Friends

Amendment 1 won the vote in every single state Senate District in Missouri. That’s the mark of good, popular policymaking. But in a state like Missouri — one with unfair, partisan maps — too many representatives don’t have to answer to the people they represent.

They know they’ll get re-elected in a rigged district. They know they won’t have to defend their actions. And so some will go forward in the next few weeks, voting for these underhanded resolutions and against their own constituents. They’ll subvert the will of the people simply because they can.

That’s not a democracy — and these legislators are hell-bent on keeping it that way.

So are state representatives in Florida, who just used a similar process to gut the state’s new and popular Amendment 4. And so are legislators in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia, who in the past few months have chipped away at voting rights and pushed extreme legislation without the support of the people they supposedly represent.

Enough is enough. Let’s put an end to this broken system.

All On The Line is taking a stand in Missouri and other key states, and your donation will help them keep organizing. Contribute in this critical moment

Thanks for joining me in this fight,

Eric H. Holder, Jr.
82nd Attorney General of the United States

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NRCS Announces Changes to Strengthen Technical Input in Conservation Programs

05/07/2019 Nativegrl77

NRCS Announces Changes to Strengthen Technical Input in Conservation Programs
Contact:
Media Inquiries
FPAC.BC.Press@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2019 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is expanding the membership of its State Technical Committees and making other changes that strengthen technical input in conservation programs. The 2018 Farm Bill made several changes to NRCS programs, including enabling representatives from the State Cooperative Extension Service and land grant universities to serve on the state committee that assists NRCS in guiding locally led conservation.
“NRCS is committed to efficiently and effectively implementing the Farm Bill and delivering on our promise to America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners,” NRCS Chief Matthew Lohr said. “The rule we’re issuing today is a step toward strengthening and streamlining the services and programs that help conserve our nation’s natural resources on working lands.”
Today, NRCS published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to make the existing regulations consistent with the changes made by the 2018 Farm Bill, including the change related to State Technical Committees. NRCS is accepting comments on this rule through July 5, 2019.
Other Miscellaneous Changes in Notice
The 2018 Farm Bill makes some important improvements to strengthen NRCS’s programs, including:
Waiving the requirement for certain duplicative or unnecessary watershed plans under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program, which authorizes NRCS to install watershed improvement measures to reduce flooding and advance conservation and proper utilization of land;
Expanding the purposes of the Healthy Forests Reserve Program to add: protection of at-risk species in conserving forest land, permanent easements as an enrollment option for Tribal lands, and land identified as being in the greatest need to improve the well-being of a species;
Authorizing that certification of technical service providers be through a qualified non-federal entity; and
Requiring that $3 million of the funds to implement the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program be used to encourage public access for hunting and other recreational activities on wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.
More Information
You may submit comments by any of the following methods through the Federal eRulemaking Portal on Docket ID USDA-2019-0005. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed into law the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides support, certainty and stability to our nation’s farmers, ranchers and land stewards by enhancing farm support programs, improving crop insurance, maintaining disaster programs and promoting and supporting voluntary conservation. NRCS is committed to implementing these changes as quickly and effectively as possible, and today’s updates are part of meeting that goal.
As part of implementing the 2018 Farm Bill, NRCS and other USDA agencies publish interim final rules and other documents available for public viewing and comment on the Federal Register. On March 11, 2019, NRCS published a notice and request for comment on conservation practice standards. For more information on how USDA is implementing the Farm Bill, visit farmers.gov/farmbill.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

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Tell Gov. Inslee: Protect us from toxic fracked gas projects in Washington State!

05/07/2019 Nativegrl77

Keep Fracked Gas out of WA

Washington State is being flooded with proposals for new and expanded fracked gas infrastructure that will lock us into decades of climate pollution and undermine our healthy future (there’s nothing “natural” about gas). Even worse, the local agencies that are supposed to protect us have consistently failed to consider the full climate, health, and social justice impacts of these toxic fracked gas projects.

Thankfully, Gov. Inslee has the power to make sure these agencies do take these concerns into account. In the next few days, a group of powerful organizations are submitting a letter to Gov. Inslee. The letter, appreciating his climate leadership, asks him to take the next step and him to protect us from these projects. If thousands of us join in, Gov. Inslee will have no choice but to make sure our concerns are addressed.

Here in Washington, the Kalama methanol refinery is poised to be our state’s largest source of climate pollution by 2025. It comes with staggering health, safety, and environmental risks, and an equally staggering rate of fracked gas consumption — roughly one-third of the state’s total gas use. Similarly, the Tacoma Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility, currently being built without all its permits on Medicine Creek Treaty Territory land without the Puyallup Tribe’s consent, presents serious climate and public safety concerns which haven’t been fully addressed by local review agencies.

We’re pulling out all the stops to push back on both of these toxic fracked gas projects, and with Gov. Inslee’s support and thousands of us behind him, we’ll be able to protect our communities from decades of climate pollution. Please sign and share this letter to ask Gov. Inslee to protect us from these toxic fracked gas projects!

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