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Protecting Oklahoma’s Wildlife
Our Oklahoma Affiiliate's New Project
The National Wildlife Federation welcomed its 50th affiliate partner, the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma (CCO), this past April. Right from the start, the CCO is proving to be a powerful partner for NWF with its first major undertaking as an NWF affiliate: boosting Oklahoman opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that, if passed, poses significant threats to the state’s natural resources.
Every legislative session, state legislators head to their capital cities with the intent of representing the people through legislative action and resolutions. Subsequently, each legislative session, the people hold their breath in hopes that the session will be productive and that positive legislation will be born. But sometimes, a piece of legislation makes it through a state House and Senate that has the potential to do great harm.
As a conservation organization, the National Wildlife Federation considers “bad” legislation to be that which is harmful or has the potential to be harmful to wildlife or the environment. Just such a piece of legislation came out of the Oklahoma legislature in 2015. Now, it is up to the citizens of Oklahoma to stop that legislation this November when they cast their ballots.
The legislative package the CCO is fighting is known as State Question 777 (SQ 777) and carries with it the weight of the Oklahoma constitution. The CCO is leading the charge to educate the voters in Oklahoma on why passage of this state constitutional amendment would be highly detrimental to state wildlife and water resources.
As stated on the CCO’s Oklahomans for Responsible Ag website, “it would change the constitution and stop legislators from passing any laws in the future which would curtail the right of farmers and ranchers ‘to employ agricultural technology and livestock production and ranching practices”. In layman’s terms, it takes away the right of the state legislature to act on behalf of the people to stop environmentally detrimental agricultural practices, even as they harm land and water resources.
CCO is doing great work to communicate the environmental concerns to Oklahoma voters. Oklahoma leaders and voters must stop legislation that is not forward-thinking about the protection of our natural resources for future generations.
Along with their advocacy work, the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma’s will soon be launching a new sister organization – the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma Foundation – to direct money to conservation education. This new foundation will help address the need for more environmentally literate children in this country to take up the mantle of stewardship of our natural resources.
Learn MoreLearn more about the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma
