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Envirothon press room: www.envirothon.org. Click on 2004 press room for information about the competition, daily updates and photos of the winning teams. Photos of winning teams can be downloaded beginning Sunday, August 1, 2004.

Who: More than 250 teenagers from 44 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces.

What: 2004 Canon Envirothon, North American environmental education competition for US $30,000 in college scholarships and other prizes.

When: July 26-August 1, 2004

Where: Buckhannon, West Virginia, U.S.A.

Why: To educate teenagers about environmental conservation

High school students from across the U.S. and Canada will convene July 26-August 1 in Buckhannon, West Virginia, to participate in North America's largest high school environmental education competition. Participants will learn about environmental issues affecting natural resources as they compete for awards in the 2004 Canon Envirothon.

The 17th annual gathering of high school students interested in gaining a better understanding of conservation will be held at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

This year's North American competition is the first hosted by West Virginia. The site of the competition, under the supervision of the West Virginia Envirothon steering committee, is located in Upshur County, about 90 miles east of Charleston. The West Virginia Envirothon is sponsored by the West Virginia Association of Soil Conservation Districts and the West Virginia Conservation Agency.

Fifty-two teams, 44 from the U.S. and eight from Canada, involving more than 250 students will compete in the 2004 Canon Envirothon for a share of the US $30,000 in college scholarships and prizes. Organized through the National Association of Conservation Districts in the U.S. and The Canadian Forestry Associations, the competition tests teams on knowledge of soils/land use, forestry, aquatic ecology, wildlife and this year's current issue of conservation management in urban areas. This year, Louisiana and Hawaii are joining Canon Envirothon for the first time. Louisiana will have students competing this year and Hawaii will begin competing in 2005.

The Canon Envirothon is the culmination of a series of competitions that began during the past school year and involved more than 500,000 teenagers throughout North America. In written tests and oral presentations, five member teams from schools and organizations competed for the distinction of representing their state or province at the Canon Envirothon.

Each team's knowledge is tested under the supervision of foresters, soil scientists, wildlife specialists and other natural resource professionals. Teamwork, problem solving and oral presentation skills are evaluated as each team offers a panel of judges an oral presentation containing recommendations for solving an environmental challenge that will be presented during the competition.

This is the eighth year the competition is sponsored by Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ). Canon delivers consumer, business-to-business and industrial imaging solutions. Canon works to protect the environment through the award-winning Canon Clean Earth Campaign that encompasses the development of energy-efficient office products, equipment remanufacturing and materials reuse, the protection of endangered species and the encouragement of environmental education through the company's corporate social responsibility efforts and employee volunteerism.

The list of U.S. and Canadian schools/organizations participating in the finals appears below.

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Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is rated #35 on the BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2005, with global revenues of $31.8 billion. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

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