Issue Position: The Environment, Energy and Natural Resources

Issue Position

Issue Position: The Environment, Energy and Natural Resources

In Vermont, we are proud of our environmental ethic and it has served our economy and our ecosystems well. Vermonters have a long history of taking good care of their land and water, from starting community recycling projects to rotational grazing on farms in practicing sustainable agriculture methods.

Conservation of our environment has depended on this spirit and that is what I have taken to the United States Senate. I take great pride in the fact that Vermont has been a model for many of the national conservation programs that I have sponsored as your Senator, such as the Farmland Protection Program and the Forest Legacy Program.
Image of Lake Champlain

Programs such as these demonstrate that when Vermont land owners and citizens are given the right information and resources, they can meet their responsibility to preserve Vermont land and resources for future generations.

Vermonters have a long history of putting their conservation ethic into practice. In 1998, I had the pleasure of joining Vermonters to celebrate the opening of Vermont's first national park - the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock. This beautiful parcel of wooded hills and surrounding farmland is a tribute to leaders of the New England conservation movement. As the home of George Perkins Marsh, author of Man and Nature, and Frederick Billings, one of the pioneers of sustainable farming and forestry, Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historic Park is the first national park to interpret the evolution of conservation stewardship including history, current practices and future trends.

Vermont has a proud conservation legacy, yet we are still faced with environmental threats on a national level. Over the last few years, we have witnessed attempts in Congress and the Administration to roll back our environmental laws, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. Currently, the majority party has taken a backdoor approach to weakening our environmental laws by proposing changes to the "process" of making forest policy decisions, Superfund settlements, and wetlands designation among others. I will continue to fight against any and all attempts to circumvent our Nation's most important environmental legislation.

I created this special section of my Web page to inform you of environmental issues being debated in Congress and the work I am doing to enhance the natural resources of Vermont, from Lake Champlain to the Green Mountains and the Connecticut River. Thank you for visiting this page. I hope that together we can advance an environmental awareness that is balanced and respectful for future generations. If you have any comments or questions, or would like to see a certain issue posted, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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