Pre-election comparison on candidates' stance on the Environment and Protecting Public Lands

This is the last of the pre-election alerts put out by the Protecting Public Lands workgroup of EDP.  Our focus has been on the environment in general and public lands in particular.  We have shared both Jessica Morse’s and Tom McClintock’s stance on several issues in order to assist our members with their voting choices.

What we have learned is that Jessica Morse has made clear her ideas on protecting our forests, preserving our waters and keeping public lands public.  She feels that community involvement, regardless of political ideologies, is essential in this process and she has clearly shown during her campaign that she can listen to and include voices from both sides of the aisle.  

Tom McClintock, on the other hand, has consistently shown by his actions in Congress that he has little regard for the environment.  He votes regularly against preserving our cherished land.  According to the League of Conservation Voters he has a 4% record when voting on environmental issues.  He is rated #14 on the list of Public Enemies of the Environment by the Center for Biological Diversity.  He seldom holds town hall meetings, a practice most congresspeople use to hear their constituents' concerns and opinions.

Bottom line, McClintock seems to care more about his party than the people in his district.

We are blessed to live in a district with some of the most beautiful public lands in the country.  We deserve a congressperson who puts those lands ahead of his political party. We deserve someone who is willing to make decisions that enhance and preserve our lands rather than commercialize them.  We deserve a representative better than Tom McClintock.  

WATER - FIRE - PUBLIC LANDS - compare Morse and McClintock

This is the third in a series of talking points for you to share with your family and friends. The Protecting Public Lands Workgroup of EDP is sending out these informational alerts highlighting Tom McClintock’s dismal record on the environment. Most environmental issues in California cut across party lines so these are good points to bring up with your friends.

The following is a comparison how Morse and McClintock differ on 3 key environmental issues. Go to their websites for a more complete picture of where they stand.  morse4congress.com and tommcclintock.com

WATER

Morse states, “I will work to direct resources toward our communities' needs rather than big water projects that don’t benefit us. Not only do big dams serve mainly to ship water out of our district, they are a far more dangerous and less cost effective approach than investing in the health of our watersheds."

McClintock believes, "We will not solve water shortages until we build new reservoirs. And we cannot build new reservoirs until we overhaul the radical environmental laws that have made their construction endlessly time consuming and ultimately cost prohibitive."

FIRE

Regarding the current increase in catastrophic wildfires, Morse states, " We know why they rage: clear cutting at the turn of the century and decades of fire prevention policy have led to overly dense forests. Investing in fire prevention would have dramatically diminished the devastation we are experiencing this week by thinning our forests, finding uses for skinny trees and forest waste, and issuing thoughtful permits for grazing and selective logging. These solutions would not only keep our community safe, they would create local jobs that cannot be outsourced.”

McClintock believes, “.. that excess timber comes out of the forest one way or another. It is either carried out or it burns out. When we carried it out, we had resilient healthy forests and a thriving economy as excess timber was sold and harvested before it could choke our forests to death."

This issue is not quite as obvious as McClintock would imply. He supported HR 2936, The Resilient Forest Act, which would severely undermine sustainable forest management and roll back critical safeguards for our nation’s forests. This legislation would allow large-scale timber projects to skip needed environmental reviews. 

PUBLIC LANDS

Morse states, "The public lands in our district are not only treasured for their beauty and unique ecosystems but also because they are some of the greatest assets in our communities. Tom McClintock has pushed bills that would allow for the clear cutting of forests and sale of public lands across the West that-like our own- are for the enjoyment of all Americans."

McClintock voted against an amendment to HR3354, which would have forbidden the sale of public lands to private ownership. In fact, he urged Zinke to revoke the Berryessa Snow designation as a national monument and to reduce the size of all the other California monuments except the Sand to Snow National Monument. (LA Times 8/24/17)

Please keep these fundamental differences between the candidates in mind when you cast your vote.

Tom McClintock Undercutting the Endangered Species Act

Tom McClintock has a failing grade for his 10 years representing us in the US House of Representatives

In order to provide talking points for you to share with your family and friends, the Protecting Public Lands Workgroup will be sending out a series of informational alerts highlighting Tom McClintock’s dismal record on environmental issues.

September 9, 2018—This is the second set of talking points for you to share with your family and friends in the run-up to the November elections.

Have you seen a bald eagle lately? How about a peregrine falcon or an American alligator? If you have, thank the 45-year-old Endangered Species Act. The ESA is one of our nation’s most effective—and popular—conservation policies, bringing numerous species back from the brink, including national treasures like bald eagles. It is now under attack.

Our representative, Tom McClintock, is a member of the Congressional Western Caucus which has just released nine bills aimed at “modernizing” the ESA. He is the author of one bill (HR3608) and the co-sponsor of seven others. In general, these bills transfer excessive authority to state officials, undercut the science-based listing process that’s fundamental to the ESA, and impair citizens’ ability to enforce the law.

As usual Tom McClintock is in lockstep with the current administration in their effort to put greed ahead of preserving the environment. We need a new representative in Congress who appreciates the beauty and fragility of our county’s forests, grasslands and wildlife. In November, use your vote as a voice for the environment!

