NWF: On First Ever Carbon Pollution Limits, We Can’t Wait

March 15-The Obama administration may delay first-ever limits on carbon pollution from new power plants, according to a report Friday by the Washington Post.

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“The Environmental Protection Agency went through a rigorous process to design the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from new power plants. They’re long overdue, desperately needed to protect America’s wildlife and communities from climate change, and over three million Americans have spoken up in support of them. Any signal they’re stalled just ensures further delay in confronting climate change at a time when the Americans are looking for momentum.

A dozen bobcat subspecies range across North America. Photo Contest entry by Lori Tambakis.

Moreover, it recognizes the bipartisan legacy of the conservation movement.  As the plan says:

“This is a shared goal that many American leaders, including prominent Republicans, have consistently supported in order to protect the environment.  From President Theodore Roosevelt, who established national parks, forests and wildlife refuges, to President Nixon who created the EPA, to the bipartisan passage of laws to keep our air and water clean, leaders on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly come together to make our land and water healthier for their generation and generations to come.”

Specifically, the Senate budget plan:

• Invests in our clean energy future by recognizing the value of federal clean air regulation to public health, calling climate change “one of the largest threats to the health of the planet, and therefore the well-being of our families,” investing heavily in research and development of clean energy sources, and funding programs to make homes and offices more energy efficient. It also prepares for climate impacts by funding activities to aid in storm tracking and weather prediction and investing in disaster resiliency across the country.
• Recognizes the importance of public lands to our robust outdoor recreation economy and conservation legacy by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund, enabling the reauthorization of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, increasing funding for wildfire management and watershed recovery programs, and ensuring continued access to all our national parks.  It also invests in agriculture conservation programs and urges the passage of a Five Year Farm Bill, two measures key to preserving open spaces, and ensures appropriate funding for tribal land management.
• Ensures the continued safeguarding of our water resources by strongly funding large ecosystem restoration in the Great Lakes, the Everglades, the Upper Mississippi River, the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Louisiana, the San Francisco Bay Delta, the Puget Sound, and elsewhere, recognizing the value of federal clean water regulation, and promising to update our declining water infrastructure.

It also replaces sequestration, the series of across the board spending cuts that went into effect on March 1.  Replacing the sequester is a crucial step towards ensuring vital conservation programs are funded at adequate levels. In addition, as seen in the chart below, although both the Senate and House budgets cut non-defense discretionary spending below Congressional Budget Office projections—and both keep NDD spending fairly flat over the next ten years—the Senate budget begins with about $100 billion more for NDD funding.

Source: CBO, Senate Budget Committee, House Budget Committee

The Senate Democrats’ budget isn’t perfect, yet it takes huge strides toward making conservation, protecting wildlife, and stopping carbon pollution key federal priorities. This is a promising plan, and we hope that Sen. Murray and the Senate Budget Committee continue to prioritize conservation as they shape budget legislation for fiscal year 2014.

Call your Senator today to make sure they protect wildlife in our federal budget.

If sequestration goes into effect, $1.8 million will be cut from Yellowstone, the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times. Our national parks are crucial to protecting American wildlife: one-third of endangered and threatened species in the U.S. can be found within park boundaries. (Debra Boucher)

Last month, we finally got a peek at what exactly sequestration might mean for America’s habitats and ecosystems—and it’s not pretty.

A setback for conservation and the economy

According to a January 25 National Park Service memo obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, sequestration will have a disastrous impact on parks and all those who enjoy them.

This is not mere speculation: in the memo, National Park Service director Jon Jarvis explicitly said that sequestration will force them to delay permanent and seasonal hiring—perhaps indefinitely, if the budget situation is not resolved—and limit access to cherished national treasures:

“We expect that a cut of this magnitude, intensified by the lateness of the implementation, will result in reductions to visitor services, hours of operation, shortening of seasons and possibly the closing of areas during periods when there is insufficient staff to ensure the protection of visitors, employees, resources and government assets.”

And there’s more: according to additional information obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees last week, sequestration will directly impact more than 1 million visitors to 12 of the nation’s leading national parks.  In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar warned that, in addition to the steps above, the Department of the Interior will have to close 128 wildlife refuges and discontinue visitor services at all 561 national wildlife refuges.

