Yesterday, the Virginia General Assembly adjourned its regular session following the passage of a belt-tightening budget in which natural resources funding saw modest cutbacks.  

At the governor’s urging, legislators took $15 million from the Water Quality Improvement Fund in 2008 and allocated $20 million for Agricultural Best Management Practices in 2009.  $4 million was allocated to the Virginia land Conservation Foundation over two years and $1.5 million to local Purchase of Development Rights programs.  In addition, $30 million in bond funds will be available for land conservation, including battlefield preservation—although legislators have convened a special session to determine exactly how they will finance a total of $1 billion in bond projects.

Budgetary constraints aside, conservationists can still take a sigh of relief knowing that we claimed significant wins on issues ranging from citizen participation to smart growth. These victories vindicate our decision to work together around a common agenda.  More than 225 people attended Conservation Lobby Day, and many more made phone calls and responded to e-mail action alerts during the session. 

As a result, the cabal of industries aligned against Virginia’s citizen environmental boards was forced to concede the key issues of permitting authority and public input to conservationists (rewriting HB1332 and SB423, which the governor has since signed into law). 

Two remaining priority bills, SB768 and SB525, passed through the Senate but were destined for greater scrutiny in the House Rules Committee. Local governments joined conservationists to oppose SB768, which sought to replace Virginia’s current proffer system with paltry impact fees on new development.  Recognizing this as both an impediment to smart growth and a de facto property tax increase, delegates passed by the bill in favor of further study. 

A week later, the House Rules Committee tabled SB525, which sought to create a commission to investigate lifting the state’s 20-year moratorium on uranium mining.  Del. Clarke Hogan and Del. Watkins Abbitt led the charge against the muddled and complex bill, which conservationists were right to decry as more than an impartial scientific study.

Admittedly, many pro-environment bills were also tabled in the General Assembly this year.  Nevertheless, our success this year has demonstrated that working together we have real power.

Best,
Nathan Lott

HOUSE PANEL REJECTS STUDY OF URANIUM MINING
March 4, 2008 - Washington Post
Lawmakers concerned about land, air and drinking water contamination killed a proposal Monday that would have allowed a study of whether uranium can be safely mined on 200 acres in south-central Virginia, eliminating any chance that the controversial bill could pass this year. - BY ANITA KUMAR

Governor's Energy Policy Advisory Council
When: March 26, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4016 W. Broad Street Division Directors Conference Room, Richmond, VA
There will be an opportunity to voice your opinion at the end of the meeting.
For Meeting Information: Click Here

Southern Environmental Law Center - From Inspiration to Action
Date: March 28 at 2 p.m.
Location: Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, VA
Please join the Southern Environmental Law Center in welcoming H. Emerson Blake, Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning Orion magazine and executive director of Orion Society, to a panel of the Virginia Festival of the Book. Blake will explore how literature and the arts go hand-in-hand with policy and legislation in the effort to protect the environment.  He serves as a judge for SELC’s annual Reed Writing Award. Winners of the 2008 award will be announced at the event, hosted at SELC offices on Charlottesville’s historic downtown mall.
For More Information: Visit www.SouthernEnvironment.org/reed.htm

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia presents Birdathon 2008 – From Dawn to Dusk
Team up with friends and family, get into the woods, count bird species during the height of spring migration, and raise funds for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV).  Anyone, from amateur to expert, is encouraged to participate.
Five Simple Steps:
1. Form a BIRDATHON team and pick a date between April 25 and May 11, 2008.
2. Notify the ASNV office of your BIRDATHON teammates and date.  ASNV will send a BIRDATHON packet so that you may start asking friends and associates to pledge money for each species identified on your count.
3. Conduct your BIRDATHON in your favorite green spaces in Northern Virginia.  Compete with other teams for most species found and most money raised for ASNV. 
4. Collect pledge donations and turn in the money to ASNV.
5. Thank those who contributed to your BIRDATHON, using our template or your own acknowledgements.
For More Information: Call 703-256-6895 or e-mail info@audubonva.org

New Report Identifies the Benefits and Barriers to Forest Certification
Forests contribute, perhaps now more than ever, to the Commonwealth by moderating climate, cleaning and storing water, creating jobs and economy, and provided both scenery and solace. Yet our forests are changing in ways that have profound and long term impacts.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

FARM FOUNDATION - FUNDING FOR CONFERENCES TARGETING RURAL ISSUES
DEADLINE: Applications may be submitted at any time
The Farm Foundation provides support to private and public organizations to present multi-state or national conferences and workshops that address economic and policy issues critical to agriculture and people in rural communities. The Foundation seeks project proposals that specifically address one of the following priority areas: Consumer Issues, Environmental Quality and Natural Resources Issues, Globalization, New Technologies, Role of Agricultural Institutions, or Rural Community Viability.
For More Information: Visit www.farmfoundation.org/guidelines.htm