Important Opportunity to Increase Funding for DEP and Wildlife in CT!

[Lemmon]

"COMINS, Patrick" <PCOMINS at audubon.org> wrote:  From: "COMINS, Patrick" <PCOMINS at audubon.org>
To: "lemmon at snet.net" <lemmon at snet.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:59:06 -0400
Subject: Important Opportunity to Increase Funding for DEP
and Wildlife in CT! 



Connecticut's environment has an amazing opportunity! Yesterday, Senator Bob Duff and Representative Terry Backer, co-chairs of the Conservation and Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee - responsible for the environment - met with a group us from the environmental community to recommend a desperately needed increase in funding for DEP. This is a step that Audubon and others have been calling for loudly this session. The co-chairs of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Toni Harp (New Haven and West Haven) and Representative Denise Merrill (Chaplin and Mansfield), are sympathetic, but it is a tough budget year and these leaders have many competing demands for a shrinking pot of money. The next few days are critical as Senator Harp and Representative Merrill work to prepare the FY09 state budget. These key lawmakers need to hear from Audubon Chapters, affiliates, and members to make this funding a reality!

THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT AFFECTS THE ENTIRE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY! PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TODAY OR TOMORROW (SUNDAY AT THE LATEST) TO CONTACT SENATOR HARP OR REPRESENTATIVE MERRILL. THANK THEM FOR THEIR PAST SUPPORT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. URGE THEM TO INCLUDE AN INCREASE OF $5 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR THE DEP IN THE FY09 BUDGET!

DEP's budget represents only a shocking 0.24% of the entire state budget, one of the lowest percentages in the country. (More details below.) We are asking for an additional $5M, in hopes that we will get most of it. This amount would fund an estimated 70 positions across DEP, a public master planning process to identify gaps, goals, and future funding needs for the agency, and provide additional funding for the No Child Left Inside initiative. Some areas that desperately need investment include: park staffing; wildlife management; Conservation Officers who also help protect wildlife; clean water and air enforcement; assistance to local wetland agencies; and staff to implement global warming initiatives. Senator Toni Harp and Representative Denise Merrill need to know that the entire environmental community supports this investment.

HERE'S WHAT TO DO:
1- Please have your Chapter or local organization email or write today.
2- If you or anyone you know is a constituent of Senator Harp or Representative Merrill, contact the lawmakers to express your individual support for this funding.

The draft budget will be put together this weekend, and announced on Wednesday. We MUST have every state environmental organization on board immediately to have any chance of success. We are asking every leader (presidents, executive directors, board members, staff) of every organization to send an email or make a phone call of support. To be most effective, emails must go out by Sunday at the latest, and phone calls by Friday, but preferably today or tomorrow. More instructions below.

Thank you so much for your help! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need help. I can be reached by email or on my cell phone at (203) 804-0488.

Sandy

CONTACT INFORMATION
Senator Toni Harp
Harp at senatedems.ct.gov
860-240-0393

Representative Denise Merrill
Denise.Merrill at cga.ct.gov
860-240-0394

PLEASE: cc sbreslin at audubon.org so I know how we are doing SUBJECT LINE: DEP Appropriations Funding Request
MESSAGE: Give your name, organization name, and your position. If you are a constituent, say so! Then, simply say that you request that the DEP budget be increased by $5 million, that this is a priority for you and/or your organization, and that you will be grateful for any increase for the environment that the chairs can provide.


JUST THE FACTS

For a superb analysis of the problem, see the Council on Environmental Quality's March, 2008 report "Dreams Deferred" at http://www.ct.gov/ceq/lib/ceq/funding_report.pdf

*************************************************
Fact Sheet:

INVESTING IN ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Environmental leaders across the state are calling on state lawmakers to invest $5 million in our beleaguered Connecticut DEP for next year.

This investment will allow DEP to hire 70 new full-time positions that will provide desperately needed operational resources to protect our land, air, water, and wildlife.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY DECIMATED BY UNDERFUNDING

DEP receives FAR LESS THAN HALF the level of General Fund (GF) support when compared to any neighboring state. The agency has been decimated by years of budget neglect.

The impacts of this neglect are apparent across our entire agency and state:

* Miles of extraordinary park drives and picnic grounds are closed to the public due to cuts in park staffing.
* Local wetland agencies struggle every night with challenging development decisions, and only three DEP staff to guide and train them.
* Only two state wildlife biologists with a tiny support staff oversee the welfare of birds and other non-game wildlife. The Natural Diversity Database of threatened, endangered or special concern species is under staffed and the database is often out-of-date.
* Years of toxic, illegal pollution discharges flowed into our rivers and Long Island Sound because water enforcement has been cut.
* Only two staff are available to coordinate the tough job of reducing polluted runoff in over one hundred communities.
* The challenge of global warming requires new planning and implementation staff, but no funds area available to hire them

CRITICAL OUTCOMES

This investment will provide the DEP with the resources needed to begin to:
* Maintain and protect our public parks, provide conservation officers to protect our wildlife and staff to manage our forests;
* Provide consistent enforcement of environmental laws that protect our health, our air, water and land;
* Reduce polluted runoff that now shuts down more beaches and miles of river to swimming and fishing than any other pollution source;
* Help local wetlands commissions respond to growing development pressure;
* Manage our wildlife areas for nature and people
* Reduce permit backlogs and delays that needlessly penalize Connecticut business and delay environmental cleanup;
* Allow Connecticut to maintain a national leadership role in fighting global warming;
* Help get thousands of children outside into our parks and forests.


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