ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer released the following statement, in connection with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources’ Full Committee Hearing to Examine Opportunities for Congress to Reform the Process for Permitting Electric Transmission Lines, Pipelines, and Energy Production on Federal Lands:

“We are encouraged to see permitting reform moving forward with today’s hearing. Our country is in desperate need of meaningful legislation that will modernize our permitting system. While Congress has taken some steps, our existing permitting and regulatory approval processes are still sidelining resources, stopping projects, and limiting the benefits of policies intended to be transformative.

SmarterSafer - Americans for Smart Natural Catastrophe Policy - submitted a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency urging them to move forward expeditiously with developing regulations to update the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) minimum floodplain management standards. ConservAmerica is a member of the SmarterSafer coalition.

The following OpEd by U.S. Congressman and Roosevelt Conservation Caucus co-chair Buddy Carter and President of ConservAmerica, Jeff Kupfer, appeared in the Savannah Morning News.

When most Americans think of offshore oil and gas leasing, they think of Gulf of Mexico states such as Louisiana and Texas. But this industry has another face, one that is much closer to home for a lot of Americans: your community park.

A federal program known as the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has channeled revenues from offshore oil and gas leasing to conservation projects nationwide, including national and state parks, historical sites, playgrounds, and recreational centers. The idea is simple: use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource - offshore oil and gas - to support the conservation of another precious resource - our land and water. Every year, $900 million in royalties paid by energy companies drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf are put into this fund, and its impacts are seen from coast to coast. 

ConservAmerica submitted comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on a proposal to amend regulations implementing the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 by making conservation a use “on par” with other uses of public lands under FLPMA's multiple-use framework.

ConservAmerica ranks efforts to restore and protect public lands among our highest priorities; however, the lands managed by BLM were intended by Congress as a natural resource to help provide the agriculture, livestock, forestry, and energy and mineral resources needed to drive our nation’s economy. 

Over the last year and a half, the Aspen Institute’s Energy & Environment program has been holding a high-level roundtable series aimed at developing a consensus statement of a “Critical Minerals Policy for the United States.” As a top issue for ConservAmerica, which has only increased in importance with the implementation of the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we were pleased to participate and provide our insight and recommendations.