Every year about this time, many organizations conduct “lobby days” in Washington D.C. Groups from each state meet with members of their congressional delegation to advocate on every issue imaginable. While there are times when you wonder if your voice is being heard above the noise, these visits are an important part of the legislative process and demonstrate to our representatives the commitment to various issues.
On March 1 and 2, Gathering Waters Conservancy took part in Great Lakes Lobby Days sponsored by the Healing our Waters Coalition in Washington, D.C. While there, we joined with representatives from across Wisconsin to meet in the offices of every member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to talk about the importance of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and a few other key issues. We were also able to discuss the unique role that land trusts can and do play in the health of all our watersheds.
At Gathering Waters, we’ve been working for several years not only to see the GLRI funded at an appropriate level but also to ensure that its grant programs would be accessible to land trusts. In last year’s first round of GLRI grant making we expressed the concern that the funding agencies were missing opportunities to work with Wisconsin’s land trusts.
I’m happy to report that our advocacy (and that of many others), has produced some important results. In partnership with LTA and other regional land trust groups, we made a particular push to see conservation easements be made eligible for funding. In late February this year we received confirmation that acquisition of conservation easements is eligible under the recently released Request for Applications for GLRI funds with no restrictions by focus area or category other than the grant requirements themselves. More work remains but this is an important step.
If you have any questions about GLRI or other land trust related Great Lakes issues please don’t hesitate to be in touch with us.
