4 C's of New Environmentalism

February 27, 2002
excerpts from a talk by Interior Secretary Gale Norton

As a Westerner who loves to hike and ski, I cherish our nation's natural beauty and the well-being of our land. The day I leave office I want to know that I helped build an America with a heathier environment and a more secure economy. To achieve this, we need to initiate a new era of conservation - what I call a "new environmentalism."

In launching this new era, we build upon a rich tradition begun at the turn of the last century with President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a passionate outdoorsman - a hunter who believed in the preservation of our natural resources and the wise use and enjoyment of those resources. He put the weight of his presidency behind conserving public lands and wildlife, establishing the National Wildlife Refuge System and the U.S. Forest Service, and designating 18 areas of public lands as parks and monuments.

For the first few decades, the conservation movement focused on creation of parks and wildlife refuges, both at the federal and state level, and the management of game species such as waterfowl and deer.

Over time, the conservation ethic evolved and expanded. By the late 1940's Aldo Leopold, a forester by training, was calling for a more ambitious conservation agenda. He published the "Sand County Almanac," which provided the framework for a new approach to natural resource management - one based on managing our lands as a whole, rather than as individual parts.

Leopold is now widely considered to be the founder of the field of conservation biology. In my mind, he also laid the groundwork for a modern holistic approach to conservation and environmental protection.

At the heart of Leopold's conservation ethic was a call to all citizens to take responsibility and become stewards of the land. As a college student, I read Leopold's work. It helped shape my philosophy about the role of individuals in caring for our lands.

Environmental issues today are more complex and subtle than the ones we faced in the 1960's and 70's. In the pollution context, major sources of life-threatening pollution are heavily regulated; the current challenges are issues like non-point sources and global climate change.

In the land conservation category, with the growth of our population and expansion of our economy, pressures have increased correspondingly on our undeveloped land, water resources, and wildlife.

Every year, Interior adds significant areas to its management responsibilities. We've found that public lands are no longer the only places to protect species. We have come to realize that we must work in partnership with people who farm, ranch and log on private land. While countless species depend on the land to sustain life, families depend on the land for economic survival.

I share Aldo Leopold's belief that Americans should be partners in the preservation of our lands and natural resources. I believe that most Americans, especially those who depend on the land for their livelihood, are ready and willing to step up to the challenge.

We need a new environmentalism, based on what I call the Four C's - Communication, Consultation, and Cooperation, all in the service of Conservation. At the heart of the four C's is the belief that for conservation to be successful, we must involve the people who live on, work on, and, yes, love the land.

Fortunately, we're already seeing success stories. People are realizing that conservation doesn't happen in a vacuum. Rather than dictate from Washington how the land must be used, we need to work with people to determine how utilizing the land can be compatible with conservation. Americans are resourceful. We need to tap into our ingenuity and creativity.

Likewise, new environmentalism is about meeting our nation's need for a vibrant economy and energy security - while at the same time protecting the environment. Some people say it can't be done. I know it can.

We can develop more renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal on our public lands. We can use new technologies to develop domestic energy sources in environmentally sensitive ways, including energy production on a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

My view of successful environmental policy revolves around partnership, and one crucially important type of partner is state government. In my eight years as Colorado Attorney General, a lot of my time was devoted to environmental issues, especially as chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Environment Committee.

At Interior, we are working with states to amplify our ability to tackle tough environmental problems. I have made state and local government communication one of the performance goals of senior executives. We have rejuvenated working relationships with state wildlife officials, parks directors, and regulators, as well as governors. Several of our budget proposals have been structured to empower states to resolve environmental controversies.

New environmentalism captures Aldo Leopold's vision of a nation of citizen-conservationists. Successful conservation is a partnership between the government and the people. The government's role is to empower the people to take conservation into their own hands. Wherever you look, you will find places where this is happening: