Actor and environmentalist Robert Redford has turned down an invitation from US Interior Secretary Gale Norton to release a condor into the wild, saying he’d rather spend the day contemplating “the devastating environmental repercussions of the agenda you and President Bush embrace.”
Norton wrote to the Hollywood star, who once narrated a film on saving the endangered bird, asking him to attend a press event for the release of a California condor bred in captivity.“You and I have never met, but we do have a common interest,” the note read. “Perhaps we can also discuss the best way to conserve America’s unspoilt landscapes and the wild creatures who inhabit them.”
Redford declined, firing back a curt reply: “Sadly, since assuming the Interior Secretary post, you have compiled an abysmal record of capitulating to big businesses at the expense of the nation’s public health, public lands and wildlife.”
A spokesman for Norton issued this cheeky riposte: “It was hardly an Indecent Proposal for Mr Redford to spend an afternoon with Ordinary People releasing an engangered bird. Unfortunately, Mr Three Days Of The Condor chickened out.”
Norton joined President Bush’s staff in late January. She previously served as Colorado’s attorney general where she challenged the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
