Secretary Salazar Creates New Office of Youth at Interior

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that he will establish an Office of Youth to provide Department-wide leadership for programs to educate, engage and employ youth.

“We can and must do more to use our great landscapes as classrooms and as pathways to opportunity for our children.” Secretary Salazar said in announcing the order at an an all-employee meeting today in which he reviewed the work of the Department of the Interior during the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.

“The new office will build our programs, expand opportunities for young people, teach them to hunt and fish, and help us coordinate our efforts across the bureaus,” Secretary Salazar said.

Salazar noted that he realized the importance of this type of program when he was the Director of Natural Resources for the state of Colorado and created the Youth in Natural Resources program.

“Still today, I hear from the kids who went through that program – many tell me they would never have gone to college, let alone land a job in natural resource stewardship, if it were not for that program.”

In his remarks, Secretary Salazar outlined the progress the Department of the Interior has made on President Obama's agenda. For Secretary Salazar's full remarks, click here.

The Office of Youth Secretary Salazar is creating will coordinate a new department-wide youth program to introduce young Americans from all backgrounds to the beauty, values and importance of our national parks and monuments, refuges, public and tribal lands, consistent with policies established by law, and to promote an ethic of and appreciation for volunteerism and conservation among young people.

The Office of Youth and Natural Resources Affairs will be under the supervision of a director, who will report directly to the Assistant Secretary for Policy Management and Budget.