A Year in Review: VCN’s 2022 Annual Report
Over the last year, VCN worked with our 150+ Network Partners to maintain momentum around policy gains while continuing to navigate working within the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The year was defined by a gubernatorial election and the infusion of federal money into the state budget. It ended with a vastly different political landscape including a new, untested Governor and a change in conservation strategy from offense to defense.
Our Annual Report reviews Virginia Conservation Network’s work from Spring 2021 to Winter 2022. While it feels almost impossible to cover everything we worked on last year in only a few pages, we did our best to squeeze in the highlights, including:
- our strategy to advance conservation initiatives year-round,
- our policy gains and challenges through the General Assembly session,
- our Network Partner engagement events,
- VCN staff updates,
- …and more!
Read more of our recent updates from our blog:
Land Use & Transportation Policy: 2022 General Assembly Review
Advocating for Land Use & Transportation Policy to expand zero-fare transit, electrify Virginia's transportation, and protect our public transit funding.
Virginia Governor Youngkin is wrong about RGGI. Here’s 5 reasons why.
After Governor Youngkin's misleading report on RGGI, the Environmental Defense Fund outlined 5 key reasons why Virginia needs RGGI.
Equitable & Inclusive Government Policy: 2022 General Assembly Review
The conservation community was on the defense to protect our environment by ensuring equitable & inclusive government legislation.
ROUNDUP: Governor’s RGGI Report
Governor Youngkin released a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative report that provides a cherry-picked analysis to support a partisan effort to repeal Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - despite 67% of Virginians supporting RGGI.
Bill of the Day: Flood Resilience
Virginians are on the frontline of climate change, facing devastating sea-level rise and increasing rainfall. It is critical for Virginia to pass strong flood resilience legislation.
Bill of the Day: Transit Ridership Incentive Program (TRIP)
To guarantee transit equity and reduce barriers to transit access, we need legislation which better distributes TRIP funds for zero-fare transit.