McClintock's attacks on the environment

Tom McClintock has a failing grade for his 10 years representing us in the US House of Representatives

In order to provide talking points for you to share with your family and friends, the Protecting Public Lands Workgroup will be sending out a series of informational alerts highlighting Tom McClintock’s dismal record on environmental issues.

Did you know that our representative to Congress from Congressional District 4 earned a score of 0% in 2017 for his voting record on environmental issues from the League for Conservation Voters? That’s right, he voted the wrong way every time in 2017 on bills affecting the environment. And his record hasn’t improved much so far in 2018. Mr. McClintock has voted for the environment on two out of 22 votes in 2018. In fact, his lifetime voting record in Congress is just 4% pro-environment.

Most of us who live in California’s Congressional District 4 treasure our natural environment. Don’t we deserve a representative who does the same?

Use your vote in November to make a change.

I'm a Bear, Not a Trophy

Grizzly Bears at Risk - please email or call secretary Zinke

           © www.firstpeople.us

Every year, millions of people come to Yellowstone National Park to see grizzlies. These are some of the most famed and photographed bears in the world – and they’re here because they were protected under the Endangered Species Act. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration have stripped federal protections from these bears, paving the way for Wyoming and Idaho to allow more than 20 grizzlies to be shot and killed this fall if they leave Yellowstone National Park.

We can’t let that happen. We need your help to stop this slaughter. Please take a minute to write a short email urging Secretary Zinke to immediately restore Endangered Species Act protections to Yellowstone grizzlies and stop the bear hunt in Wyoming and Idaho.

The last thing these bears need is to be hunted. Grizzlies in the lower 48 states occupy just a fraction of their historic habitat, surviving in isolated populations in places like the northern Rocky Mountains. Trophy hunting Yellowstone grizzlies is cruel, senseless and unnecessary. Please take a moment to urge Secretary Zinke to restore their protections.

The following is a sample email you can use or modify as you wish.

mailto: exsec@ios.doi.gov

Dear Secretary Zinke,

Yellowstone's grizzly bears are national treasures. We believe the Trump administration wrongly took away grizzly bear protections and now they'll be hunted in Wyoming and Idaho this fall. These hunts will be cruel and unnecessary. We demand that you restore protections for the Yellowstone grizzly bear.

You may also contact the Department of the Interior by phone at  (202) 208-7351

Department of the Interior - Feedback form - click here

Secretary Zinke on Twitter - click here

Tell the EPA: Protect Monarchs, Ban Roundup

Please take the time to write an email or letter to the Environmental Protection Agency by April 30

A new study has shown that the monarch population declined dramatically in just the past year. There are 16 million fewer monarchs than this time last year, and it's increasingly likely that they'll go extinct unless we do something.

Monarchs won't survive without milkweed; it's the main source of food for their caterpillars, and where they lay their eggs. Roundup kills milkweed, and in recent years, the amount of Roundup we're using in the United States has skyrocketed.  

Just like bees, monarch butterflies are critical pollinators.  Their loss would have an untold impact on thousands of plant species.  Monsanto won't stop using Roundup on their own. That's why we need the EPA to ban this toxic pesticide.

Please take the time to write an email or letter to the Environmental Protection Agency by April 30, expressing your concern for the monarch butterfly and demanding that glyphosate be banned in the United States. 

Send comments online to:

www.regulations.gov  and search for this docket number:  EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361.

Or, just click here to go directly to that docket and make your comments

 

Send snail mail comments to:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Docket Center
Docket number: EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361
Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

(Information for this alert was provided by Environmental-Action.org)

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"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard." 

Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin, founder of Earth Day

Show your support for Protecting and Restoring Eldorado National Forest

The U.S. Forest Service and the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation have separately submitted applications for grant funds from the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHVMVR) Division.  These grants are funded by green sticker money.  Competition for these grants is very strong throughout California.  Organizations and agencies with strong local support have a better chance of having their applications accepted.

We are asking El Dorado Progressives to write brief letters of support for the following applications to improve and protect our local Eldorado National Forest (ENF).  

The Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation (CSNC) has submitted one application to restore public lands damaged by unauthorized off-highway motorized recreation such as shown above.  CSNC has been working to repair such damage throughout ENF.  The last four years they have employed AmeriCorps students to help with this work.

The Eldorado National Forest has submitted four applications for ground operations and trail maintenance, for restoration of sensitive areas and decommissioning unauthorized routes, for an application to study the red legged frog in the Rock Creek OHV area, and for law enforcement across the forest.

Please take some time to submit a brief letter of support for these worthwhile projects.  

The preliminary OHV grant applications are available for review on the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation website starting on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 through Monday, April 2, 2018.  If you wish to submit comments or show support, there are instructions on submitting comments through the Online Grant Application (OLGA) database located at http://olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/home.aspx.

You can send written comments and letters of support for the CSNC grant application to Karen Schambach at snckaren@gmail.com. 

You may also send written comments, suggestions, or letters of support for the Forest Service grant applications to Michelle Zuro-Kreimer at:

• El Dorado National Forest
• 100 Forni Road
• Placerville, CA 95667
• or email to mzurokreimer@fs.fed.us.