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Natural Resources Bulletin

(National Wildlife Federation)In this edition:

1. TRCP, Unions team up for natural resources
2. Take Action!  Senate funding letter
3. Vilsack heralds opportunities for farmers in climate legislation
4. Sportsmen and women visit Capitol Hill
5. In the news...
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1. TRCP, Unions team up for natural resources

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) has teamed up with some of country's biggest unions to call for safeguards for wildlife, ecosystems, and the communities supported by them.  Unions were already among the biggest supporters of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (passed by the House in June) because of numerous studies indicating that it would boost the economy, and particularly the alternative energy and manufacturing industries. 

The AFL-CIO, United Steelworks of America, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers were among twenty organizations to sign a letter urging Congress to include dedicated funding for natural resources in energy and climate legislation.  The letter (attached to this email) states that climate change threatens the hunting and fishing opportunities of union members, and says that "We can only imagine how a widespread national decline in hunting and fishing opportunities will affect the annual $70 billion conservation revenue generated by hunters and anglers." 
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2. Take Action! 

Please help us get 500 groups on the attached letter asking the Senate to safeguard natural resource from Climate Change.

As you know, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act last month, historic legislation that takes the first vital steps to address climate change, safeguard wildlife and natural resources, and move America closer to increasing our energy security and developing a clean energy economy.  The bill includes language that provides safeguards for fish, wildlife and natural resources in a warming world.  Additionally, it provides one percent of revenues from a cap and trade system to protect and restore domestic natural resources from climate change over the next 10 years and increases the allocation to four percent by 2027.  Even though this landmark legislation has passed in the House, our fight is far from finished.  Significantly more dedicated funding will ultimately be needed to address the impacts of global warming on our natural resources. 

As the Senate works towards completing its comprehensive climate legislation, it is vital that funding for natural resources is increased from what is provided in the House bill.  To that end, attached is a sign-on letter that we ask you to join us on to ensure that the Senate passes comprehensive climate and energy legislation that dedicates 5% of the total allowance value for natural resources adaptation in order to safeguard fish and wildlife, and the natural resources on which we all rely.

To sign on the letter,  either reply to me with your approval (lafontainep@nwf.org) or visit www.targetglobalwarming.org/signon. (If you email, please include: Organization Name, Contact Name, Contact Email, State, Zip)

To have the maximum impact on the Senate efforts, please sign on by August 1st.  We will also be seeking to get hundreds of grassroots groups signed on over August - please forward to other organizations or business that rely on natural resources and who may sign on too!

Thanks again for all of your efforts!
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3. Vilsack heralds opportunities for farmers in climate legislation

US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees climate legislation as a boon to the nation's farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners.  In a recent op-ed in the Des Moines Register, Vilsack wrote that by addressing climate change "we will not only fend off a looming climate crisis, but we will revitalize rural America."  He pointed to the costs of inaction, including increasing drought and flooding, but his focus was on the potential for renewable energy and green jobs.  Development of carbon sequestration techniques and clean technology will also be big financial incentives for rural interests to support a shift away from old, polluting practices. 

Vilsack, who has become one of the White House's most visible advocates on the subject, is a particularly important voice given the reservations held by many farm-state lawmakers.  Meaningful climate legislation will reward agricultural sectors for taking necessary -- and beneficial -- steps to reform their approach, writes the Secretary: "I believe agriculture and forestry can play a vital role in addressing climate change and that, if done properly, there are significant opportunities for landowners to profit from doing right by the environment. For rural America, doing right will also mean doing well."

To read the op-ed, go to:http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090721/OPINION01/907210374/-1/BUSINESS04
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4. Hunters and anglers visit Capitol Hill

Sportsmen and women from across the country gathered on Capitol Hill last week to talk to Congress about climate change.  In meetings with their senators and representatives, they described the wildlife impacts they are experiencing at the local level -- everything from reduced duck and fish populations to shifts in habitat and weather.  Hunters and anglers of all political stripes have recognized the danger global warming poses to their livelihoods, and traditional conservation groups like Trout Unlimited, Izaak Walton League of America, and Pheasants Forever were instrumental in the House fight to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act.  These organizations and their members have a big part to play as legislation comes before the Senate, representing traditional interests and rural economies. 
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In the news:

- Scientists turn an eye toward "assisted migration" -- helping slow-moving species like trees keep ahead of the global warming curve.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090719/ap_on_sc/us_sci_tree_swapping

- Researchers race to discover new creatures before they go extinct.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/weekinreview/26angier.html?scp=2&sq=tamarin&st=cse
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