In this eNewsletter you will find:

• Take Immediate Action to Influence the Federal Stimulus Package
• Save the California Conservation Corps
• SRF Conference Host Hotels Group Discounts Close Feb 19 & 25
• SRF Conference Registration Now Available Online
• SRF Conference Workshops and Field Tours
• SRF Conference Scholarship Request Due Feb 15
• SRF Annual Meeting, March 5
• Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival on Tour, March 5
• Organize to Address the State Freeze on Bond-Funded Projects
• SRF Conference Poster Session, March 6
• Saturday Awards Ceremony, Banquet and Cabaret

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Take Immediate Action to Influence the Federal Stimulus Package
The conservation community in California is facing a crisis of an unprecedented nature and we need the assistance of Congress to help us all address it. The wetland, river, stream, fisheries, wildlife and watershed projects; and the organizations that implement these projects under voter approved Propositions 40, 50 and 84, are now subject to a devastating work order freeze by the California State Pooled Money Investment Board. While a few large transportation projects maybe reimbursed for their expenses incurred to date (or may even receive some continued funding), the non-profit community organizations are not receiving reimbursements for project costs they have already incurred for work contracted by the State. This freeze involves $647,000,000 in environmental grants affecting over 1100 organizations and 4000 projects. The length of time required for the recovery of the bond market and resuming bond sales may exceed the ability of many of the non-profit conservation organizations' ability to survive.

Because of the severity of this situation, the California Watershed Coalition and the Bay Area Watershed Network requests that the American Recovery and reinvestment Act (SB336) include watershed-related projects to create and save 3-4 million jobs. An attachment to this letter labeled “Green Watershed Jobs” contains a list of projects which should be eligible for funding under the federal economic stimulus package currently being drafted and a short list of federal programs which can help us administer shovel ready projects which are not contained in the House H.R. 1.

All regions of the state have numerous ‘shovel ready” conservation projects ready to employ all levels of skilled and unskilled labor. In the San Francisco Bay for example, the San Francisco Bay Joint Ventures has developed a list of 40 projects located among 22 northern California counties which can create 35,000 jobs and generate a $450 million economic output.

We request that the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program, or “Green Jobs Program,” formed under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 be funded and amended to integrate watershed projects and water conservation projects with the energy projects as part of the stimulus package. Watershed and water management are closely interrelated with energy projects and both kinds of projects should be funded in a coordinated manner.

Finally, we implore Congress to address the issue that while accelerated infrastructure projects are needed, they also need to be smart investments which do not incur unnecessary future costs to our federal and state budgets because we failed to learn from past engineering errors. Public works projects should be conditioned to meet common-sense criteria to avoid the fill or disturbance of floodplains and wetlands to prevent future flooding problems; and to minimize erosion hazards and harm to wildlife and fisheries.

Please visit SRF's Advocacy site to see sample letters and more info re: how you can support these changes to the Federal Stimulus Package and California bills.
The 27th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference will be held March 4-7, 2009 in Santa Cruz, California. This is the premiere habitat restoration conference in the Pacific Northwest and hosting the conference in Santa Cruz affords wonderful opportunities to view projects on the Central Coast and highlight issues that pertain to coastal watershed and coho salmon recovery.

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Take Action to Save the CCC

Governor Schwarzeneggar plans to eliminate the California Conservation Corps effective July 1, 2009. This action would dismantle the longest running and most successful youth conservation corps in America. The CCC is the preeminent environmental work force in California, providing hundreds of thousands of hours every year to construct, maintain, and restore trails, beaches, forests, and watersheds.

A website has been developed by the "Save the CCC" committee. The website lists media articles, supporters, as well as instructions on how to write to the Governor requesting that the CCC be saved. The website is www.save-the-ccc.org and includes fact sheets and a sample letter and a way that you can personalize the letter and send it electronically to the Governor. Although this option is easier for folks, we've heard that hard copies mailed or faxed carry more weight. For more information on this topic, please check out the SRF Advocacy page: Save the CCC .

Please write the Governor ASAP and copy your local legislator. Also, please forward this alert to any other organization or individuals you think could help.

Please send any and all letters of support to Governor Schwarzenegger and your local elected officials: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160

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Take Action to Combat the State Bond Freeze

Organizations severely impacted by the Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB) and DOF decision to freeze payments from bond-funded projects try to organize, develop survival strategies and tell our story.

The DOF has now made publicly available the list of 5600 projects suspended or shut down by the PMIB freeze. The PMIB "partially eased" the infrastructure freeze by voting to release $650 million in funds to pay for an as yet undetermined subset of projects. as Lockyer stated in his press release, "The DOF will decide how to allocate the $650 million, based on its determination of which expenditures have the highest priority and best serve the State's interests. The DOF will report on how it distributes the funds at the PMIB's next meeting, which will be held in early February." In addition, the DOF consulted with state agencies, and picked approximately 276 projects/programs that may be "exempted" from the bond funding freeze pending approval of a state budget in February.

So what do we do now? There are five major activity fronts/objectives that are gathering momentum:

1. Organize, organize and organize.

2. Develop a legislative game plan.

3. Access federal economic stimulus funding.

4. Tell our story. We must continue to broaden and deepen the media's coverage of the bond funding freeze problem.

5. Create local financial partnerships.

To see the full text of this legislative alert by John McCaull, please visit SRF's page on the Bond Freeze .