Political Action
This has been re-printed from the American Canoe Association…
Stop Budget Cuts in the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program!
The American Canoe Association is asking its members and clubs to help save a small, but very important federal program: The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance <http://www.nps.gov/rtca/> Program (RTCA) of the National Park Service. RTCA produces enormous conservation and recreation benefits for paddlers and local communities by fostering partnerships between federal, state and local interests. Through these cooperative efforts, RTCA and its partners restore rivers and wildlife habitat, develop trail and greenway networks, preserve open space and revitalize communities. Click here <http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/whatwedo/wwd_what_we_do.html to learn more, and here <http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/whatwedo/wwd_2006_proj.pdf> for a list of RTCA projects in your state.
The Bush Administration is proposing to slash $500,000 from the RTCA’s modest $8.1 million budget, a cut that jeopardizes current projects and results in staff reductions and field office closures. ACA and its partners in the Rivers and Trails Coalition are urging the U.S. Senate to increase RTCA’s budget to $10.1 million to make up for years of flat funding.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Carl Levin (D-MI) support the Coalition’s recommendation and will be distributing a "Dear Colleague" letter to the rest of Senate voicing their supporting. They need more Senators to sign the letter for maximum impact. ACA urges its members and paddling clubs to call their Senators today and urge them to sign on to the letter to support full funding for RTCA. To learn more about how to support RTCA, visit this page <http://www.americancanoe.org/stewardship/rtcafunding.lasso> of the ACA website.