Office of the Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2001

Contact: Mark Pfeifle
202-208-6416

Secretary Norton Promotes Tourism in the West
- Agreement establishes a formal partnership between resource and public
land stewards and the tourism leaders -

(WASHINGTON) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton and other administration officials joined western state tourism leaders today to help western communities promote tourism. The officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Department of the Interior.

"In light of the Sept. 11 attacks, it's vitally important we do all we can to stimulate our economy and help families who are hurting," Secretary Norton said. "The tourism industry has been hard-hit over the past two months. The Western Tourism Policy Council will help us work together to find creative solutions to help struggling communities in the West."

The leaders reestablished the Western States Tourism Policy Council. The WSTPC is a partnership to help benefit communities and working families from the West that depend on travel and tourism revenue. Formed in 1996, the WSTPC is a group of twelve western state tourism offices: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The mission of the WSTPC is to support public policies and programs that enable travel and tourism to have a positive impact on the West.

The WSTPC agreement comes just two weeks after the the Tourism Policy Council being reconvened two weeks ago at the Commerce Department. Both interagency committees were established to ensure the nation's tourism interests are considered in federal decision-making. Their major function is to coordinate national policies and programs relating to travel and tourism, recreation, and national heritage resources that involve federal agencies.

"The Interior Department is the nation's leading land management agency, responsible for managing and protecting one out of every four acres of the United States," Secretary Norton said. "Encouraging tourism on these lands is necessary to further public knowledge, awareness and appreciation."

Eleven federal agencies from five cabinet-level departments signed the WSTPC agreement. These Departments are the Department of Agriculture: Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service; Department of Commerce: International Trade Administration; Department of Defense: Army Corps of Engineers; Department of Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service; Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration; and the Environmental Protection Agency.

- DOI -