Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation

Executive Order 13352 of August 26, 2004

Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this order is to
ensure that the Departments of the Interior,
Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the
Environmental Protection Agency implement laws relating
to the environment and natural resources in a manner
that promotes cooperative conservation, with an
emphasis on appropriate inclusion of local
participation in Federal decisionmaking, in accordance
with their respective agency missions, policies, and
regulations.

Sec. 2. Definition. As used in this order, the term
“cooperative conservation” means actions that relate
to use, enhancement, and enjoyment of natural
resources, protection of the environment, or both, and
that involve collaborative activity among Federal,
State, local, and tribal governments, private for-
profit and nonprofit institutions, other
nongovernmental entities and individuals.

Sec. 3. Federal Activities. To carry out the purpose of
this order, the Secretaries of the Interior,
Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to
the availability of appropriations and in coordination
with each other as appropriate:

    (a) carry out the programs, projects, and
activities of the agency that they respectively head
that implement laws relating to the environment and
natural resources in a manner that:

(i) facilitates cooperative conservation;

(ii) takes appropriate account of and respects the interests of persons
with ownership or other legally recognized interests in land and other
natural resources;

(iii) properly accommodates local participation in Federal
decisionmaking; and

(iv) provides that the programs, projects, and activities are consistent
with protecting public health and safety;

    (b) report annually to the Chairman of the Council
on Environmental Quality on actions taken to implement
this order; and
    (c) provide funding to the Office of Environmental
Quality Management Fund (42 U.S.C. 4375) for the
Conference for which section 4 of this order provides.

Sec. 4. White House Conference on Cooperative
Conservation. The Chairman of the Council on
Environmental Quality shall, to the extent permitted by
law and subject to the availability of appropriations:

    (a) convene not later than 1 year after the date of
this order, and thereafter at such times as the
Chairman deems appropriate, a White House Conference on
Cooperative Conservation (Conference) to facilitate the
exchange of information and advice relating to (i)
cooperative conservation and (ii) means for achievement
of the purpose of this order; and
    (b) ensure that the Conference obtains information
in a manner that seeks from Conference participants
their individual advice and does not involve collective
judgment or consensus advice or deliberation.

Sec. 5. General Provision. This order is not intended
to, and does not, create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, instrumentalities or entities,
its officers, employees or agents, or any other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)B

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    August 26, 2004.