Bush Touts 'Cooperative Conservation'

The White House is playing environmental matchmaker, encouraging odd couples such as the Nature Conservancy and the Pentagon as they team to save wild birds and military training ranges. 

"Cooperative conservation," the buzzword for the first presidential conference on the environment in 40 years, is intended to energize citizen-conservationists. For example, with about a quarter of all 1,268 endangered and threatened U.S. species residing on military bases, the Nature Conservancy has been an active partner with the Pentagon. The Nature Conservancy helps identify natural habitat that species need to survive, then sets about securing land and funding to create buffer zones. Since there are more endangered species on military facilities than on any other federal lands, the arrangement helps protect critical habitat areas. 

At the last summit on "natural beauty" in 1965, President Johnson supported a "new conservation" ethic against too much growth and industry harming the landscape. Today, Bush espouses a pro-business strategy of "new environmentalism," in which citizens' needs come before more regulations whenever possible. Agencies plan to emphasize:

• Interior Department programs that give direct financial help for conservation by ranchers and other private landowners
• Environmental Protection Agency help in commercially redeveloping waste sites.
• Agriculture Department backing for preserving farmland.
• Commerce Department aid in preserving marine habitats.

AP, Aug. 28, 2005