Tag Archives: funding

Help Protect Monarch Butterflies

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Christina W

It’s hard not to smile when spotting the distinctive orange patterns of a monarch butterfly. They are symbols of both fragility and strength, their delicate wings carrying many of them as far as 3,000 miles during migration season. Monarchs also serve as pollinators for many types of wildflowers.

Unfortunately, monarchs are on the decline – their populations have decreased by over 80% in the past 20 years due to factors like habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change.

Mass Audubon is signing onto a letter, led by our partners at the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council, to support monarch butterfly conservation funding in the federal budget. We’re urging the House Appropriations Committee to substantially increase the amount of funding spent on the conservation of monarchs, and on the restoration of their habitat.

You can help! If you live in Congresswoman Katherine Clark’s district, please urge her, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, to increase the amount spent on monarch conservation in the FY2020 federal budget to $100 million per year.

And no matter who your federal legislators are, you can still ask them to support increased budget funding for monarchs. $100 million per year in federal budget funding would cover the cost of restoring one million acres of milkweed and pollinator habitat per year, allowing monarchs to be more resilient to the numerous threats they face.

Monarchs are one of our most beautiful harbingers of spring. Thank you for taking action to help ensure their long-term survival so we can have the privilege of co-existing with them for many seasons to come.

P.S. – There are lots more ways you can help protect Monarchs and other pollinators.

Saving the Land and Water Conservation Fund

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Christina W

Update 2/4/19: Public lands legislation that includes permanent reauthorization for LWCF could come up for a vote in the US Senate as early as this week. Mass Audubon is reaching out to our Senators, and you can help.

Please contact Senators Markey and Warren and urge them to support S.47, and to oppose any weakening amendments that could remove LWCF funding or other land protections from the bill.

Let them know that the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been expired for four months now, at a total cost of $300M lost to conservation and recreation projects across the country, including Massachusetts. Now that the government has been reopened, the Senate should act as soon as possible to #SaveLWCF.

The Cape Cod National Seashore, protected in part thanks to LWCF funding, is visited by over 4 million people annually. Photo credit: Karen Regan, National Park Service

Update 11/26/18: Unfortunately, time ran out for Congress to renew the LWCF before it expired in September. There is still hope for the program to be renewed to avoid the additional loss of funding for our open spaces, but Congress needs to hear from us. Add your voice.

Original post: Massachusetts is fortunate to have spectacular seashores, wildlife refuges, and national scenic trails that contribute to a $16.2 billion outdoor recreation economy. Many of these places have been protected thanks in part to the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), America’s most important program to conserve irreplaceable lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the nation.

For 52 years, the LWCF has protected national parks and open spaces in every corner of the United States. In Massachusetts, LWCF has invested more than $223 million to protect this sites like Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the New England National Scenic Trail, and Cape Cod National Seashore (see the Spotlight on Massachusetts: LWCF fact sheet).

Without action by Congress, the LWCF’s authorization will expire on September 30, 2018.

As a member of the LWCF Coalition, this week we are spreading the #SaveLWCF message to save our natural and historic treasures in Massachusetts. If the LWCF disappears, so too will opportunities for future protection of the places we love.

Learn how you can help #SaveLWCF on the Coalition website.

Help Trailside Keep its Funding in the State Budget

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Christina W

Update: Great news! The legislature voted to override the Governor’s veto that included Trailside funding, restoring the full $500,000 originally designated for Trailside. Thanks to everyone who contacted their legislator to help make this happen!

Original post: In reviewing the budget submitted to him by the legislature earlier this month, Governor Baker made $256 million in cuts through vetoes. Unfortunately, these cuts included Mass Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum funding.

Legislators began making overrides to select vetoes last weekend, but so far they have not taken action on the Trailside cut. They still have a chance to make this change during formal sessions this weekend. Please contact your legislator to tell them you support funding for Trailside in the budget.

Trailside Museum Sanctuary Director Norman Smith educating visitors. Photo © Kent Harnois

Trailside is the interpretive center for the state-owned Blue Hills Reservation and features a natural history museum and outdoor exhibits of rescued wildlife. Mass Audubon operate the museum in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which means we receive a crucial component of Trailside’s funding through the state budget each fiscal year.

A quick call or email to your legislator asking them to support Trailside funding (within line item 2810-0100) in the state budget can make a big difference. Thank you for your advocacy!