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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release November 21, 1997
         PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JOSEPH B. DAY AS COMMISSIONER,
                   GREAT LAKES FISHERIES COMMISSION

The President today announced his intent to appoint Joseph B. Day as Commissioner of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission.

Joseph B. Day, of Bemidji, Minnesota, is the Executive Director of the State of Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. In this capacity, he oversees the operations of the agency offices, develops legislative recommendations which reflect the needs and desires of the Indian population of the state, and serves as an intermediary when conflicts arise between state and tribal governments. Mr. Day was the Regional Administrator of the State of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from 1991 to 1994. He was also the Community Liaison Officer of the State of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from 1984 to 1994, where he was the liaison for the department with eleven Indian Reservations to promote mutual natural resource management opportunities within Minnesota. Mr. Day has served on numerous boards and committees including the Board of Education of School District #31, the Advisory Council to the State Board of Education in special education, and the Governor's Task Force on High Level Radioactive Waste Repository. Mr. Day graduated from DeAnza College in 1976, where he majored in Industrial Technology.

The United States and Canada ratified the 1955 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries in response to the devastation of the Great Lakes' lake trout and salmon populations by sea lamprey. The Convention established the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 1956 to administer a sea lamprey control program for the Great Lakes. The Commission researches and implements measures to control the sea lamprey population and works with the States and Canadian Provinces of the Great Lakes region to ensure that the Lakes are amply stocked with lake trout and salmon. The Commission consists of four Canadian Commissioners appointed by the Privy Council and four United States Commissioners and one alternate appointed by the President.

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