Click the link below for the agenda for INCA’s Conservation Congress
CLICK HERE to register for the Congress.
Click the link below for the agenda for INCA’s Conservation Congress
CLICK HERE to register for the Congress.
When: Friday September 30th
Registration Ends September 20th
(You must be registered to attend)
Where: Abe Martin Lodge, Brown County State Park
Why: Indiana’s Future Depends on It.
Many of us have recognized the decrease in the recognition of the importance of Indiana’s natural resources over the years. You have to look no further than the steady decline in state funding for conservation over time.
We are at a “tipping point”. Millennials more and more consider “quality of life” when making employment and family decisions. Recent events highlight the importance of water quality and availability. There is a growing lack of understanding that a healthy natural environment is just good business. The list goes on and on …
Speakers include Bill McCoy from Patoka National Wildlife Refuge with welcoming remarks. Steven and Nancy Byers from the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin will discuss “Creating an Effective Coalition”. A fascinating grassroots story of what can be accomplished.
INCA’s Conservation Congress is an opportunity of stakeholders across Indiana to focus on the future of our natural resources and wildlife conservation. Your input is needed and valued. Space is limited, CLICK HERE, to register for the Congress now.
1. The Clean Water Indiana (CWI) program was created to protect and enhance the water quality of Indiana’s lakes, rivers and streams, by reducing the amount of polluted storm water runoff entering our surface and groundwater from urban and rural lands. We successfully advocated for a $2 million biennial general fund appropriation in the last budget and ask that the General Assembly again appropriate $1 million per year for CWI. (See fact sheet.)
2. The Indiana Heritage Trust (IHT) protects important natural lands for state and local parks, forests, fish and wildlife areas, nature preserves, state recreation areas and historic sites. We are asking for a $2.5 million appropriation in the second year of the biennium, at which time it is expected that all funds in the Bicentennial Nature Trust* will be committed. (See fact sheets.)
3. As of February 15 the Department of Natural Resources had 221 vacancies in permanent positions that could not be filled due to lack of funds. The DNR is one of our most important agencies in focusing not only on the quality of life, but also the quality of place for all Hoosiers, who greatly value our outdoor lands — in 2014 nearly 17 million people visited our state parks and state recreation areas. We are asking that the DNR proposed operating budget be increased sufficiently above the current budget levels to allow full staffing. INCA also asks that the DNR’s capital budget levels are brought closer to $70 million for the biennium, which offers a more sustainable level of funding for the ongoing maintenance and rehabilitation and repair required to properly manage all of the infrastructure and land owned by DNR.
House Bill 1453 (Hunting Preserves) was introduced and passed by the House by a vote of 55 to 39. The bill is now under consideration by the Senate. It has been assigned to the Rules Committee, which is chaired by Senator Long. He has asked those in the Senate with different views on this bill should work through the issues before it has a hearing. The Indiana Conservation Alliance opposed similar legislation in the last two sessions of the General Assembly and remains opposed to canned hunting. (See fact sheet)
Over the past several biennial budget sessions of the Indiana General Assembly, funding for conservation and natural resources has decreased (as it has for almost all aspects of the state budget). There has been a systematic approach by previous and current administrations of requiring reserves from the appropriation levels that were passed by the General Assembly.
Illustration:
Let’s say, one line item in your Natural Resource budget was $100,000 for a program. You were required to put in reserve $3,000, leaving you with $97,000 to spend. Then when the next budget preparation period comes along, your new baseline becomes $97,000. And then you are asked again by the administration to set 3% in reserve, or $2910. Next budget…you are now down to $94,010 as your baseline. When is enough enough?
That’s why we are asking you to communicate with your Representative and your Senator, as well as the Governor, to let them know that you believe the Department of Natural Resources is as low as it can go, in fact they have 215 vacancies that cannot be filled if they are to meet there new budget as it now stands.
This quite literally makes it impossible for the DNR to do what they are supposed to do.
