Contact: Anne Sayers, Program Director, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute, (608) 661-0845, (608) 658-0186 cell, anne@conservationvoters.org
Asking Legislators to Oppose Governor Walker’s Anti-Conservation Budget Proposals
Madison- Today, hundreds of citizens representing nearly all of Wisconsin’s legislative districts are meeting one-on-one with their state legislators in the Capitol. In the meetings with their state Representative and Senator, citizens will ask them to oppose the anti-conservation provisions in Governor Walker’s budget proposal.
“The conservation programs Governor Walker has placed on the chopping block aren’t just popular, they are revenue generating. This fact is not lost on the hundreds of citizens here today,” said Anne Sayers, Program Director for Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute.
Conservationists are calling on legislators to:
1. Protect water by eliminating the repeal of Wisconsin’s laws to keep phosphorus and other pollutants out of our waterways;
2. Support clean energy development by restoring the Office of Energy Independence, the Renewable Grants and Loan Programs, and the Green to Gold Fund;
3. Support local transit options by restoring the 10% funding for local transit;
4. Maintain the current funding levels of the Stewardship Program and protect the parts of the program that allow it to effectively protect Wisconsin’s most critical lands and waters;
5. Restore Wisconsin’s statewide recycling program and fund local municipal recycling programs at previous levels.
Today marks the seventh annual Conservation Lobby Day. Conservation victories have often followed Conservation Lobby Day, including the Clean Energy Bill of 2006, the reauthorization of the Stewardship Fund in 2007, and passage of the Strong Great Lakes Compact in 2008.
“With the attacks we’ve seen on Wisconsin’s natural resources in the first few months of this administration, this year citizens are attending Conservation Lobby Day to remind decision-makers that you can’t have a healthy economy without healthy natural resources,” Sayers concluded.
Learn more about the Wisconsin Conservation Priorities 2011-2012 at http://conservationvoters.org/
# # #
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute protects public health, natural resources, and sporting opportunities by enhancing the capacity of the conservation movement.
