WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell next week will travel to Idaho and Wyoming to see first-hand efforts to conserve the sagebrush habitat that supports wildlife, outdoor recreation and other economic activity throughout the West.
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Secretary Jewell will join Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Deputy Director Steve Ellis, local officials, private landowners and stakeholders on a tour of the Browns Bench/China Mountain region of southern Idaho and some lands devastated by the 2007 Murphy Complex Fire, which burned more than 600,000 acres – much of it important habitat for the greater sage-grouse and other sage-brush dependent species. Federal, state and local partners are working to protect important sage-brush steppe habitat and restore fire impacted areas by reseeding sagebrush, combating cheatgrass and other invasive species and altering fire regimes and creating fire breaks to limit the damage from future fires.
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Secretary Jewell will join Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to tour a ranch near Pinedale that is leading the way on local sagebrush conservation efforts. Jewell, Mead and Ashe will recognize the efforts of private landowners in helping to save the landscape of the American West at a ceremonial signing of nine long-term, sage-grouse protection plans. This ceremony will highlight the leadership of the ranching community and the state of Wyoming in conservation efforts that benefit the land, wildlife and future generations of ranchers.
Jewell will underscore 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 species, which will be considered for possible protection under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2015.
Additional event details are available below.
EVENT #1 – Twin Falls, ID
WHO:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Steve Ellis, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management
Tim Murphy, Idaho State Director, Bureau of Land Management
Mike Carrier, Supervisor, Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region
Private landowners and local stakeholders
WHAT:
Tour of Sagebrush Restoration Efforts and Media Availability
WHEN:
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014
9:00 a.m. MDT - Media check-in
9:15 a.m. MDT - Tour followed by brief media availability
WHERE:
Rogerson Fire Station
2295 East 1500 North
Rogerson, ID 83302
RSVP:
Due to space limitations, members of the media who wish to attend the tour MUST RSVP HERE no later than 6:00 p.m. MDT on Monday, October 13. Additional logistical details will be provided to confirmed reporters.
EVENT #2 – Pinedale, WY
WHO:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Matt Mead, Wyoming Governor
Dan Ashe, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Don Simpson, Wyoming State Director, Bureau of Land Management
Brad Bousman, Bousman Livestock, Inc.
Private landowners and local stakeholders
WHAT:
Tour, Signing Ceremony and Media Availability
WHEN:
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014
Tour
7:00 a.m. MDT - Media check-in
7:15 a.m. MDT - Tour begins
Signing Ceremony
10:45 a.m. MDT - Media check-in
11:00 a.m. MDT - Signing ceremony
11:45 a.m. MDT – Brief media Availability
WHERE:
Pinedale Field Office (Tour check-in)
1625 West Pine Street
Pinedale, WY 82941
(on West Pine/Highway 191 between Bloomfield Ave and Ehman Lane)
Trappers' Point (Signing ceremony)
1-5 E Green River Rd
Pinedale, WY 82941
(at the intersection of Highway 191 and E Green River Rd)
RSVP:
Due to space limitations, credentialed members of the media who wish to attend the tour MUST RSVP HERE no later than 6:00 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, October 14. Additional logistical details will be provided to confirmed reporters.
Source: Department of Interior
