Contacts: Sandy Breslin sbreslin@audubon.org  203/804-0488, Patrick Comins pcomins@audubon.org 860/977-4469

Oppose State Lands Giveaway – State Parks at Risk!

State lawmakers have released the Annual Conveyance Bill (House Bill 6998) and – once again – they are proposing to transfer portions of our State Parks and Wildlife Management Areas to municipal and private uses.  The process will kick off with a public hearing before the Government Administration and Elections Committee (GAE) this Monday (3/16) starting at 1 PM.  

WE NEED YOUR HELP OPPOSING THE BAD PROVISIONS OF THIS BILL!  

Since the Haddam Land Swap, Audubon Connecticut has been working with partners at the CT Land Conservation Council, CT Forest and Park Association, Rivers Alliance, Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy to strengthen protections for state conservation lands. We’ve made progress with successful passage of Public Acts 12-152 in 2012 and 14-169 last year, but this year with the state facing deep budget cuts, lawmakers are proposing some shocking giveaways of state conservation land including portions of Silver Sands State Park, Centennial Watershed Forest State Park, as well as two parcels for the benefit of private sand and gravel mining!

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SIGN OUR PETITION AND SEND A BRIEF MESSAGE TO MEMBERS OF THE GAE COMMITTEE OPPOSING THIS BILL!

Sign the Petition opposing this Bill: https://works.audubon.org/petition/speak-out-against-give-away-state-lands-silver-sands-and-centennial-forest-parks-risk

Here is some additional information:

Alert sent by CT Forest and Park Association: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=cfd5efff-399b-4e87-8cbd-e1eb89201505&c=84a974c0-33fc-11e3-9f13-d4ae52754b78&ch=85afc130-33fc-11e3-a0a0-d4ae52754b78

Alert sent by Rivers Alliance with more detail on all sections of the bill: http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/ u=820426c5ff0b6a2ae445c28ee&id=1487e96a93&e=fc52d1efae

Audubon will send an alert on Monday with a link that will allow you to email directly to your local lawmakers – they are the most important people who need to hear from you on this issue!

In the meantime, please submit a short statement to the GAE Committee on or before Monday (3/16) OPPOSING all transfers of state conservation land without appropriate review of their ecological value and an evaluation of alternatives, but especially the proposals for Silver Sands (Section 3), the Centennial Watershed Forest (Section 8), and mining in Killingly/Plainfield and Canterbury/Brooklyn (Sections 15, 16). The address is   GAEtestimony@cga.ct.gov

Audubon Connecticut, the state office of the National Audubon Society with over 10,000 members in the state, works to protect birds, other wildlife, and their habitats through education, research, conservation, and legislative advocacy.

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