 
|
CONSERVATION LOBBY DAY 2010
Join Us on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 for the 6th Annual Conservation Lobby Day!
View pictures from Lobby Day 2010
We would like to thank all of the sponsors of Conservation Lobby Day 2010. Click here to view the list of sponsors. Would you like to sponsor Conservation Lobby Day 2010? Click here to sponsor Conservation Lobby Day 2010.
Each year citizens from across Wisconsin descend on the Capitol
to share their conservation values with their Legislators. Since the first Conservation Lobby Day in 2005, it has grown from just 100 citizens to more than 600! As we head into the 6th annual Conservation Lobby Day, there is one thing we can guarantee-when citizens come together to make their conservation values known, legislators listen, and conservation victories soon follow!
The reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund and the passage of the Strong Great Lakes Compact are two great examples of how citizen lobbying resulted in ground-breaking conservation laws.
Conservation Lobby Day is a unique opportunity to share your conservation stories and experiences with legislators and have a huge impact on conservation policies affecting all of Wisconsin.
This Conservation Lobby Day, you can help to:
For a 1-page brief on each of these issues click on the titles above. To read even more, check out the Conservation Priorities 2009-2010.
Registration has closed, however we are still accepting registration in select districts. To find out if we are accepting registrations in your district, please call Anne at 608-661-0845 or email anne@conservationvoters.org.
The Basics
You can help make sure the Conservation Priorities get checked off the "to-do" list of state legislators by attending Conservation Lobby Day.
When?
Tuesday, January 26th. Registration at 9:00 am (but you MUST RSVP by January 19th!). The program begins at 10:00am. The evening reception and Wild Game Feed begins at 5:00 pm.
Where?
Monona Terrace in Madison (One John Nolen Drive), just 2 blocks from the Capitol
to tell your legislators why you care about the conservation priority issues. The Monona Terrace is a sustainability leader. Learn more about their LEED certification here.
Why?
Conservation Lobby Day provides conservation voters - like you -one last opportunity to ask legislators to support the Conservation Priority issues before the legislative session ends and campaign season begins.
Disclaimer
The purpose of Conservation Lobby Day is to provide voters with an opportunity to talk directly with their state legislators. Because of limited space , school age children are discouraged from attending. There is a limit of 4 non-voting age students per school. Schools interested in participating should contact WLCV at 608-661-0845.
Click here for a copy of the Conservation Lobby Day 2010 Agenda.
The Issues
To familiarize yourself with the Conservation Priorities 2009-2010, we have prepared short briefing papers on each issue. To read in even greater detail, click here.
The Lobbyists
The lobbyists are you! And your friends, family and neighbors! The effectiveness of Conservation Lobby Day grows with each additional citizen lobbyist that attends. You can help make certain that every single legislator talks directly to a conservation-minded constituent on Lobby Day. Please help us get the word out!
There are several ways you can help recruit citizen lobbyists for Conservation Lobby Day.
Please let us know if there are other ways we can help you recruit Lobby Day participants. For instance, we'd be happy to come speak to your club or group about Conservation Lobby Day and the Conservation Priorities.
The Cost
WLCV is committed to organizing Conservation Lobby Day each year at no cost to you because we want to encourage all conservation-minded citizens to participate. But, it takes resources - more than just staff and volunteer time - to make Lobby Day happen. For example, did you know that lunches for 500 people cost almost $8,000? The total cost for meeting rooms, food, beverages, and materials for Lobby Day costs more than $20,000! You can help us offset these costs by supporting Conservation Lobby Day with a financial contribution.
The Frequently Asked Questions
The Driving Directions and Parking Info For directions to the Monona Terrace from where you are, click here.
Monona Terrace features a 600-space, cashier-operated parking structure, which is accessible via East Wilson St. and the eastbound lanes of John Nolen Dr.
For a map of additional City Parking Ramps in downtown Madison, click here.
Staying Overnight? Click here for a listing of Madison-area hotels.
Endorsing the Conservation Priorities
Yes, there is still time!
If your group, club, or organization wishes to show support for the four conservation priority issues, the best way to do that is to formally endorse them. As an endorser, your group, club, or organization will be listed in the Wisconsin Conservation Priorities 2009-2010, in all correspondence to legislators, in media advisories and releases about the Conservation Priorities, and on a banner at Conservation Lobby Day.
Groups, clubs, and organizations that support and endorse the Conservation Priorities will receive regular email updates about progress on the Priorities and have the option of joining periodic conference calls discussing the progress.
Additionally, organizations that endorse the Conservation Priorities are committing to help recruit participants for Conservation Lobby Day, which could include: allowing WLCV organizers to speak at their meetings, announcing the Conservation Priorities and Lobby Day in their newsletters or via email, recruiting their own members to Lobby Day, writing letters-to-the-editor, or writing opinion editorials.
If you are interested in endorsing the Conservation Priorities, please contact Jennifer Giegerich at (608) 661-0845 or at jennifer@conservationvoters.org. If you have any remaining questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Background on the Conservation Priorities
Since 2002, the conservation community has come together to set a to-do list of the most important conservation issues in Wisconsin. Each legislative session, there are quite literally hundreds of potential "top" issues. In order to narrow the issues down to a more manageable number, the conservation community spends ~6 months holding coalition meetings and talking with hundreds of citizens at 11 Conservation Listening Sessions around the state. In the end, a diverse, robust coalition of Wisconsin conservation organizations came together to select the four Conservation Priorities. This year, the endorsing organizations number more than 80. See above for details on how your group can still sign-on as an endorser.
The Conservation Priority process and Conservation Lobby Day have a track record of success. For three years in a row, a Conservation Priority victory has followed a Conservation Lobby Day. Click here to read more about past Conservation Priority victories!
|
 |