THE NATURE CONSERVANCY for NATURE CONSERVANCY

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Action on H.R. 2996, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, including specific provisions relating to US Geological Survey funding for water management and climate research, the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection program, invasive species research and development, Land and Water Conservation Fund projects, Forest Legacy projects, Forest Service wildland fire management funding, the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund, the Albemarle/Pamlico National Estuary Program, funding for river restoration projects, the National Landscape Conservation System budget, the Healthy Lands Initiative budget, US Fish and Wildlife Service international programs, US Forest Service international programs, the Multi-Species Conservation Fund, Peru/US Free Trade Agreement logging annex, and Hells Canyon, Oregon, and Savannah River Comprehensive Water Resources Study; H.R. 2647/S.1390, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, including specific provisions relating to Sikes Act agreements, the Department of Defense Legacy grant proposal, Department of Defense readiness and environmental protection initiative, authority of combatant commanders to fund conservation activities overseas, military base expansion, training and testing area requirements, authority to participate in conservation banking programs, and provisions related to the impact of climate change on national security; H.R. 2892/S. 1298, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010, including specific provisions relating to border security initiatives; the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, including specific provisions relating to funding for the Department of Defense Legacy grant program, the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative, overseas conservation activities, and other military activities impacting biodiversity; H.R. 2997, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, including specific provisions relating to funding for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection, primarily the Emerging Plant Pests line, and funding for invasive species, pests, and pathogens; H.R. 2847, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, including specific provisions relating to NOAA funding, the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, Fisheries Habitat Restoration programs, the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, and coral reef conservation programs; H.R. 2764, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, including specific provisions relating to foreign operations, international conservation funding initiative, and coral triangle funding; S. 1436/H.R. 3183, Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010, including specific provisions relating to Army Corps of Engineers ecosystem restoration projects, Bureau of Reclamation projects, and certain New Mexico projects; H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, including specific provisions relating to funding for AmeriCorps, NOAA Restoration projects, border security, and funding for the US Army Corps of Engineers; H.R. 2200, Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act; FY2010 Presidents Budget, including the budget to support the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Forest Legacy, and wildland fire funding; funding for the Forest Landscape Restoration Act authorized in P.L. 111-11; funding for the Wild and Scenic Rivers System; S. Con. Res. 70, Budget resolution for the US Government for FY2010 through 2013; and proposed legislation to establish permanent appropriations for ocean research, conservation, and restoration. Covered Officials Contacted: Director for Environmental Readiness and Safety, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense; Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health, Department of Defense; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Environment, United States Navy; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Healthy, United States Army; Deputy Director, Joint Guam Program Office, United States Navy; Director, Civil Works Programs Integration Directorate, US Army Corps of Engineers; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, Management and Budget, United States Army; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, Civil Works, United States Army; Director, Bureau of Land Management; Budget Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; Associate Director Land and Water Ecosystems, Council on Environmental Quality; Associate Director for Policy Outreach, Council on Environmental Quality; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, Department of the Interior; Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Management, Department of the Interior; Program Examiners, Office of Management and Budget; Associate Director, Natural Resources, Energy, and Science, Office of Management and Budget; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator, US Department of Agriculture; and Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources & Environment, US Department of Agriculture.

Contacted: Office of Management & Budget (OMB); SENATE; U.S. Forest Service; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Bureau of Reclamation; Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Defense, Dept of (DOD); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Energy, Dept of; Commerce, Dept of (DOC); Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS)

Bills named: H.R. 1 (111th), H.R. 2847 (111th), S. 1390 (111th), H.R. 2996 (111th), H.R. 2764 (111th), H.R. 2647 (111th), S.Con.Res. 70 (111th), H.R. 2200 (111th), S. 1298 (111th), H.R. 2892 (111th), H.R. 2997 (111th), H.R. 3183 (111th), S. 1436 (111th)

