EDF Welcomes California Conservation Department Appointment

Contact: Jennifer Witherspoon, (415) 293.6067 (o), jwitherspoon@edf.org

(San Francisco – December 29, 2011) EDF's welcomed the news of Mark Nechodom's appointment as the director of the California Department of Conservation today.

The following statement can be attributed to David Festa, EDF’s West Coast vice president and leader of the organization's Land, Water and Wildlife program:

"EDF welcomes Mark Nechodom as the new director of the California Department of Conservation. Mark brings a wealth of knowledge to California from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the value of environmental markets. Governor Brown is to be commended for this excellent appointment.

No one understands more than Mark Nechodom about how to bring new revenue and tools to working landscapes that create strong economies in rural communities while helping California meet environmental, wildlife and conservation goals.

While at the USDA, Mark led strategic policy initiatives designed to foster the rapid development and emergence of environmental markets and payments for ecosystem services to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in the United States.

We look forward to working with Mark Nechodom and the State of California on innovative solutions that protect California's working lands and quality of life.

EDF is working to develop approaches that advance payments for watershed services, empower farmers and ranchers to enter into carbon markets to mitigate and adapt to climate change and that allow energy developers to reduce compliance costs while benefitting wildlife and habitat preservation."

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. For more information, visit www.edf.org/california. Follow us on Twitter @EDF_CA and read our blog at http://blogs.edf.org/californiadream/.