Interior Sec. Salazar Hosts First Offshore Renewable Workshop

Announces Efforts to Strengthen Migratory Bird Protections

June 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.  At the first of twelve regional public workshops on the Obama Administration’s new offshore renewable energy program for the Outer Continental Shelf, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Department’s Minerals Management Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have signed an agreement to strengthen the Department’s efforts to protect and conserve migratory bird species during offshore renewable energy development.

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“The vast renewable energy potential off our nation’s coasts offers great promise for our clean energy future, but we must develop these resources safely and in a way that protects the environment,” Salazar said in remarks kicking off the public workshops. “This common-sense agreement among federal agencies represents our commitment to doing all we can to strengthen protections for America’s migratory birds and reduce potential impacts from renewable energy development.”

MMS Acting Director Walter Cruickshank and FWS Acting Director Rowan W. Gould signed the Memorandum of Understanding, fulfilling the requirements of Executive Order 13186, which directed executive departments and agencies to take additional actions to strengthen their efforts to protect and conserve species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The development of this and other MOUs is the next step in efforts to create a more comprehensive strategy for the conservation of migratory birds by the Federal Government, thereby fulfilling the government’s duty to lead in the protection of this international resource.

The Executive Order and the MOUs developed under it provide a specific framework for the Federal Government’s compliance with its treaty obligations to Canada, Mexico, Russia and Japan. These documents will serve to enhance coordination and communication among federal agencies regarding their responsibilities under four bilateral treaties on the conservation of migratory birds.

The MOUs also build on the progress that has been made in recent years on conservation of migratory birds. For example, the Executive Order and associated MOUs will aid in incorporating national planning for bird conservation into agency programs and provide the formal Presidential guidance necessary for agencies to incorporate migratory bird conservation more fully into their programs.

Migratory birds are of great ecological and economic value, but many species are in decline due to habitat loss, invasive species and other threats. Ocean birds are particularly at risk, with at least 39 percent of species declining and in need of immediate conservation measures, according to The State of the Birds 2009, a recent report released by Secretary Salazar and coordinated by the Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.

After the signing ceremony, MMS resumed the public workshop that provided information and answered questions about the new offshore renewable energy program. Known as the Final Framework for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf, the program was published in the Federal Register on April 29, 2009. It establishes a process for granting leases, easements, and rights-of-way for offshore renewable energy projects as well as methods for sharing revenues from these projects with adjacent coastal States. The program becomes effective June 29, 2009.

More information on locations and dates of the meetings are at http://www.mms.gov. For more information on the executive order and the requirements of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, see http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/EO/Q&A's.html

Source: Dept. of the Interior