WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 – Ducks Unlimited commends Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns’s appointment of Arlen Lancaster to chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
“Arlen’s appointment is encouraging news for ducks and waterfowl enthusiasts everywhere,” said DU Director of Governmental Affairs Scott Sutherland. “His long-term involvement in waterfowl issues dates back to his days on Capitol Hill.”
Lancaster’s duties as chief at NRCS will include working directly with landowners to conserve and maintain vital natural resources on their property through technical assistance achieved through groups like Ducks Unlimited by using popular Farm Bill conservation programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP).
“Arlen was an integral part in the development and implementation of the conservation programs of the 2002 Farm Bill and played a significant role in fostering numerous other pieces of wetlands conservation legislation,” said DU Governmental Affairs Representative Bart James. “Ducks Unlimited looks forward to working with him to continue the success of critical programs like WRP for America’s farmers and ranchers.”
Prior to joining the USDA in 2005 as the deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations, Lancaster served as Senator Mike Crapo’s (Idaho) senior policy advisor and later as the staff director for the Senate subcommittee on forestry and conservation. Lancaster, an avid sportsman, also previously worked for Senator Robert Bennett of Utah and is a graduate of the University of Utah.
Contact: Scott Sutherland
Ducks Unlimited Director of Governmental Affairs
202-347-1530
ssutherland@ducks.org
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands—nature’s most productive ecosystem—and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.