Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official

December 12, 2011
Congressman Michael K. Simpson
2312 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington DC 20515

Vote YES for H.R. 2584 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

This letter is to bring to your attention on how conserving the United States' national and state parks as well as other recreation areas benefit our nation. The proposal is looking to keep the parks open instead of shutting them down which in turn, does not benefit the people who are looking for fun, healthy things to do. I believe that making recreation available gives people an opportunity to commune with nature and gives them a sense of belonging to the land.

Different companies such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and many others that were established will shut down and thousands of people will be out of jobs. The animals and vegetation in this areas will either be abandoned, moved, or worse--destroyed. Maintaining and regulating the water, land, etc. will not deplete our natural resources, thus preserving for future generations a healthy environment.

Your past actions and support on the issue have been greatly appreciated, and as a health educator, I encourage you to vote "yes" to H.R. 2584. If I can provide and further information, please contact me at 555-123-9876 or vinni003@d.umn.edu.


Sarra Vinnik

Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

Funding for National Parks and Wildlife

H.R. 2584 

Make appropriations for FY2012 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) Oregon and California grant lands; (5) range improvements; (6) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (7) miscellaneous trust funds.

What happens to the parks, recreation areas, and wildlife if funding is cut or decreased?

• Parks are taken over by industries to set up factories.
• National areas are shut down and not used at all.
• Animals are sent to other areas or destroyed.
• Society as a whole cannot enjoy the parks and recreation areas that were set aside in the first place.
• Limited activities.
• Higher fees.
• Job loss.
• Partial government shutdown.

Cities see parks and recreation areas to not be as important as public safety and thus cut funding to these areas. One way that some parks and activities areas have stayed open is because of the communities getting together and volunteering. That is a good way to help make a community stronger, however these places need more than just volunteers. Instead of cutting or decreasing funds, it would be better to raise funds through different avenues.

Resources

Andrew Burns

Marisol Bello

Joseph DiStefano

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

• What is the issue/problem?
• What current legislation has been proposed to address this? (Identify bill # and name)

The issue/problem is the United States government overspending and borrowing over 40 cents on each dollar that it spends. The bill H.R. 2584, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 talks about how this overspending is hurting the American economy by saying "that too often a commitment to an issue is measured by the amount of money spent rather than how the money is spent" (H.R. 2584). The House of Representatives left this bill on the 28th of July, 2011 as unfinished business. It has not been looked at since then.

Who is affected by the issue?

• Who is affected the most?
• Who loses, and what do they lose?
• Who gains, and what do they gain? 

Those affected by this issue as a whole are the American people. To get specific though, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as several other that are listed in this bill. They lose because there is little to no funding of keeping the land, water, and other resources preserved. It costs money to keep up with maintenance as well as training and education. They will gain if their funding requirements are met. Thus, creating a safe, enjoyable environment for people to visit such as the Everglades which is talked about in H.R. 2584.

What are the consequences of the issue?

• For the individuals mostly affected?
• For their families?
• For society?

As mentioned before, the individuals that would be most affected are the American people and their families. The consequences in this bill were hard to find, however I did find some restrictions and processes that the bill talked about such as fossil fuel combustion waste regulation. This is a lengthy bill that has a variety of sections so I might have to end up choosing a section as we move on with this project. From what I read, this bill has been written to scrutinize all areas and not leave a single stone unturned. H.R. 2584 talks about managing and finding ways to manage thermal discharges, coal combustion ash, storm water discharge, etc. to create less of an impact on the natural environment.

What is the economic impact of the issue?

• What are the economic costs of the issue, and who bears these costs?
• What are the economic benefits of the issue, and who benefits?

The proposed budget is eight million dollars. To me that sounds like a lot and almost unattainable. The economic benefits would be that land, water, parks, and pollutants would be maintained and regulated so as not to deplete our supplies nor contaminate them for future generations. Being that this is an exhaustive bill, I did not find as to HOW this bill will be funded. The bill is basically asking the government for money to help with preserving resources, and naturally, I assume it will come from taxes that we as a people are paying.

What is the social impact of the issue?

• What are the social costs of the issue, and who bears these costs?
• What are the social benefits of the issue, and who benefits?

