If you needed one more indication that summer in New England has arrived, we have one – the arrival of our Summer 2011 edition of Conservation Matters, CLF’s quarterly newsletter! This issue features one of our favorite parts of a summer outdoors- water. So, grab a spot in the shade (or on the beach) and crack open the latest issue of CM.

Here’s what’s in store for you:

• Read about how CLF is leading the charge for a cohesive, coordinated approach to ocean management planning that balances the need to protect fragile ocean creatures and habitats while maximizing the ocean’s economic development potential, such as offshore wind development;
• Catch up on how CLF has finally gotten MassHighway to curb toxic stormwater runoff from its roads that was contributing to hazardous water pollution problems in nearby waterways;
• Learn how CLF New Hampshire Advocates Society member Honor Passow and her husband and sons carry on the family tradition of environmental conservation
• Meet CLF Maine Staff Attorney Jane West and find out why she traded her Florida air-conditioning for the changing seasons and unspoiled landscapes of New England – and how CLF Maine is tackling the state’s biggest environmental challenges.
• Hear from CLF President John Kassel on why New England’s oceans, and the folks who look forward to who enjoying them every summer  – are worth protecting.

Download the latest issue of Conservation Matters now!

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We’re proud to announce that our annual “State of the Region” issue of Conservation Matters has arrived. Learn about four areas of advocacy in which CLF has experienced great success over the last year, from public transportation and fisheries management to kicking New England’s coal habit and tackling the nutrient pollution that is threatening some of our region’s most vital water bodies. Bonus feature: Get up to speed on the great work that our non-profit affiliate, CLF Ventures, is doing in the public sector.

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Tell us what you think at e-info@clf.org.

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Learn about CLF’s targeted coal plant advocacy with the launch of the Coal-free New England campaign. Find out how CLF is working with Restore America’s Estuaries and local residents to bring New England’s waterways back to health. Hear from new CLF Ventures CEO Jo Anne Shatkin on what’s next for Ventures. And get the lowdown on our new look from CLF President John Kassel. The new issue of Conservation Matters is here.

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Tell us what you think at e-info@clf.org.

See more issues of CM >

Before Lori Ehrlich was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature she was a committed local activist fighting to protect the health and environment of her family and community.  In fact, CLF’s journal, Conservation Matters, ran a profile of Lori describing her critical role in the advocacy around the Salem Harbor Power Plant back in 2003 under the title “Mother Grizzly from Marblehead” – a good five years before a similar phrase was employed on the national scene to describe a very different person.

Lori (now “Rep. Ehrlich”) continues in her role as the voice of reason and truth with regard to the Salem Harbor plant in an articulate op-ed in the Salem News in which she argues that by ignoring “unequivocal statement of closure” that the Salem News editorial voice is “‘shamefully out of sync with the plant owners and city elected officials who have begun to take important steps to accept and plan for the inevitable”.   Rep. Ehrlich notes that given Dominion’s own statements, the cost of keeping the plant limping forward and the planning for the future now underway that the time has come for collaborative problem solving, not finger pointing:

The ratepayer deserves better than the false choice of “plant or no plant.” Ratepayers have borne the burden of keeping this plant afloat for years and now are paying above-market rates to the tune of $20 million for the next two years to import and burn cheap coal here.

Dominion’s CFO made clear in his remarks at the Edison Electric Institute gathering that the company will not invest its dollars in this plant. Why should we invest ours? With a just transition, local businesses and tourism can be bolstered without ruining our health, killing workers and destroying our natural resources.

Private citizens and several brownfield developers are coming forward with creative and potentially lucrative development ideas. Any development will also enjoy the benefit of a 2002 $6-million cleanup of on-site contamination from unlined impoundment ponds. With a federally designated deepwater port, it’s not a stretch to imagine this 65-acre property hosting cruise ships or other types of maritime commerce.

There will no doubt be unique challenges transitioning this property. But it’s not the only coal plant in the country going by the wayside, just the oldest.

The Salem News and those naysayers who spend so much time and energy pointing out what cannot be done, need to change their tune and join Dominion, city and state leadership, and the air-breathing public, in imagining other possibilities.

Rep.  Ehrlich is doing what our leaders are supposed to do: she is leading. Specifically, she is leading us forward towards a cleaner and more prosperous future and is trying to do so in a manner that heals wounds, considers the values and needs of many communities and she is using honest, tough but civil language to build a real conversation about what needs to be done.