If the Department of the Interior is forced to enact these cuts, it will not only undermine our rich national conservation legacy and restrict the activities of hunters, anglers, hikers, boaters, and all outdoor enthusiasts, it will have a serious economic impact. America’s 37 million sportsmen spent $90 billion in 2011 alone.  And 140 million Americans spend $646 billion a year on outdoor recreation, an industry that employs 6.1 million Americans.

Sportsmen agree: don’t cut conservation funding

In NWF’s 2012 national poll of sportsmen, 84% of respondents said that the federal government should make it a priority to conserve fish and wildlife habitat and manage public lands for fishing, hunting, and other outdoor recreation.

Don’t let Congress shirk their responsibility to our public lands. Indiscriminate cuts to discretionary programs that devastate our public lands and wildlife are not the solution.

Act now: click here to tell Congress  not to let the budget crisis devastate wildlife.

NWF hails reintroduction of legislation conserving Colorado’s San Juan Mountains

February 15-Colorado Sen. Mark Udall’s reintroduction of a bill that would conserve about 61,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado is welcome news to hunters and anglers, said John Gale of the National Wildlife Federation.

The San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act, reintroduced Thursday, would protect important fish and wildlife habitat, watersheds and hunting, fishing and recreation areas in San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan counties.

“Sportsmen have been strong supporters of this legislation from the start. The bill has wide, grassroots support and was developed from the ground up,’’ said Gale, NWF’s regional representative. “The National Wildlife Federation applauds Sen. Udall for his foresight in protecting one of the region’s most iconic places to hunt and fish.”

House “Sodsaver” Measure Would Protect Native Prairie Habitat

February 14-Representatives Noem (R-SD) and Walz (D-MN) today introduced legislation to save America’s grasslands through a national sodsaver provision. The Protect Our Prairies Act, which has the support of eight bipartisan co-sponsors, is common-sense legislation that would reduce taxpayer-funded incentives to destroy vital grassland resources.

Aviva Glaser, Legislative Representative for Agriculture Policy at National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“America is at risk of losing one our most iconic ecosystems. Native prairies, along with the wildlife that are dependent upon them, are disappearing at an alarming rate.”

To learn more about Sodsaver, read our Sodsaver Factsheet (pdf).

Obama Outlines Bipartisan Path to Climate Action

February 12-President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address tonight, issuing a strong call to action on climate change. “For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change,” said President Obama. “The good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth.”

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“President Obama made it clear tonight that we need to confront the climate crisis – but that he hasn’t given up on reaching across party lines to forge a bipartisan solution. The climate-fueled extreme weather that’s battered America from Cape May to Waldo Canyon has destroyed Democratic and Republican homes and businesses with equal malice.

For more on the Climate Crisis, check out the report: Wildlife in a Warming World 

Porpoises Make Amazing Return to the San Francisco Bay, Need Help from Citizen Scientists

February 12-After a sixty-five year absence, porpoises have made an amazing return to the San Francisco Bay. To celebrate this success and to ensure the marine mammal’s continued residence in the Bay, National Wildlife Federation and Golden Gate Cetacean Research have partnered on a “Return of the Porpoise to San Francisco Bay” campaign.

Sightings of harbor porpoises have recently delighted visitors to and residents of San Francisco, yet most do not realize the significance of seeing this animal in the Bay.

“The return of porpoises to the San Francisco Bay tells us that the ecosystem is healthier than it has been in a long time,” said Beth Pratt, California Director for the National Wildlife Federation.

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.sfbayporpoises.org.

Tester Bill “A Win-Win” for Clean Energy, Public Lands

February 11-Conservation and clean energy leaders today welcomed the reintroduction of the Public Lands and Renewable Energy Development Act of 2013, championed by Montana Senator Jon Tester, Nevada Senator Dean Heller, Idaho Senator Jim Risch and bipartisan champions in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would create the framework for more efficient, responsible renewable energy development on public lands and would strategically direct the revenue from development to pay back local communities, fish and wildlife resources, and hunting and angling access potentially impacted by this clean energy development.

