TPL Applauds Congressional Action On Climate

WASHINGTON, D. C., 11/1/2007 – The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit land conservation group, today lauded a key Senate subcommittee’s passage of legislation aimed at addressing the causes and the effects of global warming. The action taken by the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming advances S. 2191 – America’s Climate Security Act – to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which will consider this landmark bill in the coming weeks.

“This legislation sets the stage for a bold new approach to the challenges of global warming,” said Alan Front, Senior Vice President of TPL. “In addition to other major provisions of the bill – including a first-ever greenhouse gas cap-and-trade regime and a commitment to carbon sequestration, new climate-improving technologies, and other needed responses – there is a vital and significant focus on public land conservation, restoration, and stewardship to help fish and wildlife adapt to a changing climate.”

“We deeply appreciate the addition by the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia, of new financing requested by Montana Senator Max Baucus for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which helps to protect the key missing puzzle-pieces in our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public land systems,” added Front. “The critical and diverse resources of these landscapes will be indispensable ingredients in the effort to support fish and wildlife populations threatened by global warming. And without these additional LWCF funds, far too many of these efforts would fall short, and far too many species will be imperiled or lost.”

While a long and winding legislative process still lies ahead, Front expressed hope that a large-scale commitment to adaptation-related conservation, including full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, might ultimately be enacted. “We look forward to working with the Committee toward that end,” he said. “The support on and off Capitol Hill is truly gratifying, and the moment for action is truly at hand.”

The Trust for Public Land, established in 1972, specializes in conservation real estate, applying its expertise in negotiations, public finance, and law to protect land for people to enjoy as parks, greenways, community gardens, urban playgrounds, and wilderness. TPL depends on the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, visit TPL on the Web at www.tpl.org.