Are you concerned about the recently announced cuts to staff and funding that support hiking, trails, outdoor experiences, and environmental protection? Many of us feel that the government could be made more efficient. However, across-the-board cuts are not the answer because they don’t distinguish between efficient spending and that which could be improved.
Tell Your Federal Representatives How You Feel About Preserving Conservation and Recreation Funding
Here is a guide to help you deliver your message effectively.
Tell Your Federal Representatives How You Feel About Preserving Conservation and Recreation Funding
Here is a guide to help you deliver your message effectively.
Step 1 – Develop Your Message
The most effective message is one that shows your passion and asks your legislators to take specific action. Avoid “canned” language because your legislator may not feel that it reflects a constituent’s personal feelings. However, it’s fine to take some standard language and personalize it to reflect your personal passion. Be sure to always include that you are their constituent and where you are from.
With that in mind, we’ve prepared some talking points for you to use in crafting your message. Please use your own voice and add specific examples as you’re able:
The most effective message is one that shows your passion and asks your legislators to take specific action. Avoid “canned” language because your legislator may not feel that it reflects a constituent’s personal feelings. However, it’s fine to take some standard language and personalize it to reflect your personal passion. Be sure to always include that you are their constituent and where you are from.
With that in mind, we’ve prepared some talking points for you to use in crafting your message. Please use your own voice and add specific examples as you’re able:
- Public lands are core to our national identity
- Federal funding cuts put these places at risk and reduce public access
- Outdoor recreation drives the economy, generating over $1 trillion annually and supporting five million jobs nationwide
- Trails and greenways improve public health
- Conservation programs protect clean water sources, safeguard wildlife habitat, and reduce flood and wildfire risks
- Public lands are climate solutions, sequestering carbon and buffering communities from extreme weather
- Access to nature is an equity issue; many underserved communities rely on federal programs to create or maintain their only nearby park or trail
- Conservation funding supports rural economies, where gateway communities depend on tourism and recreation spending.
- Volunteer and nonprofit capacity depends on federal partnership, and cuts shift the burden onto already overextended local groups.
- Wildlife populations are declining, and without adequate habitat funding, more species will be pushed toward endangerment or extinction.
- Cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) mean fewer resources to protect working lands, forests, and access to recreation
- Loss of EV incentives and renewable energy investments reduces progress on climate change and weakens the country's global stature
- Expect elevated air pollution and increased public health risks if cuts to air quality regulations aren’t reinstated
- The A.T. is the nation’s most famous and most heavily used long-distance hiking trail. Several million people hike a portion of it each year. Several thousand individuals attempt to hike the entire Trail each year, and almost a thousand people complete it each year
- Federal funding for the A.T. is one of the most efficient expenditures by the government. Most of the work on the Trail is performed by unpaid volunteers. In PA, almost 1,300 volunteers did over 40,000 hours of work on the A.T. in the last year for which data is available. Trail-wide, almost 5,000 volunteers performed over 209,000 hours of work valued at over $7 million.
- At the federal level, the work of the A.T. is supervised and facilitated by a staff of
- Just 10 federal employees address the A.T. This modest staff was recently cut to 7.
- The Appalachian Trail is a unit of the National Park Service. The proposed budget bill for the current fiscal year would rescind more than $250 million in funding that pays for rangers, emergency responders and scientists. Next year, the proposal is to cut $1.2 billion more.
- Record crowds at national parks put an additional strain on these treasured places. Ample funding is critical to protect natural resources.
Step 2 – Identify Your Federal Legislators
Senate:
Senator John Fetterman
142 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
DC Phone: (202) 224-4254
email: form at https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/contact/
More contact information at https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/
Senator David McCormick
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
DC Phone: (202) 224-6324
email: form at https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/contact/More contact information at https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/
Congressional Representatives:
The U.S. House website has a handy page you can use to find your Representative using your zip code. It is at https://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep_house
- At the federal level, Pennsylvania is represented by two Senators and 17 Congressional representatives.
- Deliver your message to both Senators and your local Congressional representative.
Senate:
Senator John Fetterman
142 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
DC Phone: (202) 224-4254
email: form at https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/contact/
More contact information at https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/
Senator David McCormick
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
DC Phone: (202) 224-6324
email: form at https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/contact/More contact information at https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/
Congressional Representatives:
The U.S. House website has a handy page you can use to find your Representative using your zip code. It is at https://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep_house
Step 3 – Deliver Your Message
Here are some tips to help you get your message out effectively.
Here are some tips to help you get your message out effectively.
- Should I send my message by email, postcard, or phone? The short answer is that any will work. You should use the one with which you are most comfortable.
- Who will receive my message? Likely, your message will be directed to a staff member, not the legislator. However, the staff member receiving the message will usually prepare a summary of your contact, and the legislator will see the summary.
- How should my message be delivered? Come to the point quickly. Mention that you are a constituent of the legislator. Explain why the funding and staff cuts affect you personally and what you want the legislator to do. Avoid personal attacks on the legislator, other officials, and so on, as these are unlikely to be effective.
- Will my message do any good? Legislators are bombarded with messages from lobbyists, donors, other officials, and so on. However, they repeatedly tell us that the messages they care most about are those coming from the voters who have elected them and who might vote for someone else.
- Lastly, THANK YOU for doing this!! Your voice is essential, and it WILL make a difference.
Special thanks to Jim Foster, volunteer and former member of the KTA Board of Directors, and Ezra Thrush, Senior Associate at the Ridge Policy Group and member of the KTA Board of Directors, for their contributions to this web page.
