February, 09 2020, 11:00pm EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Steve Blackledge, Environment America Senior Conservation Director, (916) 952-3224, sblackledge@environmentamerica.orgÂ
Josh Chetwynd, Communications Manager, (303) 573-5558, josh.chetwynd@publicinterestnetwork.orgÂ
Trump Administration's Proposed Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund Won't Protect Our Natural Beauty
In the Trump administration's proposed 2021 fiscal year budget, which was released today, f
WASHINGTON
In the Trump administration's proposed 2021 fiscal year budget, which was released today, funding levels for the Land and Water Conservation Fund were set at $14.8 million. That amount falls well below the program's full funding level of $900 million and is short of the $485 million Congress appropriated last year.
Steve Blackledge, senior director of Environment America's Conservation Program, issued the following statement in response to proposed LWCF funding levels:
"The Land and Water Conservation Fund is America's best recreation and conservation program, and there's a reason why it's earned that distinction. It has funded city parks and hiking trails at the local level, iconic national parks and wildlife refuges at the national level, and everything in between.
"Funding for our public lands is wildly popular, and support for this program has remained overwhelmingly bipartisan. With that in mind, it's both unfortunate and, frankly, puzzling to see the Trump administration thumb its nose at something everyone wants: Continued support for the primary funding source for parks, hiking trails and other public lands.
"Last year, Congress ignored the administration's directive to zero out funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and, instead, appropriated $485 million for the program. That was a step forward, but it's not enough. Our elected federal representatives need to approve the full $900 million per year that is statutorily intended.
"There are bipartisan bills in the Senate and House seeking to assure that the Land and Water Conservation Fund receives that money. So, perhaps, the silver lining to the president's budget is that it reminds us, in a powerful way, that Congress must make the passage of these bills a priority."
With Environment America, you protect the places that all of us love and promote core environmental values, such as clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and clean energy to power our lives. We're a national network of 29 state environmental groups with members and supporters in every state. Together, we focus on timely, targeted action that wins tangible improvements in the quality of our environment and our lives.
(303) 801-0581LATEST NEWS
Evacuations in Minnesota After Fiery Derailment of Train Carrying Ethanol
The train was operated by BNSF, which has lobbied aggressively against safety regulations in recent years.
Mar 30, 2023
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
A BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed and caught fire early Thursday morning in Raymond, Minnesota, forcing residents living near the crash site to evacuate.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has faced backlash for responding inadequately to the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, said the Federal Railroad Administration is "on the ground' in Raymond following the derailment.
"At present no injuries or fatalities have been reported," said Buttigieg. "We are tracking closely as more details emerge."
\u201cSome video coming out of a firery train derailment that occured in Raymond, Minnesota about 1:00 am this morning. \n\nSeveral tankers were carrying a form of ethanol & corn syrup that caught fire and has caused a 1/2 mile evacuation to the surrounding area.\n\nVideo by Ashely Lucas\u201d— Rebecca Brannon (@Rebecca Brannon) 1680170887
BNSF, which is controlled by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has lobbied aggressively against enhanced rail safety regulations at the state and federal levels in recent years.
An OpenSecrets analysis published earlier this month found that BNSF has spent nearly $13 million on state-level lobbying since 2003. BNSF's parent company is also among the rail industry's top federal lobbying spenders over the past two decades, according to federal disclosures.
BNSF said in a statement that more than 20 train cars "carrying mixed freight including ethanol and corn syrup" derailed in Raymond on Thursday.
The wreck and resulting blaze forced local authorities to issue evacuation orders for people living within a half-mile of the site. The Minnesota Department of Transportation said a nearby highway was also closed due to the fire.
The local sheriff's department said in a press release that "no travel is advised to the city of Raymond" as emergency workers attempt to contain the fire.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Press Freedom Advocates 'Alarmed' as Russia Detains US Journalist on Espionage Charges
Reporters Without Borders said the arrest "looks like retaliation."
Mar 30, 2023
This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
Russia's security service said Thursday that it has detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, on charges of "espionage in the interests of the American government."
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged that Gershkovich "collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex."
Gershkovich has recently reported on the war in Ukraine and the role played by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, whose founder toldThe Daily Beast that he had not heard of the journalist's arrest.
"If you want, I can check the torture cellar in my house to see if he's there," said Yevgeny Prigozhin. "At first glance, I didn't see him among the American journalists I keep there by the dozens. I can, if you want, also look at the fresh graves of foreign journalists on my house plot. But if I'm not mistaken, we didn't bury him there either."
The Journalsaid in a statement that it "vehemently denies" the accusations against Gershkovich and is pursuing his immediate release. Gershkovich was accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the nation's foreign ministry.
In response to news of Gershkovich's arrest, the global press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said it is "alarmed by what looks like retaliation: journalists must not be targeted!"
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Freaking Cowards!' Bowman Confronts GOP Colleague Face-to-Face on Gun Violence
"Republicans won't do SHIT when it comes to gun violence, but try to tell me to calm down," Rep. Jamaal Bowman wrote after a heated exchange with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
Mar 30, 2023
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman vocally condemned his Republican colleagues in a hallway outside the House chamber on Wednesday, calling them "freaking cowards" and "gutless" for refusing to support basic control measures in the wake of the nation's latest mass shooting—the 130th of the year.
As Bowman railed against GOP obstructionism, saying that Republicans "won't do anything to save the lives of our children," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) stopped to ask the New York Democrat, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about gun violence!" Bowman responded.
Massie—who in 2021 posted a Christmas photo in which he and his family members are holding guns—proceeded to tout a dangerous, NRA-backed proposal that Republicans float after virtually every school shooting in the U.S.: Arming teachers. (A number of states already allow teachers to carry firearms under certain conditions.)
Bowman, a former teacher and middle school principal, derided Massie's suggestion, replying: "More guns lead to more death. Look at the data." A study published in The BMJ in 2019 found that states with more lax gun regulation—and higher rates of gun ownership—experience higher rates of mass shootings.
Watch the heated exchange between Bowman and Massie, one of the most fervent opponents of gun regulations in Congress:
\u201cReps. Jamaal Bowman and Thomas Massie in a shouting match outside the House chamber on gun violence\u201d— Ellis Kim (@Ellis Kim) 1680129701
Bowman later posted the exchange to his Twitter account, writing: "Republicans won't do SHIT when it comes to gun violence, but try to tell me to calm down."
"We can't calm down," he added. "People are dying every day while we wait."
There's no indication that Republicans intend to drop their opposition to popular gun control measures in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville earlier this week.
"The things that have already been done have gone about as far as we're going with gun control," Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) toldCNN.
In an appearance on that same network on Tuesday, Bowman called gun violence "an American disease."
"We must vote anyone out of office who does not support a ban on assault rifles," he said. "Gun violence is the number one killer of children in America today. We have to do something about that."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular
SUPPORT OUR WORK.
We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100%
reader supported.
reader supported.