Tell Congress: Stop the Native American land grab

The petition to Congress reads: "Reject any legislation, including the Emery County Public Land Management Act, that undermines tribal sovereignty or strips land away from Native people." Add your name:

Another Native American land grab It's absolutely deplorable: Western-state Republicans are once again attempting to rip sovereign tribal land away from Native Americans in Utah and give it to the fossil fuel industry.1 After failed attempts in 2016 to strip lands from the Ute tribe, Rep. Rob Bishop and Sen. Orrin Hatch are pushing hard for Congress to pass legislation once again to hand over Native reservation land to extractive industries during the lame-duck session just before Democrats take control of the House. Their bill is not only a huge giveaway to the fossil fuel industry, it would also be the first Native American land grab in over 100 years. We must demand that Congress prevent this bill from ever getting a vote in Congress. Tell Congress: Stop the Native American land grab in Utah. Click here to sign the petition. This legislation is just the latest attempt by Rep. Bishop and other enemies of Native and public lands to undermine sovereign land and water rights. In 2016, Rep. Bishop introduced legislation that would have stripped away protections for 100,000 acres of Ute tribal lands to allow for oil drilling and uranium mining and would have prevented then-President Obama from designating 18 million acres of unprotected land at Bears Ears a national monument.2 And it's no surprise why: After becoming chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Bishop got a massive payout to his campaign, receiving hundreds of thousands in contributions from the energy, agribusiness and oil and gas industries.3 In addition to stealing indigenous tribal lands, this Republican bill, dubbed the Emery County Public Land Management Act, would neglect to protect more than 1 million acres of public lands, transfer public lands to the state of Utah and allow for destructive, motorized recreational use. And according to the Grand Canyon Trust, "Native American tribes were totally excluded from deliberations" and "countless important rock art panels and other cultural sites are left available for oil and gas drilling, and that’s just unacceptable."4 We stopped Republican efforts to steal Native lands before, and we can do it again. We must act now before the end of the congressional session to demand that Congress stop this modern-day Native American land grab. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/land_grab_2018?t=7&akid=30791%2E3130208%2EPeQHvr - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References: The Ute Indian Tribe PAC, "FACT SHEET: Exposing Congressman Bishop's Misinformation on the Uncompahgre Reservation," Oct. 9, 2018. Dan Zukowski, "Federal Bill Seeks First Native American Land Grab in 100 Years," EcoWatch, Sept. 20, 2016. Emma Baccellieri, "For campaign cash, many lawmakers use a big map; Rob Bishop nears 93 percent out-of-state," Open Secrets, July 8, 2016 Grand Canyon Trust, "The Grand Canyon Trust opposes the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018," June 28, 2018.

Urge Members of Congress: Fix America's parks by supporting this bipartisan legislation TODAY!

It’s not every day that we come to you with news and an opportunity like this!

Both chambers of Congress -- with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats, plus the Trump administration, have come together around new legislation that begins to address the $11.6 billion in overdue maintenance projects in America’s national parks.

This is truly remarkable and it’s our best opportunity in more than 50 years to get the parks the help they need with much-needed repairs! But for this to happen, Congress needs to know you care.

Urge your members of Congress to do everything they can to fix America's parks by supporting and passing this bipartisan legislation today!

America's national parks suffer from more than $11 billion worth of overdue maintenance needs, such as degraded roads, deteriorated trails and outdated visitor centers.

Thankfully, Republicans, Democrats and the administration recently worked together to craft this legislation that addresses the most critical maintenance needs in our national parks over the next five years.

Congress is to make a significant investment in protecting and repairing America’s national parks for future generations, they simply must hear from you. Tell your members of Congress to support and pass this important legislation today!    

- Emily Douce. Director of Budget & Appropriations

Below is the letter you'll find on the link above. 

(Since Sen. McCain and Rep. McSally proposed a similar bill last year, I suggest that you personalize the letter including that information. ) 

You can also send a your revised letter through their websites:

https://mcsally.house.gov/contact

https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

I'm not sure about Sen. Flake's position on the bill, so the letter (below) would be fine for him.

https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

As one of the 1.3 million members and supporters of the National Parks Conservation Association and as your constituent, I urge you to do everything you can to support and pass the Restore Our National Parks (and Public Lands) Act (S. 3172/H.R. 6510) that, if enacted, would help address the most critical maintenance needs in America's national parks.

National parks suffer from over $11 billion in overdue repairs such as deteriorated roads, overrun trails, and degraded visitor centers. This consensus bill brings together bipartisan champions from similar legislative proposals striving to address these maintenance issues in our parks.

Please provide the overdue and necessary funding to address the backlog of repairs in national parks by supporting and passing S. 3172/H.R. 6510. If you have already cosponsored this legislation, thank you! Your continued support is crucial.

We must ensure national parks protect America's natural wonders and history for our children and grandchildren. Thank you.

More information:

ttps://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3172/text

Bishop, Grijalva Introduce Bill to Establish a Fund Addressing National Park Maintenance Backlog

Bill would create fund for national park maintenance

In June of 2017, Sen. McCain and Rep. McSally proposed a bill to preserve and revive public lands. 

5 Harmful Anti-conservation Bills in Congress

Anti-conservationists in Congress are at it again.

Not content with President Trump’s slashing of national monuments, or the opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, they now want to gut protections for wild places all across our country. It seems like they won’t be happy until they’ve exploited every last acre of public wild lands for private gain.

Now they are proposing more legislation to desecrate our wilderness. Here are 5 of the worst bills working their way through Congress:

1. Senator Steve Daines and Representative Greg Gianforte have proposed bills that would slash protections for 29 wildlands in Montana that total around 700,000 acres.
2. Representative Rob Bishop has added an unrelated provision to the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that funds our military, to block protections for the greater sage grouse and undermine conservation of 63 million acres of habitat across the West.
3. The House just narrowly passed a controversial Farm Bill that overrides the roadless rule, putting millions of acres of protected forest land at risk for logging.
4. Representative John Curtis has proposed legislation attempting to codify Trump’s cuts to Bears Ears National Monument.
5. Representative Tom Emmer has pushed to open the headwaters of the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to polluting sulfide-ore mining, and he may again try to attach this issue as a unrelated language to “must-pass” appropriations legislation.

More information: 

National Environmental Score Card  

Vote accordingly.