Clean Air and Water (quality) CAW

Action on S. 2156, SECURE Water Act, including specific provisions relating to dam management; the development of the 2009 Water Resources Development Act, including specific provisions relating to the Sustainable Rivers Partnership; S. 787, Clean Water Restoration Act, including specific provisions relating to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment and defining Navigable Waterways; regulation on mercury emissions; Watershed Planning; administration action to recommend framework for marine spatial planning; and administration action to establish a national ocean policy to protect ocean ecosystems and promote marine conservation. Covered Officials Contacted: Deputy Secretary, Civil Works, Army Corps of Engineers; Chair, Council on Environmental Quality; Associate Directors, Council on Environmental Quality; Associate Director, Natural Resources, Council on Environmental Quality; Associate Director, Policy Outreach, Council on Environmental Quality; Program Examiner, Commerce Branch, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Policy, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Water and Power Branch, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, US Army Corps of Engineers, Office of Management and Budget; and Program Examiner, Bureau of Reclamation, Office of Management and Budget.

Contacted: U.S. Forest Service; Energy, Dept of; Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Bureau of Land Management (BLM); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Defense, Dept of (DOD); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Commerce, Dept of (DOC); Bureau of Reclamation; Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); SENATE; Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS)

Bills named: S. 787 (111th), S. 2156 (111th)

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX

Action on H.R. 1831, Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2009 and other conservation tax provisions.

Contacted: SENATE; Energy, Dept of; Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; U.S. Forest Service; Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Commerce, Dept of (DOC); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Defense, Dept of (DOD); Bureau of Reclamation; Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Bills named: H.R. 1831 (111th)

Agriculture AGR

Action on United States Department of Agriculture regulation development for Quarantine 37; fire policy of the US Forest Service; and Natural Resources Conservation Service program operations. Covered Officials Contacted: Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture; Counselor to the Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture; Deputy Undersecretary , United States Department of Agriculture; and Chief, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Contacted: SENATE; Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Defense, Dept of (DOD); Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); Energy, Dept of; U.S. Forest Service; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Commerce, Dept of (DOC)

Energy/Nuclear ENG

Action on proposed legislation to authorize marine spatial planning, specific provisions relating to siting renewable energy facilities and traditional energy offshore and provide for appropriate marine conservation; Energy by Design mitigation planning for Mojave; proposed House energy legislation, with specific provisions relating to permanent funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund projects, Forest Legacy projects, renewable energy siting issues, and restoration funding; S. 536, a bill to amend the Clean Air Act to modify the definition of the term renewable biomass; S. 636, A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to conform the definition of renewable biomass to the definition given the term in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002; H.R. 1190, Renewable Biomass Facilitation Act of 2009; Greenhouse Cap and Trade legislation; and H.R. 2454/H.R. 2998, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, including specific provisions relating to adaptation funding, forest carbon offsets, cost containment, renewable biomass, international trade, level of emission reductions, and land acquisition funding. Covered Officials Contacted: Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior; Deputy Director for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of the Interior; Director for Congressional Affairs, Department of the Interior; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Lands and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior; Science Advisor to the Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior; Energy Policy Team Management, Bureau of Land Management; Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, Office of the President; Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, Office of the President; Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Environment, Office of the President; Associate Director, Natural Resources, Energy, Science, and the Arts, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Interior Branch, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Environment Branch, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget; Chair, Council on Environmental Quality; Associate Director, Natural Resources, Council on Environmental Quality; Deputy Chief of Staff; Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; Director, Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Commerce; and Legislative Affairs Specialist, Department of Commerce.

Contacted: Defense, Dept of (DOD); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Bureau of Reclamation; Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Commerce, Dept of (DOC); U.S. Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management (BLM); SENATE; Energy, Dept of; Agriculture, Dept of (USDA)

Bills named: H.R. 1190 (111th), S. 636 (111th), H.R. 2454 (111th), H.R. 2998 (111th), S. 536 (111th)

Homeland Security HOM

Action on the development of the upcoming Homeland Security Authorization Act, including specific provisions relating to the Department of Homeland Security waiver authority, authority for a border buffer program, issues relating to the U.S./Mexico Border Fence, consultation requirements for border security infrastructure, and the monitoring and mitigation program for ecological impacts of border security infrastructure; and discussion drafts on Healthy Borderlands Act of 2009 and Border Conservation and Security Act. Covered Officials Contacted: Deputy Executive Director, Security Border Initiative, Department of Homeland Security; Chief of Staff, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Chief of Staff, Policy, Department of Homeland Security; Associate Director for Habitat, US Fish and Wildlife Service; National Borderlands Coordinator, Department of the Interior; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior; and Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management.

