FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RURAL ADVOCATES COMMEND THE LEADERSHIP OF SENATORS KERRY AND LIEBERMAN IN ADVANCING SOLUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE AND ENERGY CRISIS

Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition press release regarding the Kerry-Lieberman Climate bill.

Rural advocates commend Senators Kerry and Lieberman on their leadership to advance solutions to the climate and energy crisis facing our nation and world. We also commend the Senators in their efforts to reach out to a broad and diverse group of Congressional members, stakeholders and partners in developing such a critical piece of legislation. We recognize and appreciate the important role of Senator Graham in helping to craft this legislation.

This bill establishes an overall goal and implementation strategies for emissions reductions and provides for community and natural resource adaptation to the future impacts of a changing climate. This legislation is critical to helping rural communities and landscapes address the adverse effects of climate change that are already occurring through severe drought, uncharacteristic wildfire, flooding and the spread of invasive species.

We are particularly concerned with how climate change will impact rural communities in the Western United States and the forests, watersheds and rangelands that dominate this landscape. Rural communities are often the front line stewards of our country’s natural resources and will play a critical role in shaping the implementation of this bill. Throughout the Western United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plays a critical role in finding and implementing solutions across various landscapes. Our organizations are encouraged by the increased role USDA will be given in this legislation to help identify projects, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon across various private and public land settings.

We also commend the increased inter-agency integration encouraged and necessary for implementing these policies. We look forward to working to further clarify how these solutions can be strengthened and implemented through a collaborative process in order to establish policies that are effective in providing rural communities with the necessary resources to engage in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Our coalition has long advocated for federal climate change polices to protect the most vulnerable populations from the severe effects of a changing climate. The below organizations look forward to working closely with the Senators and partners in developing timely and realistic solutions to help these communities.

American Forests - Center for Rural Strategies - Ecosystem Workforce Program - Forest Guild - Northwest Connections - Restore Montana - Siuslaw Institute - Sustainable Northwest - Wallowa Resources - Watershed Research and Training Center

The above organizations make up the leadership team of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition (RVCC), which is comprised of western rural and local, regional, and national organizations that have joined together to promote balanced conservation-based approaches to the ecological and economic problems facing the West. RVCC is a coalition and program organized and managed by Sustainable Northwest.

For more information on rural perspectives on climate change see:

• Climate Change, Rural Communities and Landscapes (2009) (downloads PDF)

• Climate Change Adaptation in Rural, Natural Resource-Dependent Communities (2010) (downloads PDF)
  

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