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Kristyn Brady

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posted in: General

December 15, 2015

DOI is Looking for Better Ways to Pay for Epic Conservation Efforts

Establishment of the Natural Resource Investment Center will make federal dollars go further for fish and wildlife

This morning, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that her department will establish a Natural Resource Investment Center, an initiative meant to spur public-private partnerships that will help increase investments in water conservation, habitat improvements, and critical water infrastructure. One of the Center’s primary objectives will be to facilitate water exchange in the Western U.S. in partnership with local, state, and tribal governments—an idea championed by sportsmen and women in recommendations to federal agencies following the White House Drought Symposium in July.

Image courtesy of Joel Webster.

“I commend Sec. Jewell for creating the Natural Resource Investment Center to bring about more collaboration and identify new, non-federal funding sources that make existing investments in conservation go even further,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, one of the organizations responsible for this summer’s White House Drought Symposium and a set of drought recommendations endorsed by hunting and angling groups. “Clearly, the administration is taking the concerns of hunters and anglers seriously and responding to the increasing threat of drought in the United States. I’d urge decision-makers to continue working with sportsmen and women, the original conservationists, on the drought solutions we’ve proposed, which are aimed at providing water to cities and farms without sacrificing the needs of fish and wildlife.”

Scott Yates, director of Trout Unlimited’s Western Water and Habitat program, issued the following statement in response to Jewell’s announcement: “We are pleased that the administration is giving water stakeholders in the West more tools for creatively responding to the challenges of drought and a changing climate. These challenges present tremendous opportunities to modernize our infrastructure and manage demand in ways that add flexibility to our water systems while promoting healthy river flows and fish habitat.”

In a press release, the Department of the Interior listed one example of the type of creative partnerships the Center hopes to identify: An investment in enhancing greater sage grouse habitat in Nevada, made possible by DOI, Barrick Gold of North America, and The Nature Conservancy. “Though the greater sage grouse was not listed for Endangered Species Act protection this fall, full implementation of federal, state, and voluntary conservation plans is absolutely critical and cannot be compromised,” says Fosburgh. “So, we’re grateful that the Center will focus on these types of creative solutions to effect landscape-level conservation for this bird and other species.”

The Center is part of President Obama’s Build America Investment Initiative, which “calls on federal agencies to find new ways to increase investment in ports, roads, water and sewer systems, bridges, broadband networks, and other 21st-century infrastructure projects.” To learn more about the Natural Resource Investment Center, visit doi.gov.

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posted in: General

December 14, 2015

Glassing the Hill: December 14 – 18

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress

The Senate and House will be in session until lawmakers can send an omnibus funding and tax extenders package to the president’s desk. If all goes well, the House will return on Tuesday, January 5, and the Senate will reconvene on Monday, January 11.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

It’s all about the omnibus, baby. Congressional leaders were unable to negotiate a spending bill before their December 11 deadline last week, so another short-term continuing resolution (CR) was passed to avoid a government shutdown. Their new omnibus deadline is Wednesday, December 16.

Appropriators and leaders continue to hash out possible policy riders that will be included in this end-of-the year budget deal. Sportsmen remain strongly opposed to defunding implementation for the Clean Water Rule or sage-grouse conservation plans, but support provisions to end fire borrowing, achieve modest forest reform, and reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The omnibus spending bill language should be available to the public early this week, perhaps even today. Without action on a yearlong deal, Congress will face the prospect of another short-term extension—and an even shorter holiday break.

Walk Softly. Tweet Loudly.

You can still make an impact on the omnibus negotiations, by tweeting your lawmakers about one of the most vulnerable would-be victims of a bad policy rider—the greater sage grouse. Check out our new Twitter Action Tool, which puts you in touch with Congress at the click of a button.

Steve Kline

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posted in: General

December 10, 2015

Wheeling and Dealing: What You Need to Know About Spending Bill Negotiations

In my college days, when the world seemed to revolve around duck hunting and beer, my academic motto might have been: There is no minute like the last minute. In what I suspect was not a unique situation, I would regularly wait until just hours before a major assignment to get down to business. Having spent the last decade on Capitol Hill, I can confidently say that Congress is motivated in the same kind of way.

Deadlines have become the sine qua non of 21st century Washington. Without them, Congress can be counted on to achieve very little of real substance, but with a deadline bearing down on them, Congress can often be counted on to engage in a flurry of productivity. But, unlike most procrastinating college students, Congress can—and does—extend their deadlines.

Image courtesy of Craig Pennington/Flickr.

The latest batch of Congressional negotiations are going on right now over an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016, otherwise known as the legislation that will keep the government funded and functioning through October 2016. Like so much that moves through the federal legislature, there’s an opportunity for some very good things to happen, as well as some very bad things, and the TRCP is on the front lines making sure sportsmen’s conservation priorities are well heard. Here’s what we’re parrying for and against:

No-Brainer: Conservation Funding

Any appropriations bill needs to properly fund the conservation programs that sportsmen care about most, like the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the State Wildlife Grants Program, and healthy land-management budgets at the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service. Funding is the whole purpose of an omnibus appropriations bill, so Congress has to get those right for sportsmen.