So, if you like visiting state parks and staying in the inns or camping in the campgrounds or hiking on the trails in a nature preserve or wandering through a fish and wildlife area or state forest, let people know that you expect to have a good experience. Your children need to exercise; they need to be outdoors; the family needs to have these times together in areas that are well managed, both natural features and constructed features. Additionally, let them know you want the DNR or your local parks department or your local or regional land trust to be able to buy natural lands in your county that are valued as natural lands and you want to be sure they are protected and there to see on that Sunday drive.
Enough is enough.
Indiana ranks in the top 10 for business climate. However, Forbes ranks Indiana 49th out of 50 of America’s Greenest States.
Government services and programs are funded by taxes. While we all enjoy lower taxes how low can we go and still preserve Indiana’s natural resources for future Hoosiers?
Let your representative know continuous funding decreases are not good for business.
Join your voice with others concerned for Indiana’s natural resource future —
We will soon be past the half way point of this session of the State Legislature which will determine the future of conservation and natural resources in Indiana for the next two years, and perhaps much longer than that.
Come to the Statehouse March 24th for coffee, meet with your legislator(s) and let them know that Indiana’s natural heritage is their responsibility to see that resources are available to preserve and protect it for future generations … hope to see you on the 24th.
The Indiana House Republicans announced their 2015 legislative agenda (click here). The theme of “Accountability” is prominent throughout. However the environment, natural resources, wildlife and climate, all are not included in their four focus areas.
Someone needs to be “accountable” to future generations for Indiana’s natural resources.
The 2015 Legislative session is getting organized and ready to start up. With as many issues facing legislators, much of their work is done in committee and brought to the floor for approval. While this is an efficient way to get things done, it is fast paced and sometimes not easy to follow.
INCA’s insiders keep track of all the issues affecting natural resource and conservation funding. Click here or on the tab above to join INCA’s email list to stay up to date and be informed.
(You need to be a member of an INCA member organization to join the list –
check it out, you may be and don’t know it.)
Northern Indiana
While not about funding or natural resources, here is the link to a good article on solving local problems.
Networking is key to the best use of resources. INCA provides a natural network between citizens and government to improve Indiana’s environment.
Let’s move Indiana up from 48th on the Environmental State of the Union Report.
Senate Bill 404, “canned hunting” failed to pass by one vote to move to the House of Representatives for consideration. However that does not mean the subject is “dead” for this session. The language, that was Senate Bill 404, may indeed pass on, similar to the “button” in the children’s game. It can arise again as an amendment to another bill that has passed one chamber of the Legislature and is under consideration by the other chamber, either in the House or Senate.
A possibility exists that the “canned hunting button” may appear as an amendment in Senate Bill 52, Criminal Penalties & DNR. (As long as the topic of the amendment is sort of close to the original subject, it passes parliamentary muster.) Last year a similar “canned hunting” bill, SB 487 Shooting and Hunting Preserves, was passed by the Senate and the House, but didn’t make it out of Conference Committee. If “canned hunting” is amended into Senate Bill 52, you can get an idea of your Representatives position on it from his/her vote last year (click here).
Senate Bill 52 is assigned to the Corrections and Criminal Law committee in the House.
On the other hand, the “canned hunting button” may be amended into HB 1307 Various Natural Resource Matters, which passed in the House of Representatives and is being considered by the Senate now. It is assigned to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee who passed the original SB 404 out of committee only to have it fall one vote short of passage in the full Senate – two Senators were absent for the vote. (The amended bill would have to go to Conference Committee and if approved by that committee then be voted on by each chamber for final passage.)
In addition to the obvious ethical issues involved in “canned hunting” there is great risk of introducing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into Indiana’s natural deer population. Once introduced CWD cannot be contained or eliminated. Unlike the Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Carp the principle vector for CWD disease is the Interstate Highway system and the farms that raise captive deer.