Finding solutions to pressing environmental problems is the goal of a new agreement to be signed Monday, Oct. 25, between the California Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection Agency and the University of California, Davis. The three-way memorandum of understanding will focus on such areas as watershed management and planning, habitat conservation, air quality, the agriculture/urban/wildland interface and impacts of agricultural and horticultural chemical pest control, said Dennis Pendleton, of UC Davis' Public Service Research Program. Joint public presentations on new directions for the agencies and the role of the university will be made by Mary Nichols, resources secretary, and Winston Hickox, Cal EPA secretary, at 12:10 p.m. in the University Club, located on Old Davis Road. The memorandum will be signed later in the day. "One of the basic principles of environmental protection and regulation is that it must be based on good science," Hickox said. "UC Davis is acknowledged as having one of the best schools of science and agriculture in the world. Therefore, this agreement with UC Davis to collaborate on environmental education and research not only makes good sense, it is long overdue." Among the features of the agreement will be an annual natural resources fellowship program open to UC Davis faculty and staff and to agency staff; environmental sciences and policy conferences at UC Davis; and research briefings for campus faculty members and policy-makers to discuss pertinent environmental issues. "I am pleased that the Resources Agency and UC Davis will continue an important and productive relationship," said resources secretary Nichols. "I look forward to building on past achievements such as the natural resources fellowship program. This agreement promises many new avenues of cooperation that will benefit the people of California, and help preserve and protect California's unique natural legacy." "This is an opportunity for the campus to connect with agency departments on environmental issues in a partnership that goes beyond a contract by contract approach," Pendleton said. The agreement will be managed by a joint steering committee and administered on campus by the John Muir Institute for the Environment. The public is invited to the presentation.