wilderness protection, writing and passing the landmark Wilderness Act and winning lasting protection for 107 million acres of Wilderness, including 56 million acres of spectacular lands in Alaska, eight million acres of fragile desert lands in California and millions more throughout the nation.