For Release Monday, June 30, 1997
Contact:
Jim Petterson/Paul Bledsoe (916) 542-7900
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt are hosting a Forest Ecosystem Restoration, Recreation and Tourism workshop today in Incline Village, Nev. The workshop is the second of three workshops being held by Clinton Administration officials in preparation for the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum to be hosted by President Clinton and Vice President Gore on July 25 and 26. The information gathered from the workshops will be presented in reports to President Clinton and Vice President Gore during their visit.
The workshop will feature three panel discussions: Recreation and Tourism, Forest Ecosystem Restoration, and Fire Hazard Reduction in and around the Tahoe Communities. Panelists include local conservation leaders, business people, members of the academic community, and local, state and federal officials and resource specialists.
"Lake Tahoe is a national jewel and a precious natural resource," said Secretary Glickman. "Almost 80 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, and we are working to care for this land and balance its many uses. I am looking forward to meeting and hearing from the people who live, work and recreate in the Tahoe area about the many issues affecting the management of the national forests surrounding the lake."
"In the Tahoe Basin, keeping the lake and forests healthy is the key not only to maintaining a high quality of life, but to maintaining a prosperous economy, as well," said Babbitt. "I'm visiting to learn from the locals because they know this better than anyone, and they can teach us how to help. Mark Twain called Tahoe the fairest sight the whole earth affords.' Our challenge is to keep it that way."
The Water Quality Workshop hosted by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Michael Davis was held June 18. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater will host the Transportation Workshop July 19 at the University of Nevada Reno.
To register for the Transportation Workshop call the Presidential Forum Coordination Center at Lake Tahoe, (916) 542-7901.
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