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If you have an environmental concern you would like to see addressed, contact UPEC

On going issues:

Prickett Lake Acquisition:

Action request letter from The Trust for Public Land:

We are writing to ask for your help once again in voicing support for land acquisitions in the Ottawa National Forest. As you know, this year the Forest has the opportunity to acquire the spectacular Prickett Lake property.

To recap where we are in the FY10 appropriations process: Before the August recess, Congress has already made significant progress in the Interior Appropriations bill. The House passed its version, which included $1.5M, and the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed its version of the bill, which included $2.8M. $2.8M is what is needed to acquire Prickett Lake and thus the message to the delegation is to please hold the Senate's level of funding!

At this point, the next steps are normally Senate passage and the production of the final conference report. However, as in previous years, the Senate floor is prone to getting clogged due to an already busy legislative schedule and/or partisanship, and it is becoming more of a possibility that in September or early October the final appropriations bills will be combined into a large omnibus package and passed in unison.

Given that timetable, letters of support will have the greatest effect if they arrive on Capitol Hill in early to mid-September. Please voice your support at this critical juncture in the congressional appropriations process. This outreach can make the difference!

I am also providing the contact information for the congressional delegation below. As before, calls, faxes, and emails via the Member's website are the best modes of communication.

      

Feel free to personalize these sample letters before sending to Congress. TPL would also appreciate receiving a copy of whatever you send. Please submit letters to the Michigan delegation no earlier than September 8th, 2009. Congress is in recess until the 8th, and submitting letters as soon as Congress returns maximizes the impact of our message.

Sample letters:
Ottawa NF_MI_Levin Aug 09.doc
Ottawa NF_MI_Stabenow Aug 09.doc
Ottawa NF_MI_Stupak Aug 09.doc

TPL Contact:
Shaun Hamilton
Senior Project Manager
Director, Northwoods Initiative
The Trust for Public Land
2610 University Avenue, Suite 300
St. Paul, MN 55114
(651) 999.5309
shaun.hamilton@tpl.org
www.tpl.org

The Trust for Public Land - Celebrating 35 years of conserving land for people--2.2 million acres and counting. www.tpl.org

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Toxic Barrels in Lake Superior!

For four years, between 1959 and 1962, barrels containing benzene, PCBs, lead, cadmium, barium, hexavalent chromium and most likely radioactive materials were rolled off barges into the lake at spots all along the north shore. These barrels are now corroriding in Lake Superior. Please ask your Congress delegate to address this now!  Here is the link to information:
http://www.nukewatch.com/barrels/