Fortenberry Leads Charge on Global Conservation

Press Release

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry today joined world-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall and Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle in unveiling the Global Conservation Act. Jane Goodall is a frequent visitor to Nebraska, and Don Cheadle grew up in Lincoln. Fortenberry recently introduced the measure with Congressman Russ Carnahan (MO).

"I am proud to join in leading this worthy effort to help protect some of our world's most important and magnificent ecosystems," said Fortenberry. "Elements of international conservation are of critical import; 500 million persons in developing nations depend on fresh water from areas under threat of degradation, two billion people worldwide depend on rapidly diminishing fish stocks for much of their daily protein, and modern medicine depends upon natural compounds derived from increasingly fragile ecosystems."

The Global Conservation Act is a commonsense measure that would streamline existing U.S. global conservation initiatives to prioritize urgent needs and better leverage valuable U.S. resources to help preserve the world's biodiversity and prevent the destruction of significant ecosystems. The measure does not authorize any new spending programs.

"As a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I am pleased that this measure will make more efficient use of taxpayer dollars in these challenging economic times," Fortenberry said. "We owe it to our children and future generations to exercise prudent and responsible stewardship of our natural resources, without further indebting our nation."

Fortenberry is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and International Conservation Caucus. He is also the Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee with oversight over U.S. forestry operations.

Source