LAKEVIEW, Ore. – On Thursday, Sept. 25, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will join Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Deputy Director Steve Ellis, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Jim Lyons, and other Oregon/Washington BLM officials in Lake County, Oregon, to tour innovative sage grouse conservation efforts spearheaded by the BLM's Lakeview District, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, private landowners, and conservation partners.
The Lake County project is emblematic of collaborative efforts across the West to conserve the region's declining “Sagebrush Sea,” which supports significant economic activity such as ranching and recreation, as well as an abundance of wildlife, such as elk, mule deer and golden eagles.
Jewell will highlight the importance of partnerships between the federal government, states, private landowners and other stakeholders in creating and implementing a landscape-level conservation strategy for the greater sage grouse, which will be considered for possible protection under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2015.
WHO:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Jim Lyons, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land & Minerals Management
Steve Ellis, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management
Jerry Perez, Oregon/Washington BLM State Director
Todd Forbes, Field Manager, BLM Lakeview District
Zola Ryan, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA
Craig Foster, Supervising Wildlife Biologist, Oregon Department of Fish &Wildlife
John O'Keffe, Private Landowner
WHAT:
Tour and Brief Media Availability
WHEN:
Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014
9:15 a.m. PDT – Media check-in
9:30 a.m. PDT – Tour followed by brief media availability
Transportation will be provided for interested reporters who RSVP.
WHERE:
Lakeview Interagency Office
1301 South G Street
Lakeview, Oregon 97630
GPS Coordinates: 42.1706118, -120.3473695
RSVP:
Credentialed members of the media who wish to attend the tour and media availability are required to RSVP HERE no later than 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, September 24.
Source: Department of Interior
