Millions of dollars’ worth of brainpower, representing a "who's who " of management, labor, higher education, and science, is helping guide the administration of America's natural resources, the Department of the Interior said today.
This talent, virtually free to the government, is found in the nearly 50 advisory committees and panels which regularly counsel Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall and other top Interior officials. Advisers are specialists in virtually every field of administration and research, from mine safety to weather modification; Indian education to grazing on the public lands; water research to preservation of historic sites.
"Without the help of these experts, who give unselfishly of their time and talent, Interior I s resource programs would be far less successful, II Secretary Udall said. “They give us their advice and constructive criticism - - and we listen.”
Although many of the advisers are in the high-income bracket and are nationally and internationally known for their expertise, Interior's costs for their services usually is $16 per day for subsistence, plus travel expenses to and from Washington, D. C.
Most advisory groups meet once a year, but the frequency increases if critical or extremely complex problems are encountered.
Nearly every field of science is represented in the advisory groups, including medicine, physics, metallurgy, hydrology, geology, zoology, chemistry, limnology, oceanography, and archaeology.
"Such assistance represents the highest form of public service, “he added. “We simply cannot afford to employ all the brainpower we need. So we ask for help and are very gratified by the response. The services of these groups have saved the government untold millions of dollars. They have helped us to avoid mistakes, to move rapidly and positively, and to accomplish much, much more than we could working in a vacuum of government-dominated thought.”
Secretary Udall also commended the assistance of the many federal employees, from Interior as well as dozens of other government agencies, who often serve as committee members in addition to their regularly assigned duties.
Committee membership ranges from three (Advisory Committee on Natural Science Studies) to 106 (National Petroleum Council). Following is a list of typical advisory groups serving the Department of the Interior and its programs:
Assistant Secretary -- Water Pollution Control
Advisory Committee on Water Pollution Control Administration
Assistant Secretary -- Fish and Wildlife and Parks
Marine Resources Development Program Advisory Committee
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife
Director’s Waterfowl Advisory Committee
National Fisheries Center and Aquarium Advisory Board Annual Dove Conference
Bureau of Reclamation
Advisory Committee on Atmospheric Water Resources Board of Artistic Consultants
Bureau of Land Management
National Advisory Board Council
State Advisory Boards
Oregon and California Advisory Board (State) Oregon and California District Advisory Boards Alaska State Advisory Board
Bonneville Power Administration
Bonneville Regional Advisory Council
Geological Survey
Advisory Panel of the Geological Survey’s National Center for Earthquake Research
Advisory Committee on Water Data for Public Use
National Park Service
Historic American Buildings Survey Advisory Board
Wildlife Advis<?ry Committee
Advisory Board on the San Jose Mission Historic .Site
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site Advisory Committee
New York City National Shrines Advisory Board
Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments Minute Man National Historic Park Advisory Commission
Independence National Historic Park Advisory Commission.
Hot Springs National Park Federal Registration Board
Consulting Committee for National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings National Park Service Senior Executive Committee
Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission
Examining Board for Technicians, Hot Springs National Park
Ozark National Scenic River ways Commission
Fire Island National Seashore Advisory Commission Advisory Committee on Natural Science Studies
Committee for the Preservation of the White House Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
U.S. Territorial Expansion Memorial Commission Advisory Committee for Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Office of Geography
Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names
Bureau of Indian Affairs
National Indian Education Advisory Committee
Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
National Technical Advisory Committees (5)
Technical Committee to the Great Lakes - Illinois River Basin Project
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
American Fisheries Advisory Committee
Office of Coal Research
General Technical Advisory Committee
Petroleum Advisory Committee
National Petroleum Council
Foreign Petroleum Supply Committee
Foreign Petroleum Supply Committee, Petroleum Security Subcommittees Emergency Advisory Committee for Natural Gas
Office of Water Resources Research
Advisory Panel on Water Research
Bureau of Mines
Lignite Advisory Committee
Department’s Industry Advisory Committee on Coal Exports
Advisory Committees on Health and Safety Standards in Metal and Nonmetallic Mines (3)
Defense Electric Power Administration
Industrial Advisory Committee to the Defense Electric Power Administration
