View in Browser <[link removed]> <[link removed]> July Newsletter This month will be remembered as a great win for conservation and the environment. We saw the successful passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) by overwhelmingly bipartisan votes, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law next week. The bill will fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the deferred maintenance backlog at our national parks. ConservAmerica, as well as other organizations such as NWF <[link removed]> , have been working on this bill for months. In the Senate, the effort was led by Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Steve Daines (R-MT) along with Joe Manchin (D-WV). In the House, Roosevelt Conservation Caucus co-chairs Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) and Brian Mast (R-FL-18) supported the bill and urged their colleagues to vote in favor of it. Read our statement about this historic passage here <[link removed]> , or Rep. Stefanik’s press release with our quote here <[link removed]> . ConservAmerica Monthly News ConservAmerica Signs Letter to the GOP Supporting the Growing Climate Solutions Act The carbon credit market can help to reduce carbon emissions. However, many farm and forest owners face technical and information barriers, and as a result, the agricultural and forestry sectors are often left out of this approach to addressing climate change. As such, we wrote to our representatives in Congress to express our support of the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which will remove these barriers. We believe this legislation is an “effective, meaningful, and fiscally responsible” solution to climate change. You can read the letter wrote with our friends at R Street, CRES, ACC, and NTU here <[link removed]> . Richard Epstein: Trump Helps the Environment by Enraging Environmentalists Professor Richard Epstein wrote and submitted comments on the case for updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on behalf of ConservAmerica to the White House Council of Environmental Quality on March 10, 2020. On July 30, he authored a compelling op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. “Environmentalist critics work on the flawed assumption that the longer the review period, the greater the environmental protection. But thatʼs untrue for the large majority of important projects. As I detail in a report <[link removed]> for ConservAmerica, these new projects typically replace older, more dangerous projects and use superior technologies unavailable generations ago,” Epstein wrote. Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal here <[link removed]> . ConservAmerica Webinar Series Continues with Natural Solutions Discussion On Wednesday, July 22, ConservAmerica hosted the latest in our series of webinars, this time focusing on the growing popularity of natural solutions to climate change as commonsense policy options for emissions mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. We were fortunate to have both Senator Mike Braun and Congressman Bruce Westerman join to discuss their legislation. David Tenny, President and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners discussed the benefits of the legislative proposals and how his organization has planted more than one billion trees a year. If you missed the webinar, you can read our recap or watch the full video here <[link removed]> . ConservAmerica Opposes the Pebble Mine The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which outlined the potential impacts of the Pebble gold and copper mine in Southwest Alaska. ConservAmerica believes that this assessment is sufficient reason for the mine not to move forward. We expressed concerns about the compatibility of the proposed project with the Bristol Bay region of Alaska and urged the Trump administration to deny federal permits. You can read our reaction to the EIS and opposition to the project here <[link removed]> . ConservAmerica Continues to Support NEPA Reforms ConservAmerica welcomed <[link removed]> the Trump administration’s update this month to the rules governing how federal agencies implement the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The new rules will ensure environmental reviews and authorization decisions involving multiple federal agencies are done in a manner that reduces unnecessary burdens and delays, and improves coordination between agencies to simplify and accelerate the review process. ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer was quoted in a story in Bloomberg Law <[link removed]> , explaining that the reforms were necessary to support infrastructure investments, especially in light of the recent economic crisis. Op-Ed: Why We Need the Great American Outdoors Act ConservAmerica Vice President of Public Policy Todd Johnston co-authored an op-ed with Aaron Clark, a Perkasie Borough councilman, supporting passage of the Great American Outdoors Act. The act will stimulate the economy now and for generations to come, especially considering the outdoor economy supports over 7.6 million jobs. You can read the full opinion in The Bucks County Herald <[link removed]> . Other Monthly News Private Sector Climate Goals: Apple Sets 2030 Goals, Alongside Amazon, Microsoft, and Google Apple recently announced new climate goals, following Amazon, Microsoft, and Google’s announcements this year. Apple’s new climate pledge includes a carbon-neutral goal by 2030 and a recycling robot that can extract minerals from iPhones. This is a positive decision from a leader in the tech industry. You can read more about Apple’s announcement here <[link removed]> . Senators Look for Global Support to Address Ocean Plastic Pollution Addressing environmental conservation concerns is never a purely American issue. We were excited to see Senators express the need for global action to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC) indicated that the United States might join the international treaty addressing ocean pollution if the Basil Convention is updated. Read more here <[link removed]> . From Our Blog <[link removed]> What Independence Day means to ConservAmerica <[link removed]> As we prepare to celebrate July 4 this year, we at ConservAmerica believe it is worth reflecting on the values and motivations of our nation’s founding fathers. This radical idea by the colonists Read More <[link removed]> What Independence Day means to ConservAmerica <[link removed]> As we prepare to celebrate July 4 this year, we at ConservAmerica believe it is worth reflecting on the values and motivations of our nation’s founding fathers. This radical idea by the colonists Read More <[link removed]> Legislators Look to Leverage Nation’s Supply of Critical Minerals <[link removed]> As the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated, the United States’ over-reliance on foreign imports of critical minerals, particularly those that are available domestically, can have dangerous effects. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> Legislators Look to Leverage Nation’s Supply of Critical Minerals <[link removed]> As the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated, the United States’ over-reliance on foreign imports of critical minerals, particularly those that are available domestically, can have dangerous effects. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> ConservAmerica Supports EPA's Proposed Cost-Benefit Analysis Rulemaking <[link removed]> WASHINGTON, DC— ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer today issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to consider the costs and benefits under the Read More <[link removed]> ConservAmerica Supports EPA's Proposed Cost-Benefit Analysis Rulemaking <[link removed]> WASHINGTON, DC— ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer today issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to consider the costs and benefits under the Read More <[link removed]> ConservAmerica Comment on President's Executive Order on Infrastructure <[link removed]> WASHINGTON, DC— ConservAmerica issued the following statement on President Trump's EO on expediting infrastructure projects to help speed America's recovery from the coronavirus shutdown. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> ConservAmerica Comment on President's Executive Order on Infrastructure <[link removed]> WASHINGTON, DC— ConservAmerica issued the following statement on President Trump's EO on expediting infrastructure projects to help speed America's recovery from the coronavirus shutdown. Read More <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> <[link removed]> ConservAmerica, 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington DC, United States Unsubscribe <[link removed]> Powered by Squarespace <[link removed]>