CONSERVATION NEWS ACROSS VIRGINIA
2018 Virginia Environmental Assembly Drew in Highest Attendance on Record
On September 7th and 8th, Virginia’s conservation community convened in Williamsburg for the Virginia Environmental Assembly and Virginia Conservation Network (VCN)'s Annual Meeting, an annual two-day conference bringing experienced and emerging conservation leaders together to learn, strategize, and network. This year’s event had record attendance from VCN Network Partners, elected officials, and members of the public, with over 250 participants. Through our partnership with W&M Sustainability, we were able to engage a record number of students over the two days, [...]
Local Elected Officials Invited to Participate in Chesapeake Bay Roundtable Discussions
Photo credit: Chesapeake Bay Program The Chesapeake Bay is one of America’s greatest treasures. Made up of a network of hundreds of thousands of rivers and streams that span over 64,000 square miles, this watershed is a vital source of recreation, food, and drinking water for millions of Americans. Additionally, thousands of members of the tourism and fishing industries depend on the Chesapeake Bay to provide for their families. The whole reason we’ve been able to restore the [...]
General Assembly Update — Week Eight
Updated Bill Tracker Throughout the General Assembly session, VCN maintains an updated conservation bill tracker online. The bill tracker is updated every Friday after VCN's Board of Directors votes on positions recommended by VCN's Legislative Committee. Week Eight Legislative Update Top Action: Restore Funding for Critical Land Conservation Programs The budget conferees have been appointed. These 13 individuals will work over the next week to hammer out the differences in the House and Senate budgets. Contact the budget [...]
Conservation Community Review of 2018 – 2020 Biennial State Budget
On Sunday, February 18, the Senate and House budgets were released. While some improvements were made compared to the state budget proposed in December, far-reaching cuts to critical conservation programs still remain. VCN's Legislative Committee has pulled together the following comments in response to the Virginia House and Senate 2018 – 2020 biennial budget. Clean Water & Fisheries In order to meet the pollution reduction goals laid out by the Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, we must continue to invest in [...]
General Assembly Update — Week Seven
Updated Bill Tracker Throughout the General Assembly session, VCN maintains an updated conservation bill tracker online. The bill tracker is updated every Friday after VCN's Board of Directors votes on positions recommended by VCN's Legislative Committee. Week Seven Legislative Update Top Action: Funding for Critical Land Conservation Programs On Sunday, February 18, the Senate and House budgets were released. Cuts to critical land conservation programs were worse than expected. Legislators are pointing to money that state and private [...]
General Assembly Update — Week Six
Updated Bill Tracker Throughout the General Assembly session, VCN maintains an updated conservation bill tracker online. The bill tracker is updated every Friday after VCN's Board of Directors votes on positions recommended by VCN's Legislative Committee. Week Six Legislative Update Crossover took place this past Tuesday, February 13th. This means that all House bills that are still alive have crossed over to the Senate side, and all Senate bills that are still alive have crossed over to the [...]