Secretary Salazar Names David Nawi Director of Pacific Region of Department of the Interior

Date: Sept. 10, 2009
Contact: Joan Moody 202-208-6416
Secretary Salazar Names David Nawi Director of Pacific Region of Department of the Interior

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar today announced that he has named David Nawi of Sacramento, Calif., as Director of the Pacific Region of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“The current water crisis and land management challenges in our nation’s most populous state, California, as well as the extensive Interior land resources in Nevada can be better served with an ‘on the ground’ representative of the Department and the Administration,” said Secretary Salazar.

“The newly created regional director will serve as our ‘eyes and ears’ in this important region. David Nawi is well suited for this job because of his extensive experience with resource and environmental issues and his knowledge of the Department of the Interior and the western states,” the Secretary noted.

The newly appointed director served from 1993 to 2001 as Interior’s Regional Solicitor for the Pacific Southwest Region, where he was responsible for providing legal and policy advice to national and regional department leadership and for coordinating the department’s legal offices in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. He was extensively involved in California water issues and the implementation of reclamation law and the Endangered Species Act, and he worked closely with counterparts in other federal agencies and representatives of state and local government.

Most recently he has served as the principal of David Nawi Environmental Mediation, focusing on water, air pollution, endangered species, and land use. Since 2002, he has been a member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, where he serves as the Chair of the Forest Practice Committee and is the Board's principal liaison on greenhouse gas issues.

Before his tenure as Regional Solicitor, Nawi served for ten years as the General Counsel for the California Air Resources Board, and as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice Environment/Natural Resources Section.

David graduated from Harvard College in 1962, and was awarded an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1966.

In his new job, Nawi will ensure that the views of the Secretary are considered and implemented in all appropriate venues, and that the Secretary has adequate, timely information about project developments, opinions and concerns from elected officials, upcoming deadlines, legal issues, potential media attention, and imminent controversies in any area of the Department’s jurisdiction.