Join us on Saturday, April 3, 2004 at 7pm for the Pacific Crest Trail Fest Annual Awards Dinner.

The event's keynote speaker will be former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.

In preserving America's heritage—from the Statue of Liberty to Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge—former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt has made it his duty to protect the beauty and integrity of our national parks and federal lands. As a visionary policymaker, he created new chapters in conservation history by leading us beyond simple preservation or environmental protection toward a deeper, more complex movement he called, "American Restoration."

A member of a pioneer northern Arizona family, Babbitt was born in Los Angeles. He attended Flagstaff schools, and then entered Notre Dame University where he majored in geology and was elected student body president. Appointed a Marshall Scholar to the University of Newcastle, England, he earned a master's degree in geophysics. By that time, he had developed a keen interest in law, and he earned his JD degree at Harvard University's Law School in 1965.

After brief service as special assistant to the director of VISTA in Washington D.C., he returned to Arizona and joined the law firm of Brown and Bain in Phoenix. Babbitt successfully ran for the office of attorney general in 1974 and earned a national reputation in that office as a legal scholar and writer. Appointed by President Carter to investigate the Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant accident, he was also consulted on national problems by President Carter.

Following a distinguished career as governor of Arizona, Babbitt became the nation's environmental scorekeeper upon his appointment to Secretary of the Interior by President Clinton in 1993. During his tenure as Interior Secretary he drafted plans to restore the Florida Everglades; helped enact the massive California Desert Protection Act; and negotiated the largest land swap in the history of the lower 48 states in order to protect the new Grand-Staircase monument and other parks in Utah.

Babbitt speaks to audiences about the pressing environment challenges facing America in the 21st century.

Learn more about Trail Fest.

Don't delay! Extended registration deadline is March 28, 2004. To register, just print the Registration Form , complete it, and then mail or fax it to the PCTA with your payment. You can also find a Registration Form in the December 2003 and February 2004 issues of the Communicator.