|
Dear Friend,
All of us at Conservation Lands Foundation want you to know that the compounding crises and reckoning we’ve experienced in the first half of 2020 and three years under an anti-public lands administration is leading us to a deeper understanding and commitment to the core principles of our work:
- Strengthen and grow our Friends Grassroots Network;
- Push back against the administration’s attacks on National Conservation Lands; and
- Lead bold policy changes to ensure we can fulfill our mission to expand and protect America’s National Conservation Lands for all.
Here’s more on the successes, defenses, and preparations from 2019 that inform our work during this significant election year and below is a snapshot of recent developments.
|
|
|
|
We’re at a pivotal moment in shaping what the future of racial equity will look like in the U.S. and though public lands may not be at the center of today’s protests, access to and protection of these publicly-owned places are inextricably linked to racial justice.
Part of our work at Conservation Lands Foundation is continuing to learn how we can be a better ally to Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Kris Deutschman, our Senior Communication Director, and Elyane Stefanick, our California Program Director, recently hosted a webinar with our Friends Grassroots Network to explore what allyship in conservation can look like, and share resources relevant for individuals and organizations.
You can watch a recording of the video here:
We partnered with Black Voice Media to host a Juneteenth Virtual Town Hall conversation with Black community leaders about the close-to-home realities and historical context of racism, and how those connections play out in race, access, and safety on our public lands.
A recording of the Town Hall is available to watch here and we invite you to share this with colleagues, staff, friends and family to help create a future where access to public lands and outdoor spaces is equitable and welcoming for Black, Indigenous and all People of Color.
|
|
|
First Americans and Healing America
|
|
|
Great American Outdoors Act is Moving
This bipartisan legislation permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provides funds for BLM to repair and maintain public land infrastructure. It has passed the Senate and moves to the House where a vote is expected later this month.
|
|
|
|
Conservation Lands Foundation has been pushing back on the Administration’s effort to lock up millions of acres of large landscapes to drilling or development. Our #TimeToChoose social media campaign is helping our Friends Grassroots Network and supporters hold the Interior Department accountable every step of the way.
Western Arctic
The Interior Department has released plans to open up nearly 7 million acres of public lands in Western Arctic Alaska to oil and gas development - an area that includes the largest remaining unprotected wilderness in the nation. These lands are home to Indigenous communities and the animals they've depended on for millennia. The Interior’s plan is a shameful dismissal of the health and perspective of Alaska Native people who will be the most impacted.
There’s no going back once these places are gone and we are collaborating with our conservation partners on next steps.
Red Cliffs
The Bureau of Land Management is moving closer to authorizing a controversial transportation corridor through Utah's Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and a desert reserve for threatened Mojave Desert tortoises. Thanks to the unrelenting advocacy of our Friends Grassroots Network member Conserve Southwest Utah, nearly 20,000 comments were generated opposing the highway within the protected area and the Bureau has, for the first time in over 20 years that this highway has been pursued, included alternatives that place the highway OUTSIDE of the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area.
It will be a tough battle to get the Bureau to select the right plan but we’ve seen the power of public input and we will be continuing to drive comments in support of a route that addresses traffic issues and protects wildlife habitat within the Conservation Area.
|
|
|
|
This summer, Conservation Lands Foundation is launching a series of social media events to give people an opportunity to share their love for and strengthen our community around National Conservation Lands.
We’re kicking things off with Love Notes for the California Desert. We hope this sparks joy as we work to stay connected to each other and the places we love. For more information, please visit www.conservationlands.org/ilovecadesert.
|
|
|
|
Thank you for all you do support America’s National Conservation Lands. We know that with you and our community-based Friends Grassroots Network we can achieve our transformative vision for public lands.
Sincerely,
Brian Sybert
|
|
|
|