CONGRESS RENAMES KEY UDALL FOUNDATION PROGRAM TO HONOR THE LEGACY OF SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN
Posted: 1/9/2020
The Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) is pleased to announce the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution has been renamed the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution (National Center). The renaming was formalized with the enactment of H.R. 2414 and S. 1345, an amended version of which was included in H.R. 1865—Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020—that was signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on December 20, 2019.
The National Center honors the legacy of the late Senator John McCain, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Udall Foundation and its programs. Senator McCain sponsored both the original enabling legislation that created the Udall Foundation in 1992 and the 1998 reauthorization legislation that established the Environmental Conflict Resolution program. Today, the National Center provides impartial collaboration, consensus-building, and conflict resolution services on a wide range of environmental, natural and cultural resources, Tribal, and public lands issues involving the Federal Government.
“We are grateful for the support of Congress in recognizing the invaluable role Senator McCain played in the early years of the Udall Foundation,” said Mr. Eric Eberhard, Chair of the Udall Foundation Board of Trustees. “The Board particularly thanks Chairman Grijalva and Arizona Representatives Gallego, Kirkpatrick, and O’Halleran for their sponsorship of H.R. 2414. The bill was also cosponsored by Representatives Cole of Oklahoma, Haaland and Luján of New Mexico, Case of Hawaii, and Khanna of California. Arizona Senators Sinema and McSally, along with Senator Alexander of Tennessee, joined Senator Heinrich of New Mexico to sponsor S. 1345, the companion bill in the Senate.”
Morris Udall was a mentor to Senator McCain during his early career representing Arizona in the House of Representatives. “When I first came to Washington, I was fortunate to have Mo Udall, one of the Nation’s best-known conservationists, extend his friendship to me,” Senator McCain wrote on the occasion of the Udall Foundation’s 20th anniversary. “To this day, Mo’s integrity and talent inspires me and many others to make this Nation and our world a better place to live.”
Dr. Anne Udall, Vice Chair of the Udall Foundation Board of Trustees and daughter of Morris Udall, also remarked on the special relationship between her father and Senator McCain. “Both Mo Udall and John McCain understood the value of bringing diverse viewpoints to bear on the challenges facing our Nation and working together to find consensus-based solutions to those challenges. Adding John’s name to the Udall Foundation’s Environmental Conflict Resolution program codifies and strengthens that message in a way that both he and my father would certainly have been proud of.”
Additional provisions included in this legislation further enhance the National Center’s mission and operations, including authorization to engage on a broader scope of environmental collaboration efforts.
“We look forward to continuing the valuable work of the U.S. Institute under the new auspices of the National Center,” said Mr. Brian Manwaring, Director of the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution. “We are especially excited that Congress has empowered us to bring our capacity and expertise to bear on a wider range of environmental collaboration concerns for the benefit of Federal agencies and the Nation as a whole.”
About the Udall Foundation
The Udall Foundation awards scholarships, fellowships, and internships for study in fields related to the environment and to Native Americans and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and Tribal public policy; connects youth from underserved communities to the Nation’s public lands and natural resources to foster greater understanding, appreciation, stewardship, and enjoyment of those lands and resources through photography, positive outdoor experiences, and environmental education through Parks in Focus®; provides funding to the Native Nations Institute for research, education, and outreach on Native American and Alaska Native health care issues and Tribal public policy issues; provides funding to the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy to conduct policy research and outreach on the environment and related themes; and provides impartial collaboration, consensus-building, and conflict resolution services on a wide range of environmental, natural and cultural resources, Tribal, and public lands issues involving the Federal Government through the John S. McCain III National Center for Environmental Conflict Resolution.
For additional information, please contact Udall Foundation Executive Director Dr. David Brown at (520) 901-8560 or brown@udall.gov.
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