Recent federal actions

Although the New River Land Trust has never relied on federal funding to do the bulk of our important conservation work, we have in the past (and hope in the future) to bring federal dollars to the New River region for the benefit of our communities and to protect/restore/enhance our region’s natural and cultural resources.

For the time being, our conservation efforts are moving forward, but we will continue to monitor the situation with federal funding. Conservation has historically had strong bipartisan support, and we hope that will continue.

The New River Land Trust is an accredited member of the Land Trust Alliance. I'd like to share a message from Jennifer Miller Herzog of the Land Trust Alliance.

As many of you know, over the past week there has been a series of executive orders, directives and memos issued by the Trump administration that could have ramifications, directly and indirectly, for the Alliance and our members. Many of these are surrounded by confusion and uncertainty; some have already been legally challenged.

In particular, earlier this week the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo calling for a freeze on nearly all federal grants and loans, effectively hitting the pause button on funds appropriated and committed by Congress. A judge temporarily blocked the spending freeze until Feb. 3, ruling that the courts need more time to consider the potentially far-reaching ramifications of this order. The situation was literally changing hour by hour throughout the day yesterday, and as of today, Jan. 29, the administration has rolled back its sweeping freeze of federal assistance in a two-sentence memo.

Private land conservation has always focused on special places and communities across the country, and we know that this work is essential to our nation’s future. It also has tremendous public, nonpartisan support. 

You can read the entire letter here.

Please contact the members of your congressional delegation and urge them to fight for funding that advances voluntary private land conservation. These are vital resources that support landowners, communities and the health of our local, state and national economies.

Sincerely,

John R. Eustis
Executive Director