The social costs would be more spending for the preservation of wildlife, parks, and recreation areas around the United States. I suppose the social benefits would be that people who work for these agencies would still have their jobs; there would be more education and awareness; and SUPPOSEDLY the United States benefits as a whole.

What are the barriers?

• What are the barriers to addressing this issue?
• How can they be overcome?

Barriers would be the huge cost. Honestly, this bill should be broken up into many small bills instead of categorized in sections. Now that I keep looking at it and trying to make sense of it--it looks HUGE!!! This would take a long time to finally get rolling. Better to take small chunks and conquer them instead of throwing it all at the government at once.

What are the resources?

• What resources will we need to address this issue?
• Where and how can they be tapped?

 Resources would be lobbying and keep bugging the legislators to pass this bill. They can be tapped by calling, talking, and writing letters to lobbyists asking them to support the bill.

What is the history of this issue?

• What is the history of the issue in the community?
• What past efforts were made to address it?
• What were the results?

This issue has been around for awhile I would think. I did not find much on past efforts that were made to address this issue. Results would probably only amount to efforts that were not achieved very well--hence this bill.

Allies & Opponents

• Who would support this issue?
• Who would oppose this issue?
• How can you involve allies and opponents in advocacy efforts? (What common ground can you share? How can you create a win-win for your allies and your opponents?)

The Department of Natural Resources would probably support this issue since the state and national parks could use more funding and education. Opposition would come from those who do not see that preserving the environment is important for future generations. Especially from people who see the resources and would rather exploit them til there was nothing left.

Your Recommendation

• How do you want policy-makers to vote on this proposed policy? 

After reading this bill more in-depth, I actually would not vote for it because there is just too much going on. My recommendation is to have it broken up and focused more on every individual question instead of looking at it as a whole. I don't know. I'm detail-oriented instead of seeing things as a big picture.

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

1. 
   H. R. 2584 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (Introduced in House) 
   Title: Make appropriations for FY2012 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (4) Oregon and California grant lands; (5) range improvements; (6) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; and (7) miscellaneous trust funds.

Sponsor: Rep Simpson, Michael K. [ID-2] (introduced 7/19/2011)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 7/28/2011 House floor actions. Status: Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 2584 as unfinished business.
Recommendation: Vote YES for H.R. 2584 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
My Political Representative: Unknown

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

President of the United States of America

Barack Obama, Democrat

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

202-456-1111

Congresswoman

Amy Klobuchar, Democrat

http://klobuchar.senate.gov/

302 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

202-224-3244

Congressman

Al Franken, Democrat

http://franken.senate.gov/

309 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

202-224-5641

Congressman

Chip Cravaack. Republican

http://cravaack.house.gov/

508 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

202-225-6211

State Legislator

Kerry Gauthier, Democrat

 http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=15348

225 State Office Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Saint Paul, MN 55155

651-296-4246

State Legislator

Roger Reinert, Democrat

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_bio.php?district=07

149 State Office Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Saint Paul, MN 55155

651-296-4188

Governor

Mark Dayton, Democrat

http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/

130 State Capitol

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Saint Paul, MN 55155

651-201-3400

Mayor

Don Ness, Democrat

http://www.duluthmn.gov/mayor/

Room 402 Mayor's Office

411 West First Street

Duluth, MN 55802

218-730-5230

Welcome to Sarra's Notes in Nature!

"Lady Slipper: Minnesota State Flower. July 19, 2009."
Location: Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, MN
(If you want to go see it during the summer, stop into the park in the government office and ask any of the DNR staff. It is the only lady slipper in the entire state park because it was planted there.)

My name is Sarra Vinnik, and my blog is about my adventures with nature. I enjoy trail-running and hiking a lot and when I can remember, I bring a camera along to take pictures of scenery that has meaning to me. Almost every nature picture I take has some amount of thought behind it.

There are 5 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

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3. Reflections
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5. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.
The members of my web group are:

1. Amy & Kristen@Enviro-Surfing with Amy & Kristen 
2.  Caleb T.@Caleb Cares About Contamination
3. Andrea V.@Fun in the Sun with Andrea
4. Jamie T.@Jamie on the Big Lake
5. And myself Sarra V.@Sarra's Notes in Nature
 

 

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