By Conservation Committee

As a nonprofit 501(3)(c), the AMC can not engage in lobbying on any specific issue. We are able, however, to sign-on as a supporting organization. We have decided to be a supporting organization for three environmental issues this legislative session: (1) We are supporting the Connecticut Land Conservation Coalition (CLCC) in their efforts to have ATVs registered and with corresponding tougher penalties for violations; (2) We are supporting various organizations - Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the Connecticut Chapter of the Audubon Society - in their efforts to preserve more open space in Connecticut; and (3) We are supporting efforts to expand the bottle bill to include water bottles.

Members from the ATV community, generally, want to be able to ride their vehicles in State Parks and State Forests. This community is also generally resistant to the idea of registering their machines. As hikers, trail runners, and naturalists, AMCers are well aware of the potential negative environmental impact that ATVs can cause. We would like to see a Bill that requires ATVs to be registered. The money raised from said registration could be used to purchase land specific for motorized entertainment.

With the rise in energy prices, the increasing costs of providing decent health care, and quality education, many towns are feeling pressure to (over) develop remaining open space for commercial development. Connecticut, for example, is losing open space at twice the national average. Meanwhile, the stated goal of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection(DEP) is to have 21 percent of Connecticut’s land preserved as open space by the year 2023. Towns clearly need more tools to protect and preserve land, while individuals and businesses need more incentives to do so.

According to a report recently released by the DEP, Connecticut will have to double its recycling rate - from 30 percent to 58 percent - just to keep up with increasing amounts of waste. Expanding the Bottle Bill to include water bottles - consumers would get a five cent refund on water bottles, just like we do for soda cans - is one common sense way to meet this ambitious recycling goal. Such a program already exists in Maine.

While important to the environment, these three issues do not represent everything that the Conservation Committee is concerned about; nor does tracking pending legislation even begin to express the depth or breadth of our activity. You are strongly encouraged to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have and to see where you might want to get involved. If time precludes involvement on the Conservation Committee, you are encouraged to contact your state legislator about any environmental issue in Connecticut that concerns you. If you want to track pending legislation or you do not know who your legislator is, you can go to www.cga.ct.gov. Also, to see an environmental scorecard-ranking your legislator on key environmental votes from last session, you can go to www.ctlcv.org.

Thanks for your time & interest. See ya’ on the trail!

Meetings of the CT-AMC Executive Committee are open to all. Meetings are usually held the 2nd Monday of each month (except July and August) at the headquarters of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in Middletown. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm and ends by 9:00 pm.
Please join us!