Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: June 18, 2001

Contact: Mark Pfeifle (202) 208-6416

Secretary Norton Joins Country Music Stars for July 4^th Salute

(WASHINGTON) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton makes her debut on the Department's nationally broadcast public service country music program Salute to America on July 4th. The radio program features Academy of Country Music (ACM) award winners Rascal Flatts, voted ACM's Vocal Group of the Year, Tracy Lawrence, The Bellamy Brothers, Montgomery Gentry, Tim Rushlow, and other performers in the two-hour broadcast. Secretary Norton doesn't sing on the show, but does speak about the need to recruit wildland firefighters.

Salute to America is produced by the Department's Broadcast Center and is sponsored by Interior bureaus, including the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Minerals Management Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement.

Started in 1989 as a one-hour, one-time Independence Day effort, the show has received two national awards and has had over 80 country stars volunteering their time and talents during its 12-year run.

Public service announcements in the music-based show focus on lesser known national parks; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wildlife refuges; Bureau of Reclamation's water management and conservation efforts; Minerals Management Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund; U.S. Geological Survey's topographical maps; Bureau of Land Management and the use and protection of our public lands; the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement and it's efforts to stop acid mine drainage.

Radio stations interested in airing the program on Independence Day should contact Barbara Payne at (202) 273-3147, or producer/host Steve Brooks at (202) 208-3771.

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