We are excited to announce that registration for the 2017 Virginia Environmental Assembly has officially opened! Bringing together conservation leaders from across the Commonwealth, this event provides a forum for discussion on key environmental issues, as well as an opportunity to strategize about the best ways to tackle threats to our natural environment. This year's keynote speaker is Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus. A national leader within the green movement, Reverend Yearwood has been successfully bridging [...]

Click the image to view the letter. The Southern Environmental Law Center, Shenandoah Valley Network, Virginia Conservation Network and more than 75 other environmental, conservation, and public advocacy groups that represent tens of thousands of Virginians have signed on to a letter urging the Commonwealth to require individual 401 certification review for wetland and stream crossings in the paths of the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. Currently, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality plans to rely solely on a cursory [...]

This has been a big week for conservation in the Virginia General Assembly. Bills on coal ash, fracking, and renewable energy were all up, in addition to a bill on redistricting reform. Virginia Conservation Network took positions on three new bills and eight new budget items. As we approach crossover next week, it's critical that Virginia's conservation community is putting as much pressure on legislators as possible to continue pushing good bills forward and to kill the bills that threaten our health, communities, and natural resources. [...]

This past Monday, January 23rd, over 200 conservation organizations and activists joined together in Richmond to participate in Virginia Conservation Network’s largest Conservation Lobby Day in recent history. Nearly 100 meetings were held with state legislators and aides urging them to support environmental policy advancements. Priority issues that participants brought up with their legislators included: Keeping our drinking water and rivers clean by updating storage for toxic coal ash and preventing the oil and gas industry from hiding what chemicals [...]

Finishing out the second week of the 2017 Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Conservation Network has taken 39 new bill positions, totaling 59 so far. Updates from the General Assembly Good news: Bill to cut Virginia land conservation funding tabled in subcommittee! Yes, you read that right—HB1470 was tabled in subcommittee! This bill that would have cut the Land Preservation Tax Credit—Virginia's single most effective tool to protect farm and forest land, historic and scenic landscapes, and important natural communities and ecosystems. A [...]