April 30, 2009 – The end of a productive trip

Our time in D.C. has really flown by! Before returning home, many of us took advantage of the morning and had a few more meetings with the Forest Service, the Department of Energy, the Economic Development Administration, the Office of Management and Budget and a number of NGOs (The American Carbon Standard, EESI, Transportation for America Campaign, and the Society of American Foresters). 

We held a final de-briefing session in the morning to review what we’d learned over the week. We discussed how we’ll share information with our Working Groups, and what we need to do when we get home to best leverage our efforts and activities this week. (Who says you can’t be serious and have fun at the same time? Especially at 7:30 in the morning…). The key seems to be keeping up the momentum of our efforts – there is, and will continue to be a lot of policy activity on some of our big issues (climate change, green jobs, uses of woody biomass for energy). What an asset to have such a great group of motivated people throughout the RVCC network to work with!

April 29, 2009 – Meetings, briefing and networking galore: today RVCC could stand for Rural Voices in Constant Conversation…

We’ve continued to gather momentum throughout the week – thanks to a tireless RVCC team and an interested reception from the majority of people we’ve met with. Today was a big agency day, but we also continued to meet with Senate and House staff.  In the morning, RVCC participants from Oregon attended a constituent coffee hosted by Senator Merkley and his staff.  Throughout the day we talked to people in multiple offices within the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Labor, as well as congressional staff from Oregon, California, Idaho, and the Senate Agricultural Committee.

This afternoon we held a briefing on climate change during which Lynn Jungwirth, Gerry Gray and George McKinley shared their perspectives on how and why rural communities must be part of policy discussions on how to adapt to and mitigate the effects climate change is and will continue to have on the Western landscape. (Read the RVCC Climate Change Issue Paper). The briefing was well attended by congressional staff, and we were grateful for the assistance of Senator Wyden’s office and the Rural Policy Research Institute for helping us secure a briefing room on the Hill.

We all gathered at the end of the day for a reception hosted by Sustainable Northwest, American Forests and the National Rural Assembly. A number of congressional and agency staff joined RVCC members for an evening of conversation and networking. Cheryl Cook, the USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development gave a motivating keynote address followed by a few welcoming remarks by Jay Jensen, the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources.

April 28, 2009 - WWiW Continues

What a full day! We had a total of 34 meetings today, which kept us on our toes literally (criss-crossing the Hill) and figuratively (lots of interest in our issues). We met with Senate and House congressional members and staffers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. We also had meetings with key congressional committee staff from the Natural Resources, Agriculture, Appropriations and Environment and Public Works committees. 

RVCC has recently begun to expand its traditional focus on forests to include rangeland and ranching issues. This year some RVCC participants interested in creating a Rangelands and Ranching working group is using this trip to learn more about what range and ranching policy issues are currently being discussed at a national level. This will help them continue to develop a strategy on how the RVCC could engage and what our policy recommendations will be. The subgroup met with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Bureau of Land Management to assess the lay of the land. 

In addition to sharing our policy solutions during our meetings we took the opportunity, with new and veteran staff alike, to reinforce that RVCC is a resource for information throughout the year. 

In between our meetings in the morning, many of us saw a common D.C. sight as protesters demonstrated along main thoroughfares on the Hill. Although their issues and tactics differ widely from the RVCC’s, it was exciting to see constituents participating in an American tradition of engaging in democracy. 

Stay tuned for our report about Wednesday to hear how the climate change briefing and RVCC networking reception went.

 

April 27, 2009 – RVCC Brings the Heat Wave (temps reach into the 90’s)

On our second day in Washington we spread out across the city for a full day of meetings on the Hill and with the Administration and the land management agencies.  DC veterans reacquainted themselves with the city while newcomers to DC attempted to keep north and south straight. 

 

Throughout the course of the day we met with congressional staff from Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington; congressional committee staff; decision makers at the Forest Service, BLM and USDA Office of Ecosystem Services; and the Council on Environmental Quality. We primarily shared messages about using woody biomass to create thermal energy, the importance of considering rural communities when developing green jobs initiatives, climate change mitigation strategies and community forest initiatives. (Read our issue papers).

It was rewarding to meet with many rural allies, and particularly rewarding in one case to find a kindred community-minded spirit with whom we hope to partner in the future to bridge the rural/urban divide in the creation of a green economy.

 

This afternoon we held a briefing on thermal energy applications of woody biomass. Chad Davis, Mike DeBonis, Rob Davis, Joyce Dearstyne and Andi Colnes presented a range of regional and local perspectives on the benefits of using woody biomass to create heat (see the presentation). The briefing was well attended and we hope to have added to the broader policy dialogue on woody biomass utilization.

 

We ended our day with a debriefing session where we shared what we’d learned during our meetings with each other. It was a great way to end the day and we left feeling positive, enthusiastic and inspired.

April 26, 2009 – The Western Week in Washington Begins!

Today Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition participants from ten different states kicked off the Western Week in Washington with a day-long training and strategy session. In the morning we got a sense of the ‘lay of the land’ on Capitol Hill from Amelia Jenkins, Senior Policy Advisor for the House Natural Resources Committee, and learned what the current Congressional, Agency and Administrative priorities are on issues like climate change, renewable energy and forest restoration.

We then heard from Amie Brown who shared her expertise from working for 11 years on policy issues in D.C., and learned about the most effective ways to convey our messages when meeting with congressional and agency decision-makers.  The tips on how to make a good impression, leverage relationships and effectively communicate our priorities will be invaluable throughout the week!

Over lunch, Marcie McLaughlin from the Rural Policy and Research Institute shared insights on rural development and messaging strategies. We spent the afternoon discussing and finalizing our strategy for our upcoming meetings, and ironing out the details of who is going where and when.

 

 

After a full day we had a great time unwinding at Amelia Jenkins’ house, enjoying tasty homemade pizza and great company (both human and canine).