April 17, 2008 – A Successful Trip

On our final day in D.C., the now seasoned participants attended meetings and wrapped up the week.

In the morning, members of the Biomass Working Group met with the Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization Team to discuss the RVCC vision for community scaled biomass utilization. In the afternoon, a small group met with Forest Service Acquisition Management personnel. Members of the group met with two associations, the National Association of Counties and the National Association of Conservation Districts. Throughout the day, RVCC members also discussed our issues with staff and representatives from Idaho, New Mexico and Oregon, and the staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

During the final debrief, the group talked about how to be most effective in the weeks to come. To build on our presence in D.C., participants will bring their findings back to the RVCC Working Groups and will follow up on what we have learned this week. We will adjust our strategies and will work hard to continue to foster relationships on the Hill, within the land management agencies and among our partners.

After a very productive week, we celebrated the completion of our trip over a group dinner with congressional staff and other national partners.

While the meetings are a crucial aspect of the Western Week in Washington, one RVCC member said that he really enjoyed connecting with the other participants on the trip. Another participant commented that while all of the members of RVCC don’t agree on every issue, the Coalition creates a great environment to engage in dialogue with each other and with policy makers.  Lastly, a member of the group expressed how pleased she was at the ease with which the Coalition is able access our policy makers, and how receptive many were to our suggestions and efforts.

We are all looking forward to returning to our homes across the West to share what we have learned by being active participants in a democracy, and promoting the policies that affect the communities where we live and work.

April 16, 2008 - Another Day on the Hill

The group enjoyed another sunny day of hard, but rewarding work in our Nation’s Capitol. A strongly non-partisan coalition, members met with both majority and minority staffers from the Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, Energy and Natural Resources, and Interior Appropriations Committees.

Small groups of participants met with the staff of representatives from Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Washington to talk about issues ranging from biomass to stewardship and private lands.

In the afternoon, members of the Coalition’s Workforce and Labor Working Group met with Department of Labor representatives to talk about recommendations to promote better job quality for forest workers.

Between meetings, RVCC members enjoyed the beautiful weather, prepared for meetings, and engaged in light banter and more serious reflection and critical thinking about rural development and natural resource issues in the West.

April 15, 2008 - A Full Day of Meetings

Building on the momentum from our first day, the group attended a total of 16 meetings with congressional and agency staffers and representatives. The group met with pertinent staff and congress people from Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Members of the coalition were also able to interact with key Natural Resource and Agriculture Committee staff. Completing the full day we met with Mark Rey, the USDA Undersecretary of Natural Resources and Environment.

Members of the group started to get into the rhythm of the week and got together in small group strategy meetings over breakfast to prepare for the meetings ahead.

At the meetings, after sharing our issues and on-the-ground perspectives, we engaged the staffers by asking them if there was any information that we could get them and if they would be willing to support our issues.  We left a packet of our 2008 issue papers with each office and wrote notes about ways that we could follow up. The group worked hard to develop new relationships and re-energize old ones.

Throughout the day the groups’ expertise was called on to give specific recommendations on various legislative proposals and ideas. Our hard work is paying off – we’re recognized as a credible and informed source of expertise and innovation.

Participants navigated their way back to the hotel to debrief amongst rumors of street and metro stop closures. D.C. was buzzing as the Pope’s visit crowded the streets.

During our debrief, we shared the information that we had learned that day with the rest of the group, enabling us to focus the messages we would use the next day making the content of our meetings as relevant and up to date as possible.

After the full day we spread out across the city to unwind, socialize with other RVCC members and family and friends in D.C. 

April 14, 2008 - First Meetings on the Hill

On our second day in Washington we started the day off with a group strategy session to review our policy platform priorities and plan for the busy week of meetings ahead.  After a quick bite to eat we found taxis and headed to the Forest Service building. 

For those of us on their first trip to D.C., it was exciting to see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.  More experienced members of the group enjoyed D.C. and its springtime splendor. We spent the afternoon meeting with various Forest Service offices discussing current stewardship contracting activities, how different pieces of legislation might affect the agency, and learning about
their transformation process. We also had our first meetings on the Hill, and visited with congressional staff from the Montana and New Mexico delegations. 

During our meetings we shared our local perspectives and experiences on topics like woody biomass utilization, stewardship contracting, community owned forests and collaboration to show how they can inform natural resource management policy.

We all met up at the end of the day to debrief over happy hour on what we’d learned that day, and to share information amongst the group that would have an impact on future meetings.

April 13, 2008 - Arrival in Washington, D.C.

Today participants in the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition traveled from six Western states to convene in Washington D.C. for the Western Week in Washington. Those of us who arrived this afternoon gathered for an informal dinner in Dupont Circle to catch up with old friends, make new connections and enjoy each other's company. We’re all looking forward to our meetings with policy makers in the week ahead.