Nature Conservancy News Room - US Policy: Investing to Restore Our Battered Environment

Bob Bendick is the Director of U.S. Government Relations of The Nature Conservancy. Prior to taking his current position, he was Vice-President and Managing Director of the ten state Southern U.S. Region of the Conservancy. He has been with The Nature Conservancy since 1995.

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"From the outset of discussions about a stimulus bill, The Nature Conservancy worked with other conservation organizations to advocate that some of the jobs being created should be dedicated to environmental restoration and to jump-starting the reduction in carbon emission."

— Bob Bendick, Nature Conservancy Director of U.S. Government Relations

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Why does The Nature Conservancy applaud the new stimulus package?

It provides $7.5 billion toward grassroots environmental work.
It provides $45 billion for energy conservation and green tech.
It will generate new green jobs for American workers.

By Bob Bendick

The $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama is designed to help repair the battered U.S. economy, but it will also provide unprecedented investments in restoring our battered environment.

The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be an important moment of recognition that our economy and our environment are intertwined, that the health of human communities depends upon the health of natural communities.

From the outset of discussions about a stimulus bill, The Nature Conservancy worked with other conservation organizations to advocate that some of the jobs being created should be dedicated to environmental restoration and to jump-starting the reduction in carbon emissions needed to slow global climate change.

While the bill gives substantial spending discretion to individual Federal and state agencies, it looks like as much as $7.5 billion in the stimulus bill will be allocated for on-the-ground environmental activities and another $45 billion for energy conservation and for developing new, less-polluting energy technologies.

These may seem like moderate amounts in comparison to the total bill, but they far exceed any previous single appropriation for these purposes.

Restoring Lands and Waters

Specific provisions of particular interest to the Conservancy include funding for:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to restore coastal wetlands, oyster reefs, coral reefs and barrier islands.
Federal public lands agencies — such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service — to repair degraded natural areas including forests, prairies, rivers and wetlands and to rehabilitate worn out facilities that enable public use while protecting the environment.
The U.S. Forest Service to work with the states on returning forests to a more natural condition in order to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service to restore and protect floodplains.
The Army Corps of Engineers to accelerate restoration of large natural systems like the Florida Everglades and to repair damage to waterways and wetlands.
The Environmental Protection Agency to provide money to local governments to upgrade sewage treatment plants and to undertake similar water cleanup projects.

Funding a Sustainable Energy Future

In addition to these investments, funding for energy efficiency will allow:

Weatherization of public buildings and homes,
Development of new energy technology with lower carbon emissions, and
The construction of “smart grid” energy transmission that will make energy distribution more efficient.

These actions will ultimately reduce carbon emissions and start the United States on a more pro-active path to combat global warming.

Creating Real Jobs

According to the Economic Policy Institute, environmental restoration projects support just as many or more jobs per million dollars of investment as does building conventional infrastructure.

And we have now come to realize that in addition to providing habitat for fish and wildlife, restored natural areas also produce real, tangible and measurable “ecosystem services” to the larger society. For example, restored freshwater wetlands are exceptional habitat for fish and birds, but also mitigate floods, hold water in times of drought, remove pollutants and store carbon.

The inclusion of environmental spending in the economic stimulus bill is a positive step for the environment and for our economy. The Nature Conservancy is grateful to Congress and to the Obama administration for recognizing the importance of healthy natural systems to the long term well being of the United States, for recognizing that our mission to protect habitat for plants and animals is important for people, too, and important enough to deserve attention even during this time of acute economic crisis.

(February, 2009)

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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Bridget Beesaw (pulling nets in southeast Alaska); Photo © Robert Bendick (Robert Bendick).