Weed Meeting Advisory

[Trudy Harlow.]

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   Stephanie Hanna (O) 202/208-6416
September 6, 1995

MEDIA ADVISORY

Interior Deputy Secretary Garamendi and other partners to attend conference in
Denver to join forces in solving catastrophic invasive weed problems in West

    Deputy Secretary of the Interior John Garamendi and several others joining
a Partnership Against Weeds will meet together for the first time in Denver
tomorrow to address the problem of invasive weeds on public and private lands.

    The conference will be held at the Denver Hilton South, 7801 E. Orchard
Road in Englewood, beginning at noon on Thursday, September 8.  Following an
opening session, participants will be taken to view the weed problem firsthand
near Parker, Colorado, with transportation returning to the hotel before 6:00
p.m. Following the tour, there will be a barbecue.  At the conclusion of the
conference, at about 12:30 p.m. on September 8, there will be a press
conference to discuss outcomes and priorities.  Media are welcome to attend all
these events.

    "On federal lands alone, noxious weeds are spreading at the rate of 4,600
acres a day,"  Garamendi said.  "The Denver conference is the first effort to
create a unified strategy to deal with an invasion of weeds that often choke
out and destroy natural species and harm the productivity of the land.  It's
not just a problem for ranchers, it affects consumers buying groceries, new
homeowners, wildlife and visitors to our national parks and refuges.  We are
dealing with an army of invading non-native plant species; an army that doesn't
stop at anyone's fence lines."

    The Denver conference will focus primarily on Western weed problems.
Another conference is planned later in the Fall to address Eastern weed
concerns.

    Besides Garamendi, other Interior officials attending include Acting Bureau
of Land Management Director Mike Dombeck, Director of the National Biological
Service Ron Pulliam, and Deputy Interior Chief of Staff B.J. Thornberry.
Others in the partnership include representatives from federal agencies, state,
county and local governments, commodity groups, academics, environmental
organizations, and professional associations.



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