From the Denver Business Journal (Mark Harden):
Ken Salazar, a former U.S. senator from Colorado and U.S. Interior secretary, and hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon are forming a political action committee to back pro-conservation congressional candidates.
America’s Conservation PAC is “dedicated to strengthening our nation’s long-standing, bipartisan tradition of conserving lands and cultural resources for future generations to enjoy,” Thursday’s announcement said.
The PAC will be led by Will Shafroth as executive director. Shafroth, founding director of Colorado Conservation Trust and the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, was Salazar’s deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
From The Denver Post (Kurtis Lee):
Congressional candidates willing to work on land conservation efforts could benefit from a new political action committee announced Thursday. The bipartisan America’s Conservation PAC is spearheaded by former U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and billionaire philanthropist Louis Bacon. At a moment when partisanship and polarization run rampant in Washington, work that focuses on land conservation and the preservation of cultural resources has not received ample attention, said Salazar.
“Voices for conservation need to be lifted,” said Salazar, who left the Obama administration earlier this year. “This will be an opportunity to help engage lawmakers in dialogue around conservation and preservation as the country continues to grow.”
For example, candidates committed to fighting to replenish the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund could benefit from the PAC.
Will Shafroth, founder of Colorado Conservation Trust and the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, will serve as the PAC’s executive director.
“Conserving land and cultural resources for our children and our children’s children is neither a liberal nor a conservative value. It’s not Republican or Democratic, neither an urban nor a rural idea,” Bacon said in a statement. “It is so important to protect and preserve those physical places that truly define a region — however tough the fight — that we are coming together to help elected officials who support the future over the immediate.”
Salazar and Bacon worked in the past to create the Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, where Bacon owns the sprawling Trinchera Ranch.
In coming months, Salazar said the PAC will begin to pinpoint candidates to support in 2014.
“As the country grows, we need to be smarter and focused on conservation,” Salazar said.
More conservation coverage here.