“This is a win-win strategy to facilitate needed renewable energy development on suitable public lands,” said Tom France, Senior Director of Western Wildlife Conservation of the National Wildlife Federation’s Rocky Mountains and Prairies Regional Center. “This bill works because it balances the need to expand our renewable energy base and still protect key fish and wildlife habitats.”

Learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s work to promote safe development of renewable energy on public lands.

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• The Washington Post: Farmers, environmentalists await seventh analysis of 60-year-old Mississippi levee plan
• The Washington Post: Climate change could burn a hole in the government’s finances, GAO says
• Reuters: Pressure builds for Keystone decision after Obama speech
• The Voice: Columbus Township property certified as Wildlife Habitat
• Great Falls Tribune:  Beetle Outbreak worst ever, professor says
• North Andover Citizen: North Andover Wildlife Team forms
• sctimes.com: Groups Rally behind benefits of recess
• YNN: App Wrap: “Ranger Rick’s Treehouse,” “GeoDash”
• The Times and Democrat: Making the most of the wind
• dallasnews.com: Water experts weigh in on financing, project priority
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Obama must act on climate change
• The Mercury: Global warming effects on the planet

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

Today, a bipartisan group of Western representatives and senators introduced the Public Lands and Renewable Energy Development Act of 2013.

I am feeling giddy. Let me tell you why.

Growing up on the East Coast, our town playground and basketball court were the extent of my understanding of public lands. Though our eastern states also have their fair share of state and federal forest land and park systems, my first experience with real public lands came during a cross country bicycle ride. I fell in love with the wide open spaces I didn’t have in my backyard back home.

On a bike it’s easy to see how much use we get out of our federal public lands—like the 285 million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Hunting, fishing, hiking, all forms of energy development, ranching, off-road vehicle use, and incredible wildlife habitat to boot. Experiencing our Western public lands in person made me proud to live in America.

I’ve since learned more about the pressures our public lands are feeling, particularly from a rapidly changing climate and energy development decisions. National Wildlife Federation’s recent report, Wildlife in a Warming World, highlighted the impacts of increased drought, wildfire, and invasive species on big game, sagebrush habitat, and other sensitive wildlife

A Framework for Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands

So that gets us back to the bill introduced today by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and others. It creates the framework for more efficient, responsible renewable energy development on public lands and would strategically direct the revenue from development to pay back local communities, fish and wildlife resources, and hunting and angling access potentially impacted by this clean energy development.

It’s a win-win for clean energy and wildlife conservation and you heard it right in the intro—supported by Westerners from both parties. That’s cause for celebration in and of itself!

In 2009, our public lands had zero approved solar energy projects and very few wind energy projects. With a lot of effort, this changed over the last three years, with now over 30 projects and 12GW permitted, enough power for 3-5 million homes per year.

To be frank, our current system for wind and solar development on public lands is woefully inefficient for every interested stakeholder—the clean energy industry and the wildlife advocate. It nearly always results in more conflict than necessary.

This bill helps solve these significant barriers to clean energy development and wildlife conservation. It also ensures some of the revenues from development on public lands goes back to impacted communities, particularly through a conservation fund for cumulative impacts to the landscape and sportsmen’s access.

As we embark on a clean energy future, there is a model to avoid. 140 years ago the U.S. Congress passed a law to promote mining and Western expansion, with provisions that hinder wildlife and habitat conservation to this day. For decades, campaigns have worked to fix that mining law.

Let’s not look back 30 years from now with the realization that we made the same policy mistakes in the rush to stop carbon pollution with wind and solar energy on public lands. Instead, let’s put in place now the right framework for efficient, sustainable development of wind and solar energy and help address its impacts with a conservation fund.

Learn more about NWF’s efforts to advocate for wildlife-friendly renewable energy >>

NWF Interior Nominee a Strong Voice for America’s Great Outdoors

February 06-President Barack Obama will nominate Sally Jewell, chief executive officer of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), to head the Interior Department, as first reported by the Washington Post.

Jim Lyon, vice president for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“Sally Jewell is a business leader who knows that conserving America’s natural resources is fundamentally linked to a healthy and strong economy. Outdoor recreation contributes $646 billion to America’s economy and delivers $49 billion in tax revenue annually, but faces a critical challenge as Washington considers even more cuts to conservation programs on top of steep cuts already made.

