US Senator Patrick Leahy will welcome US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell to Vermont this Friday, as she delivers the keynote address at the 2nd Leahy Center Environmental Summit. Leahy will introduce Jewell’s remarks at 2 pm, followed by a question and answer session with local news media representatives. Immediately following, Leahy and Jewell will visit a US Geological Survey lake gage on the Burlington waterfront.
The theme of this year’s summit is “Climate Change Resilient, Floodwater Smart.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2:00 P.M.;
ECHO AT THE LEAHY CENTER FOR LAKE CHAMPLAIN;
1 COLLEGE STREET, BURLINGTON
Jewell is the nation’s 51st Secretary of the Interior. The Interior Department serves as steward for approximately 20-percent of the nation’s lands, including national parks, national wildlife refuges and other public lands; oversees the responsible development of conventional and renewable energy supplies on public lands and waters; is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17 Western states; and upholds trust responsibilities to the 566 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.
Leahy is a member of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, which handles the Senate’s work in writing the annual budget bill for the Interior Department. Leahy is the most senior member overall of the Appropriations Committee.