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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>DOI News<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Secretary Salazar Statement on the Passing of Fish and
Wildlife Director Sam Hamilton<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>
02/20/2010<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today released
the following statement on the passing of Sam Hamilton, the Director of the
Fish and Wildlife Service:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>"The Interior Department family has suffered a
great loss with the passing of Sam Hamilton. Sam was a friend, a visionary, and
a professional whose years of service and passionate dedication to his work
have left an indelible mark on the lands and wildlife we cherish. His
forward-thinking approach to conservation - including his view that we must
think beyond boundaries at the landscape-scale- will continue to shape our
nation's stewardship for years to come. My heart goes out to Sam's family,
friends, and colleagues as we remember a remarkable leader and a compassionate,
wise, and eternally optimistic man."<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks
Thomas Strickland released the following statement:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>"We are all saddened by the loss of our dear
friend and colleague Sam Hamilton. A dedicated Fish and Wildlife Service
employee for more than 30 years, Sam brought more than just a wealth of
experience to the job, he brought courage and outstanding leadership. The
Department of the Interior will miss him greatly."<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Sam is survived by his wife Becky, his sons Sam Jr.
and Clay and a grandson, Davis all of Atlanta, GA.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Bio of Sam Hamilton:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>On September 1, 2009, Sam D. Hamilton was sworn-in as
the 15th Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the nation's principal
Federal agency dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their
habitats.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Hamilton brings to the position over 30 years of
experience with the Service, beginning when he was 15 years old working as a
Youth Conservation Corps member on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in
Mississippi. Prior to his appointment as Director, he served as Regional
Director of the agency’s Southeast Region in Atlanta, Georgia. As head of
the Southeast Region, made up of ten states and Caribbean, he provided oversight
and management of a $484 million budget and a 1,500-person work-force dedicated
to protecting more than 350 federally listed threatened and endangered species
and operating 128 national wildlife refuges.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Throughout his career, Hamilton has exhibited
outstanding leadership and has fostered creative and innovative solutions to
the challenges facing wildlife conservation. In the Southeast Region, he
supported efforts leading to the establishment of a carbon sequestration
program that has helped biologists to restore roughly 80,000 acres of wildlife
habitat. His emphasis on partnership activities has bolstered the
Service’s fisheries program and helped establish the Southeast Aquatic
Resources Partnership to restore vital aquatic habitats across the region.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Hamilton provided key leadership and oversight to the
Interior Department’s restoration work in the Everglades, the
nation’s fabled “River of Grass”, and the largest ecosystem
restoration project in the country. He oversaw the extensive recovery and
restoration efforts required following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which
devastated coastal wetlands, wildlife refuges, and other wildlife habitat areas
along the Gulf of Mexico.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Hamilton remained a strong advocate for the National
Wildlife Refuge System, comprised of 550 units and encompassing 150 million
acres of protected habitat. Throughout his career he supported the expansion of
existing refuges and the addition of new refuges as an essential step in
providing for America’s wildlife heritage.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Earlier in his career, Hamilton served as Assistant
Regional Director of Ecological Services in Atlanta and as the Service’s
Texas State Administrator in Austin. Hamilton graduated from Mississippi State
University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1977.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b>Sam strongly believed no single entity, whether
Federal, State, or private, can ensure the sustainability of the nation’s
fish and wildlife resources working independently, and continues to work toward
building collaborative partnerships that allow for the development of ideas and
solutions that are greater than any one entity, working on its own, can
accomplish.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land/fax (call first to fax)</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
mobile</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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