Keep These Riders Off the ‘Bus

Because Congress only has so many must-pass legislative vehicles—see what we did there?—like this one, it seems that everyone in Washington is trying to get some policy priority tacked on to catch a ride to the president’s desk. TRCP thinks that some of these potential additions, including a long-awaited fix for the financially-backwards practice of fire borrowing and a potential reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, are good things that we’d support. But adding language to delay sagebrush conservation on national public lands or to undo the Clean Water Act rulemaking that protects headwater streams and wetlands would be a non-starter, and as such, we’ve strongly opposed their inclusion. We won’t support any deal that sells out years’ worth of sportsmen’s efforts to achieve good conservation outcomes.

Pull Up a Chair

One of my favorite quotes, “If you aren’t at the table, you are on the menu,” is particularly apt as this budget negotiation plods towards what we hope is a positive conclusion. TRCP and many of our partners are at the negotiating table around the clock at this time of year, advocating for what works for America’s hunters and anglers, and opposing what doesn’t. Rest assured you’ll hear more from us in the days ahead.

Kristyn Brady

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posted in: General

December 8, 2015

We Bag Another Four-Star Rating and Join a Pretty Exclusive Group

The conservation and sportsmen’s access organization receives a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for third year in a row

Especially during this season of charitable giving, we are pleased to announce that we have been awarded an exceptional 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the third year in a row. That’s the highest possible rating from the nation’s largest independent charity evaluator, and this three-time recognition for our financial health, accountability, and transparency puts the TRCP in the top 14 percent of organizations rated.

In a letter, Charity Navigator president and CEO Michael Thatcher says this designation indicates that the TRCP “outperforms most other charities in America” and demonstrates to the public that we are worthy of their trust. Learn more about our rating and financials here.

“We think trust is a major factor in our ability to build coalitions, champion investments in conservation, protect sportsmen’s access, and create solutions for improving public land management,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the TRCP. “So, we’re very proud that sportsmen can feel good about donating to the TRCP because of our ethics and our results.”

Learn how you can help the TRCP elevate the sportsman’s voice in Washington and guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish by clicking here.

Or take action for conservation right now.

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Glassing The Hill: December 7 — 11

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress

Both the Senate and House will be in session from Monday through Friday.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

There’s no such thing as saved by the bell in Congress. With only five legislative days left to hammer out a spending bill and avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers need to act by Friday if they want to fly home for the holiday recess, rather than go into extra innings. Congressional leaders are publicly optimistic about an omnibus spending bill, but not before the December 11 deadline. They’ll likely pass a week-long continuing resolution (reminder: a temporary fix, like the one passed in September) to provide more time for a full-year omnibus bill.

The holdup: about 100 possible policy riders, which include language defunding the Clean Water Rule and Clean Power Plan, implementing drought procedures and a potential fix to fire borrowing with some minor forest reform, and reintroducing of a harmful sage grouse amendment that was stripped from the National Defense Authorization Act this summer.

In another part of the Capitol last week, President Obama signed a six-year highway bill, which was the first long-term transportation legislation since 2005. The Highway Bill includes funding for Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service roads, which impact your access to public lands, and funding for transportation projects that improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Meanwhile, mark-up of the “Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act,” rumored to be this Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has been delayed and rescheduled for January 13. We’ll keep you posted.

Besides floor action on a yearlong omnibus bill, a short-term CR, or both, the Senate will be considering reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, an overhaul of No Child Left Behind, and the House will vote on Representative Thornberry’s (R-TX) Red River Private Property Protection Act, a measure to settle a Bureau of Land Management boundary dispute, and visa waiver program improvements.

What We’re Tracking

Monday, December 7, 2015

Restoration of Atlantic fisheries, to be discussed by the House Natural Resources Committee at the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Center in New York. Learn more about the field hearing here

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The National Park Service Centennial, with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing testimony to prepare for the celebration

The stream protection rule proposed by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement will be discussed in a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Interior hearing

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

More on the Animas River spill, in a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on EPA’s and DOI’s role

California wilderness areas, off-road vehicle recreation, and wild and scenic rivers impacted by Congressman Paul Cook’s (R-CA) California Minerals, Off-Road Recreation, and Conservation Act will be discussed by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands

 

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CONSERVATION WORKS FOR AMERICA

In the last two years, policymakers have committed to significant investments in conservation, infrastructure, and reversing climate change. Hunters and anglers continue to be vocal about the opportunity to create conservation jobs, restore habitat, and boost fish and wildlife populations. Support solutions now.

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