For more on Sally Jewell’s nomination, check out the blog post: Will New Interior Secretary Put Conservation On Equal Ground with Energy? 

And now here are highlights from NWF in the news:

• UPI: NWF: Enbridge pipeline review lax
• Associated Press (MA):  Report: Climate change affects region’s wildlife
• Star Tribune: State species at risk as climate heats up (Editorial)
• MinnPost: Where the wild things aren’t: Moose, other species fade with climate change
• WFIR: Changing climate could have big impact on Virginia’s wildlife
• The Mercury: What is the purpose of National Wildlife Week?
• Dunwoody Crier: Create a wildlife habitat in your backyard

For more visit www.nwf.org/news

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama nominated Sally Jewell, CEO for the outdoor outfitter REI, as successor to Ken Salazar as Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.  Conservation groups, senators and Western energy producers alike praised the selection as a smart choice to do everything from protecting land, connecting kids to nature, addressing climate change, creating jobs and increasing development.

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Flickr photo by DaveTBear

Hopefully future Secretary Jewell will accomplish that vision by heeding the words of  former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who spoke this week at the National Press Club on the importance of restoring a true balance of conservation and energy development on public lands.

“On Equal Ground”

At the press conference, Sec. Babbitt praised the “excellent record” of Pres. Obama and Sec. Salazar, citing accomplishments like new vehicle fuel efficiency standards, doubling the production of renewable energy, protecting the Grand Canyon from uranium mining, creating an innovative management plan for Alaska’s Arctic Reserve, and more. But he also called on the Obama administration to improve his public lands conservation legacy in the second term by putting conservation on “equal ground” as energy development.

Babbitt compared the number of acres of permanently protected land under Obama to the last few presidents. The number has drastically declined during Obama’s tenure. Meanwhile, Babbitt noted, “the pace of oil and gas leasing on public lands has continued at a high rate.” While Secretary Babbitt acknowledged that energy development is an appropriate use of public lands, but clearly demonstrated the current imbalance of conservation and development, skewed heavily in favor of oil and gas drilling.

To restore this balance, Babbitt is calling on Interior (and thus future Sec. Jewell) to recommit to conservation. For every acre of land leased to oil and gas, Babbitt proposed, the administration (and Congress) should protect a new acre of land for conservation. He also urged President Obama to use his existing authority to designate new special places such as National Monuments or Wildlife Refuges in order to spur action from Congress. Capitol Hill needs a wake-up call — the 112th Congress is the first since WWII that did not designate even an acre of federal wilderness. Protecting the outdoors is not a radical idea. A new “State of the Rockies Conservation in the West” poll from Colorado College shows the overwhelming support of Western voters for protecting land and water and opposed the idea of turning public lands over to states and private interests.

“Where is the Balance?”

Former Secretary Babbitt is right: renewing the commitment between America and protection of the great outdoors will continue to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy our country’s proud outdoor heritage and wildlife.  The Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (SFRED) coalition, a group led by National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, advocates for this same balanced approach on public lands, taking into account the cumulative impact to fish, wildlife habitat and water resources as well as hunting and fishing opportunities.

Drilling operations across tens of thousands of acres of the Roan Plateau on the Western Slope of Colorado. Flickr by SkyTruth

Fortunately, perseverance and citizen action eventually pays off when it comes to conservation on public lands.  Just this week the Colorado Bureau of Land Management decided to withdraw proposed oil and gas leases that include big game habitat and trout fisheries along the North Fork of the Gunnison River.  The decision followed protests and letters from hunters, anglers and wildlife enthusiasts concerned about selling leases using a 23-year-old resource management plan.

I do not envy Sally Jewell’s new job, but it is a critically important position that will shape the future of this country’s energy and conservation future.  Forget criticism from special interest groups: Jewell will have her hands full tackling climate change, figuring out ways to deal with potentially devastating budget cuts, protecting new landscapes despite Congressional inaction and finding ways to preserve clean air, water and wildlife.  It may still be the honeymoon period, but I am confident that she is up to the task.

