On Saturday, December 1st, Virginia’s conservation community convened in multiple locations across the Commonwealth for a preview of what’s in store for our natural resources and landscapes in the 2019 General Assembly session.
Traditionally, the General Assembly Preview has taken place only in Richmond. In order to better accommodate the vast majority of Virginians who live outside of the region, Virginia Conservation Network partnered with the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley, Appalachian Voices, Blue Ridge Land Conservancy, Choose Clean Water Coalition, Lynnhaven River NOW, and Piedmont Environmental Council to host six watch parties across Virginia.
Combined, these watch parties and the in-person event in Richmond engaged nearly 300 advocates across the Commonwealth, making this the highest attended General Assembly Preview in our network’s history.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Six Watch Parties Across Virginia Tuned In
This is the second year we expanded the General Assembly Preview beyond Richmond to accommodate more advocates across Virginia. Given how well the regional events did last year, we increased the number of watch parties from four to six this year. Watch party locations included:
- Charlottesville hosted by Appalachian Voices and Piedmont Environmental Council
- Harrisonburg hosted by the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley
- Reston hosted by the Choose Clean Water Coalition
- Roanoke hosted by the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy
- Virginia Beach hosted by Lynnhaven River NOW
- Warrenton hosted by Piedmont Environmental Council
COAL ASH, CLIMATE, AND BUDGET HIGHLIGHTED
Each year, this event provides Virginians with a snapshot of statewide conservation priorities that have the potential to see substantial movement in the 2019 legislative session. This year, experts highlighted the need for achieving safe and responsible closure of coal ash ponds, fighting climate change and sea level rise by joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and securing funding in the budget for our conservation priorities.
The agenda also included a panel of experts to cover what legislation we expect regarding the high cost of new development, small-scale solar, redistricting, and fracked-gas pipelines.
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
We owe a very special thank you to our regional partners for leading the coordination of the six watch parties. Without their leadership, this event would have not been possible. We are very grateful to have been able to work with them over these past few months to ensure this event’s statewide success.