Spring is officially upon us and the cherry blossoms have peaked. It’s been a busy month so let’s get right into it! Two members of our Roosevelt Conservation Caucus introduced landmark legislation this month. Earlier in March, Congressman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, introduced the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act (AWHCA). This legislation, H.R. 7408, would make investments of $320 million in grant funding and give states the opportunity and support to enact their congressionally mandated wildlife action plans. It is a common-sense approach that prioritizes local leadership, fiscal responsibility, and streamlining counter-productive regulations. We sat down with Rep. Westerman to chat about his new bill, which you can watch here. To learn more about AWHCA, click here. Bookending the month, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Chairman of the Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials subcommittee on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Ocean Restoration Research and Development Act of 2024 (H.R. 7797). Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF) provides us a unique opportunity to sequester tens of millions of tons of legacy CO2 while simultaneously helping restore fisheries. Rep. Carter’s bill could be a game changer when it comes to restoring our oceans and mitigating the impacts of a changing climate. To coincide with the introduction of this legislation, ConservAmerica has launched a webpage offering a critical look at the plight of our oceans and its inhabitants. ConservAmerica has a long history of support for Ocean Iron Fertilization, which you can read about here, here, and here. In between applauding the introduction of these two pieces of important legislation we weighed in on a few significant topics of interest. Our President, Jeff Kupfer, made the conservative case for keeping the Inflation Reduction Act, and then spoke to how the moratorium on exporting LNG hurts not only the US but Europe also. Meanwhile, our new ConservAmerica Fellow (more on that later) wrote his inaugural piece on how deterring China in the Pacific requires better fisheries management. That’s it for us this month. Sunnier days are ahead – get outside and play! |