Date: 12/11/18

contact: Bethany / bethany@acc.eco

Conservative College Groups Across the Country Call on Congress to Pass Conservation Bills

Over 60 conservative student organizations and leaders in 21 states added their name to a petition, delivered to Congress today, that calls on Congress to pass public lands bills that are awaiting passage in both chambers of Congress. Senator Orrin Hatch and Congressman John Curtis have introduced a bill that would preserve nearly 540,000 acres in Utah as wilderness, and Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker along with Representative Phil Roe have introduced legislation to designate nearly 20,000 acres of wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.  These are just two of many bills – from California to Oregon to New Mexico to Arkansas – that have advanced in the House and Senate and that, combined, would protect over 1.3 million acres of wilderness across the country if passed this year.

Haley Garnett, Chair of the Bridgewater College CRs, said: “It’s important to conserve our limited natural resources and preserve our public lands for future generations. Additionally, to maintain and grow our standard of living, we need to consider the effect we have on the environment and how that affects our economy. I’m proud to support these bipartisan pieces of legislation and hope they can move through Congress this week.”

For more than a century, public land conservation has been an American tradition. These bills all share strong local support from a wide array of stakeholders including businesses, ranchers, faith groups, conservationists, hunters and more. Over the next few days, Congress again has an opportunity to continue our nation’s heritage of conservation. It is time for Congress to move bipartisan, conservation measures forward before the end of the year.

About ACC

The American Conservation Coalition is a millennial-led, free-market environmental

organization. The ACC works with legislators, businesses, and on college campuses nationwide to promote a conservative approach to clean energy and conservation issues. The ACC supports a broad range of limited-government and market-centric policies to usher in a new generation of stewardship. Learn more at www.acc.eco/