U.S. Department of the Interior

December 5, 2001

Kansas models conservation strategy


By Gale Norton

Special to The Wichita Eagle

Dating back to Teddy Roosevelt, the conservation of our nation's natural heritage has been a partnership between the American people and their government. This is why the Bush administration is making what we call the "four C's" -- consultation, cooperation and communication, all in the service of conservation -- the cornerstone of our efforts to conserve our wildlife and its habitat for future generations of Americans to cherish and enjoy.

If you were going to try to find a place where the four C's are already working, Kansas would be a good place to start. Working hand in hand with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks have developed innovative programs that have tapped into the biggest conservation resource we have -- the people who live on, work on and, yes, love the land.

From the restoration of bottomland hardwood forests, wetlands and riparian areas on private lands throughout the state to the Tallgrass Legacy Alliance, a comprehensive program involving hundreds of landowners to preserve tallgrass prairie ecosystems, Kansas is proving that voluntary partnerships are our most effective conservation tool. Give people the tools to get the job done, and they will get it done.

Last summer, President Bush nominated Steve Williams, the director of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, to be the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Williams has been one of the most innovative state officials in the country in developing partnerships to conserve wildlife and its habitat.

For example, Williams initiated the concept of the walk-in hunting area program in Kansas, which compensates private landowners from money generated by hunting license and equipment purchases when they provide public access on their lands during hunting season.

This year, landowners enrolled nearly 830,000 acres in the program. By providing increased access for hunters, the program supports the wildlife conservation that hunters and other sportsmen fund through license sales and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. After Williams is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I expect him to take this partnership approach and apply it nationally.

President Bush recognizes the great influence that government decisions can have on people's lives. The Department of the Interior, for example, manages one out of every six acres of land in the United States and administers powerful conservation laws, such as the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The decisions we make directly affect people where they live, work and recreate. This is why the Bush administration is committed to helping people take the reins and come up with conservation solutions in their own states and communities. We want to be good partners who consult, cooperate and communicate in the cause of conservation.

The four C's are hard at work in Kansas. We're putting them to work across the country.

Gale Norton, a former Wichitan, is the U.S. secretary of the interior. She will address the annual meeting of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies this morning at Century II.