NEWS

N.C. environment and natural resources secretary to speak on ‘One North Carolina Naturally’

CHAPEL HILL -- Bill Ross, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will give a lecture at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 on the department’s "One North Carolina Naturally" land conservation initiative and other environmental issues facing the state.

The free lecture, co-sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Environmental Program and the Carolina Environmental Student Alliance, will be held in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building auditorium. Refreshments will follow the program.

Gov. Mike Easley appointed Ross secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources in January 2001. Ross is a native of Marion and was a partner with the Greensboro and Raleigh law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard from 1986 until his appointment. Ross joined the law firm as an environmental attorney in 1984.

Ross has been a member and leader of many committees and organizations focusing on preserving open space, creating parks and greenways, and expanding environmental education opportunities statewide – including N.C. Environmental Defense, The Nature Conservancy, the Piedmont Land Conservancy, the Raleigh Greenway Commission and others.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is the lead stewardship agency for the preservation and protection of the state’s outstanding natural resources. It administers programs regulating air and water quality and public health; offers technical assistance and environmental education; and works to protect fish, wildlife and wilderness areas. The department administers the N.C. Aquariums, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, state parks and most other state recreational resources, and the N.C. Zoological Park.

The Carolina Environmental Student Alliance is a network of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing multidisciplinary academic work in environmental science and studies. The alliance promotes cooperation and collaboration in both research and study, offers opportunities for outreach and public service, and serves as the professional organization for environmental students at UNC.

The Carolina Environmental Program is a multidisciplinary initiative addressing factors that build an environmentally sustainable society. The program, which offers majors in environmental science and environmental studies through the College of Arts and Sciences, fosters collaborative research on large-scale environmental problems and provides technical assistance, training and up-to-date information on environmental issues to North Carolina communities.

The CEP administers a network of field sites in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences Study Abroad Office, including locations in Bangkok, Thailand; Salzburg, Austria; and Highlands, Manteo and Morehead City, N.C.

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Note: To schedule an interview with Ross, contact Don Reuter at (919) 715-4112. A photo of Ross is available at http://www.enr.state.nc.us/assets/images/billross1.jpg

Carolina Environmental Program contact: Tony Reevy, (919) 966-9927 or tony_reevy@unc.edu.