 The Department of the Interior is facing devastating budget cut proposals from Congress.  If we expect Sally Jewell to be able to move conservation forward, she needs the resources to do her job.  Take action by sending a message urging Congress to not let the budget crisis devastate wildlife.

In case you haven’t been convinced by our blogs on how the fiscal cliff would harm Wildlife Refuges, public lands, hunting and fishing, and wetlands, among other programs, take a look at this infographic on how badly the fiscal cliff could harm just one state: Ohio, home to much of the fragile Great Lakes region.

For NWF’s latest fiscal cliff materials, see NWF.org/FiscalCliff.

Don’t let our budget crisis hurt the Great Lakes! Do your part today to protect our wildlife and natural resources.

What was completely lost in the discussion is that increasing oil drilling in the United States will not bring down prices at the pump, and, since oil prices are set on the world market, more drilling here at home will do little to reduce gas prices.  In fact, an Associated Press analysis of 36 years of Energy Information Administration data shows “no statistical correlation” between domestic oil production and gas prices.  In short, we just can’t drill our way to cheaper gasoline.  Increasing vehicle efficiency is a far better solution to decrease our dependency on oil and gas.

I catch a breather near Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park

Also missing from all the finger-pointing over gas prices was any recognition of the fact that the explosion of drilling in this country over recent decades has had a profound impact on water resources, air quality, and fish and wildlife habitat.  These vital resources suffer because of the direct cumulative impacts of the drilling process but also because burning fossil fuels is warming our planet and causing global climate change, which carry devastating consequences for decades to come.

We have yet to see enough detail in the debates, from either candidate, as to how they plan to protect wildlife, wild landscapes and recreational opportunities even as oil and gas permitting increases.  Governor Romney’s energy plan proposes opening new, sensitive offshore areas for drilling, fast-tracking the Keystone XL pipeline, undermining environmental review, and turning over control of federal public lands to states for the purposes of energy development.  However, nowhere in Governor Romney’s plan does it even mention the importance of the conservation of  fish and wildlife, and we have yet to hear a commitment from the campaign to protect the water we drink and their air we breathe from more drilling.

Land Tawney & his daughter fishing on Rock Creek

I called Land Tawney, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior manager for sportsmen leadership based in our Northern Rockies and Prairies Regional Center in Missoula, MT, for his take. “Sportsmen are a valued constituency, both during and after the election season, and I look forward to reading Mitt Romney’s plan to address our concerns,” Land began. ”But a top issue Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will need to address is their thoughts on selling public lands. Exactly what would that mean for America’s public lands, the fish and wildlife that live there, and the hunters and anglers that rely on them?”

Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, wrote to Rep. Ryan last week asking him to clarify some recent comments on public lands:

As an organization deeply committed to the conservation interests of America’s hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts we appreciated your statement in an October 1 interview with Outdoor Life magazine that “we need to open up public lands for access for hunting.” Public lands are critical part of America’s national heritage, and access for all Americans is a conservation legacy that provides everyone the opportunity to hunt and fish.  Public lands also play a critical role supporting local economies: in 2011, 13.7 million hunters spent $33.9 billion and 33.1 million anglers spent $22 billion.

We are concerned however that in another portion of the interview you seemed unfamiliar with the provisions of your budget proposal which call for liquidating millions of acres of America’s public lands, resulting in less access for sportsmen.

While your statement to Outdoor Life indicated this was more about “buildings and assets like cars … [and] vacant properties,” your budget proposal specifically touts legislation (HR 1126) introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) as a model to sell federal lands to generate revenue. In fact, HR 1126 would force the government to sell off 3.3 million acres in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming to the highest bidder.

Four in five sportsmen want more access to public lands that to date have been inaccessible, according to a recent poll of sportsmen conducted by Chesapeake Beach Consulting for the National Wildlife Federation. Given a choice between protecting America’s public lands and prioritizing the production of oil, gas and coal, 49% want to protect public lands and just 35% choose fossil fuel production. Will the campaigns confront these issues? So far, the presidential debates have ducked conservation almost entirely.

Read more about where Barack Obama and Mitt Romney stand on conservation in National Wildlife magazine’s special report.