Take Action

Conservation Law Foundation has a dedicated staff of professionals whose job is to protect New England’s environment. However, we know that we can’t do it all on our own. In addition to becoming a member of CLF by making a donation, we invite you to participate in one of our periodic initiatives; these range from volunteer opportunities to internships at our offices to filling out petitions or serving as an in-court witness.

This is our New England — we need to come together to protect it.

April 4th, 2013

Ask Your Senator to Protect Clean Water and Wildlife in Vermont’s Lakes

When it comes to protecting clean water and wildlife habitat in Vermont’s lakes and ponds, Vermont has fallen behind its neighbors in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts in a key respect. Those states have standards protecting the shores of lakes and ponds while Vermont does not. At least – not yet.

This basic lack of protection exposes Vermont’s lakes and ponds, and the surrounding wildlife and habitat, to destructive practices such as polluting overdevelopment and destructive clear-cutting practices. Vermont Senators are soon going to vote on whether to rein in these practices through what’s called a “shorelands protection bill.”

We’re asking you to join us in calling on Vermont Senators to pass a strong bill for Governor Shumlin to sign. In order to be successful, we need you to take action by Friday, April 12th. Please, don’t delay: take action today! 

March 29, 2013

Help Us Save New England’s Iconic Cod

The science is clear. Atlantic cod populations are at an all-time historic low. The cod fishery, which for generations has supported a way of life in New England’s coastal communities, may be in complete collapse.

The managers of this public resource have a responsibility to revive and rebuild cod stocks. Instead, they are continuing a decades-long pattern of risky decision-making that has run this fishery and its communities into the ground.

In the coming weeks, NOAA will make final decisions about the 2013 fishing season. NOAA has an obligation to stiffen its resolve and get this right. That’s why we need your help.

If you believe, as we at CLF believe, that the cod fishery is worth saving, please stand with thousands of New Englanders and take action today.

We at CLF are working to urge NOAA to do three things:

  1. Shut down the commercial cod fishery
  2. Protect cod populations, especially the adult females that produce as many as 8 million eggs a year
  3. And, protect the ocean refuges that will allow cod to recover, not bow to industry pressure by opening them to more commercial fishing.

The longer we wait to take action, the more we risk losing this iconic fishery. Please stand with us to tell NOAA that we need to protect cod, especially the large, productive females. Tell NOAA that we need to protect their habitat, and their refuges, so that they can recover to sustainable levels.

March 22, 2013

Connecticut & New England Need Clean Energy Policies

The Renewable Energy Standards of the New England States (known in Connecticut as the Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS) have been the fundamental force driving the development of wind and solar power across the region.

Connecticut has been the second largest market for this clean energy and its RPS has been responsible for this positive development. This commitment by Connecticut and the other New England states stands in sharp contrast to the lack of action from Washington on clean energy. During the past decade the U.S. Congress has been flipping the policies and incentives for clean renewable energy on and off like a child at a light switch. Connecticut, meanwhile, has forged ahead with the RPS and its clean energy commitment.

Today, Connecticut and its sister states have a special obligation to be consistent in their support of these essential policies. But Connecticut needs your help.

A bill before the state legislature would undermine Connecticut’s commitment to wind and solar power by reducing the amount of clean power from those sources that the sellers of electricity working in the State would buy. In its place hydroelectric power from distant Canadian dams would be purchased a sweetheart deal for utility giant Northeastern Utilities, but a raw deal for renewable energy in CT and New England.

If you believe, as we at CLF believe, that New England needs a clean energy future, please take action today.

December 13, 2012

Protect New England’s Special Ocean Places!

New England’s remaining critical ocean habitat is under threat – we need to act today to secure permanent protection to ensure a healthy future for New England’s ocean.

Red cod and cunner swim through the healthy kelp forest at Cashes Ledge.

On December 20th, the New England Fishery Management Council will vote on whether or not to allow bottom trawling in currently protected areas. Places like Cashes Ledge, an underwater mountain range that harbors the largest and deepest kelp forest on the eastern seaboard and protects one of the most diverse habitats in the Gulf of Maine, are at risk. Allowing bottom trawling in Cashes Ledge and other currently protected areas in the Gulf of Maine will threaten unique ecosystems, rare species, and already dwindling fish populations.

The Conservation Law Foundation, marine biologists, fishermen, and other ocean users are calling on NOAA to design a comprehensive habitat protection strategy that is based on science, meets the requirements of the law, and brings permanent protection to important places in New England’s ocean waters.

Urge NOAA to protect New England ocean habitat and help ensure a healthy future for New England’s ocean.