| Montreal, 28/01/1998 – The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) -created by a side accord to NAFTA- today announced the names of individuals who have agreed to serve on a tri-national advisory panel to review an upcoming study on the Upper San Pedro River, which extends from Sonora, Mexico into Arizona. The panel is composed of senior policymakers and local, state and private representatives.
The Advisory Panel can help to orient, guide and inform policymakers, local residents and the North American public about the conservation of this shared resource, says Victor Lichtinger, Executive Director of the CEC. This is a precedent-setting process for developing new approaches to conserve a transboundary resource of vital importance to communities on both sides of the border and millions of migratory birds.
Six of the panel members are Arizona residents. Jack Pfister -- who recently served on Arizona Governor Hull's transition team and was General Manager of Arizona's Salt River Water Project for 15 years -- will chair the panel of distinguished individuals from the United States, Mexico and Canada. Other members of the panel include Michael Harcourt, the former Premier of British Columbia, Jorge Montaño, Mexico's former ambassador to the United States during the negotiation of NAFTA, and Rita Pearson, the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
The panel, after reviewing input from the public, will meet in Tucson, Arizona on May 24-26 to consider issues raised in the study, which is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team of experts. The study examines the hydrological and ecological features of this unique transboundary watershed, as well as the current legal and institutional frameworks with an impact on conservation efforts in the area.
A report produced by the Advisory Panel will include recommendations and viewpoints of the panel members on the conservation of the Upper San Pedro River. This report -- along with the expert study and public comments -- will be reviewed by the three NAFTA environmental ministers (or their cabinet-level equivalents) as part of a final report being prepared by the CEC Secretariat under Article 13 of the environmental side accord to NAFTA, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
UPPER SAN PEDRO ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERS
Chair: Jack Pfister recently served on Governor Jane Hull's transition team and is a Distinguished Research Fellow at Arizona State University. A native of Arizona with degrees in law and engineering from the University of Arizona, Mr. Pfister was General Manager of Arizona's Salt River Water Project for 15 years.
Michael Harcourt is the former Premier of British Columbia and also served as Mayor of Vancouver. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and a Senior Associate of the Sustainable Development Research Institute. Mr. Harcourt served on the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy in Canada.
Paul Hardy is Program Manager of the Upper San Pedro Program initiated by the Arizona chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is co-author of Ecosystem Management in the US and has an M.B.A and a M.Sc. in Resource Management from the University of Michigan.
Jorge Montaño was Mexico's ambassador to the US during the negotiation and conclusion of the NAFTA. Previously, Ambassador Montaño served as Mexico's ambassador to the United Nations.
Rita Pearson is the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. She served as former Governor Fife Symington's Deputy Chief of Staff and as Executive Assistant for Environment and Natural Resources. She has an M.B.A. and a J.D. from Arizona State University.
Ruth Russell is currently serving as the regionally nominated Board member for the Rocky Mountain region of the National Audubon Society. She has been a resident of Tucson since 1969 and is active in community affairs.
Cecilia Soto represented the state of Sonora, Mexico at the state level from 1988-91 and at the Federal level (diputada) from 1991-94. In 1994, she was a presidential candidate in Mexico. She also served as the Secretary of the Ecology Commission, and participated in the preparatory meetings for the Rio Declaration in New York.
Robert Strain is Assistant Vice-president and Director of Information Technology of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He is active in the affairs of Cochise County, serving as President of the Sierra Vista Economic Development Foundation, and is also a member of Friends of the San Pedro.
Kenneth R. Symmes is a former Brigadier General of the U.S. Army (Signal Corps) and is currently working as a telecommunications consultant. He has been a resident of Sierra Vista for the past 25 years and is secretary/treasurer of the Cochise County Industrial Development Authority and secretary/treasurer of The Huachucans, a local community group.
John D. Wirth is President of the North American Institute, headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was appointed by the White House to serve as one of five US members of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the CEC in 1994. He was named Gildred Professor of Latin American Studies at Stanford University in 1991 and has written extensively on the issues of transborder air pollution and environmental history. | 
