| Contact Information | Date |
|---|---|
| For Immediate Release Contact: Tanya Denckla Cobb 434.924.1855 Christine Gyovai 434.982.6464 |
Feb. 20, 2009 VDOF 09008 |
General Assembly Honors Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute
The Virginia General Assembly has recognized the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute on the 10th anniversary of its founding.
The institute is a partnership of the University of Virginia's Institute for Environmental Negotiation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and is designed to foster communication and understanding between environmental leaders representing different interests in Virginia's natural resources.
Each class of leaders is involved in a yearlong program of interactive exercises that focus on a topic, such as conflict resolution, facilitation, consensus-building, interest-based negotiation, public involvement, environmental justice and collaborative leadership.
Since its inception in 1999, more than 250 people have graduated from the program.
House Joint Resolution 865 and Senate Joint Resolution 417 commend the institute for “its many efforts to help build consensus and facilitate good environmental policy and leadership for the Commonwealth.”
“This is a great honor,” said Tanya Denckla Cobb, associate director at U.Va.'s Institute for Environmental Negotiation. “We're extremely grateful to the General Assembly for its recognition. And we look forward to many more years of developing a network of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors who will help their communities address difficult environmental issues, move beyond conflict and develop sustainable solutions.”
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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.
With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 144,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27.5 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.
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