Contacted: Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Interior, Dept of (DOI); Bureau of Reclamation; Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Commerce, Dept of (DOC); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); U.S. Forest Service; Energy, Dept of; SENATE; Defense, Dept of (DOD)

Natural Resources NAT

Action on the development of the upcoming reauthorization of the Sikes Act, including specific provisions relating to natural resource management on or in the vicinity of Department of Defense lands. Covered Officials Contacted: Administrator, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; Secretary, Department of the Interior; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior; Counselor to Secretary, Department of the Interior; Associate Director for Habitat, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior; Chair, Council on Environmental Quality; and Associate Director, Council on Environmental Quality.

Contacted: Defense, Dept of (DOD); Energy, Dept of; Commerce, Dept of (DOC); Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Interior, Dept of (DOI); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); SENATE; Office of Management & Budget (OMB)

Real Estate/Land Use/Conservation RES

Action on S. 22/HR 146, Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, including specific provisions relating to restoration of forest landscapes on public land; S. 2593/H.R. 5263, Forest Landscape Restoration Act of 2008, including specific provisions relating to fire; revision of United States Department of Agriculture regulation development for Quarantine 37; Conservation Learning Network Assistance Agreement status and budget; S. 1214/H.R. 2565, National Fish Habitat Conservation Act; H.R. 5541, FLAME Act; H.R. 2185, To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to provide debt relief to developing countries that take action to protect tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such Act through fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes; S. 700/H.R. 1422, Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2007, including specific provisions relating to the Endangered Species Program regarding Section 7 Program Implementation; S. 2834, Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2008; H.R. 669, Non-Native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act; potential legislation for salmon stronghold and pacific coastal salmon recovery fund; habitat acquisition and restoration to protect Pacific salmon; implementation on Barnes Property and Upper Klamath Lake MOU; Bureau of Land Management offset mitigation policy; proposed forest legislation by Senator Rob Wyden; reauthorization of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act; and the development of a proposal to reauthorize the Federal Land Transfer Facilitation Act. Covered Officials Contacted: Secretary, Department of the Interior; Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior; Deputy Secretary of the Interior; Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks , Department of the Interior; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Department of the Interior; Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget, Department of the Interior; Counsel to Secretary, Department of the Interior; Deputy Director of External Affairs, Department of the Interior; Director, Wildland Fire Coordination, Department of the Interior; Secretary, US Department of Agriculture; Counselor to the Secretary, US Department of Agriculture; Special Assistant to the Secretary, US Department of Agriculture; Deputy Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment, US Department of Agriculture; Deputy Chief, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture; Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry, US Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture; Director, Bureau of Land Management; Deputy Associate Director, Planning and Natural Resource, Bureau of Land Management; Associate Director, Planning and Natural Resource, Bureau of Land Management; Chief of Staff, Bureau of Land Management; Assistant Director, Council of Environmental Quality; Director, Office of Management and Budget; Program Examiner, Commerce Branch, Office of Management and Budget; and Branch Chief, Commerce Branch, Office of Management and Budget.

Contacted: Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Energy, Dept of; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Commerce, Dept of (DOC); SENATE; Bureau of Reclamation; Agriculture, Dept of (USDA); Army, Dept of (Corps of Engineers); Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Defense, Dept of (DOD); Homeland Security, Dept of (DHS); Interior, Dept of (DOI); U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS); U.S. Forest Service; Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Office of Management & Budget (OMB)

Bills named: H.R. 5541 (111th), S. 2834 (111th), H.R. 669 (111th), S. 1214 (111th), H.R. 1422 (111th), S. 2593 (111th), H.R. 5263 (111th), H.R. 2565 (111th), H.R. 146 (111th), S. 22 (111th), H.R. 2185 (111th), S. 700 (111th)