The time is now to tell the EPA to act upon its scientifically sound watershed assessment showing Bristol Bay salmon are at grave risk if Pebble Mine is allowed to proceed.
Pebble would be the largest open pit mine in North America and would create up to 10.8 billion tons of waste containing heavy metal toxins known to destroy salmon spawning and rearing habitat.
Southwest Alaska’s remarkable web of abundant wildlife, including salmon, bears, moose, wolves and migratory waterfowl, is in serious jeopardy – along with one of the nation’s foremost sporting destinations.
When times are tough, people get creative. One TRCP partner in particular has developed an out-of-the-box strategy to cure the conservation-funding blues.
Crowd-sourced funding, or crowdfunding, is a fundraising approach that allows many individuals to make small online donations toward a common project – in this case, conserving the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota.
Unable to standby and watch as a mountain pine beetle epidemic devastated the area, NWTF decided to take action. The obvious solution to hire a dedicated forester for the area was shot down due to a lack of funding for such a position.
NWTF has turned to crowdfunding to raise money for the position. The hiring of a forest manager is a crucial first step toward ensuring the long-term health of the Black Hills and the wildlife that calls its forests home.
By helping to secure this professional forester, you can support wildlife habitat enhancement, reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, forest management planning and mountain pine beetle prevention and treatment. These improvements will cover more than 2,000 acres and be funded by cost share dollars, possibly as much as $800,000, available through the Natural Resource Conservation Service and a previously acquired federal grant.
NWTF’s CrowdTilt campaign already has raised $440 of the $10,000 needed to make am impact on the pine beetle epidemic in the Black Hills. Stay tuned to find out whether NWTF reaches their goal.
Is this your idea of a good day on the golf course? Leave a caption below and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Jay Cassell’s Gigantic Book of Hunting Stories. We’ll announce the winner on Friday.
A few weeks back, while visiting Capitol Hill with two fellow TRCPers, I encountered a literal sign of the economic times. Posted just inside the doorway of a House member’s office was a banner that read, “If you are here to ask for more money, you are in the wrong office!”
Since my colleagues and I hadn’t stopped in to request a bailout but rather to discuss a piece of legislation, we assumed we were in compliance with the office rules and conducted our meeting as planned. But for the rest of the day, the image of that banner kept popping into my head.
The sign stood as a stark reminder that although our economy is growing and the federal government’s fiscal outlook is improving, money is still tight and programs that promote habitat conservation and good natural resource stewardship continue to face intense congressional scrutiny.
Sportsmen often ask what steps they can take to protect the future of hunting and angling in this country. I tell them to keep an eye on Congress and be ready to play defense when our flagship conservation programs fall onto the chopping block.
Conservation programs provide a host of economic, aesthetic and ecological benefits as a return on the federal government’s investment, and sportsmen are uniquely positioned to educated leaders in Washington, D.C., about the importance of conservation funding. In today’s fiscal environment, where job creation and economic growth are on everyone’s minds, sportsmen have a compelling story to tell.
Watch the short video below to learn more, and be sure to share this with your friends:
For more than twenty years, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has been at the forefront of conservation, working diligently on behalf of America’s hunters and anglers to ensure America’s legacy of habitat management and access is protected and advanced. Your tax-deductible donation will help TRCP continue its mission, allowing you to keep enjoying your favorite outdoor pursuits. Whether those pursuits are on the water or in the field, TRCP has your back, but we can’t do it alone. We invite you to step into the arena with us and donate today!
