North Carolina continues to be one of the best places to live and work due to our high quality of life and a wealth of natural resources. North Carolina's decision-makers need to work proactively to maintain our quality of life, the health of our communities, and the landscapes that bring people and businesses here, especially in the current economic situation.

Investing in strong environmental protections now will help North Carolina continue to be the state we want to live in. Therefore, North Carolina's environmental community is working collaboratively to help set environmental priorities each legislative session that will help North Carolina's leaders make a commitment to our state's future.

The NC Common Agenda: Priorities for the Environment represents a collaborative effort by a number of environmental groups in North Carolina who have chosen to pool their collective energies behind strategically selected priorities. The NC Common Agenda will help our leaders maintain North Carolina's rich abundance of natural resources and protect our beautiful state for generations to come.

The 2009 Priorities are:

  • Clean up Jordan Lake: Enact the proposed Jordan Lake Rules to keep this water supply clean and sustainable.
    Oppose     H3, H239=S166, H350, Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules.
  • Green Jobs & Water Quality: Invest in the Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP) to help communities clean up and protect water supplies. Support S523=H903, Funds for Community Conservation Assistance.
  • Water Resources for the Future: Create the framework for better management of our water supplies before a drought dries up our economy and our quality of life. Support S907=H1101, Water Resource Policy Act of 2009.
  • Mountain Pride: Create a Mountain Resource Commission to help western North Carolina prosper in a sustainable way.
    Support S968, Mountain Resources Planning

In the current economic crisis, there will be many difficult decisions to make, and our air, water, and natural landscapes will face increasing threats from short-sighted, unbalanced approaches to managing for our future. In past times of crisis, North Carolina leaders acted boldly and innovatively to create new initiatives that fueled our economy for decades. We urge you to take that same approach again - make wise choices now that balance our short-term needs with a long-term investment in our communities and natural resources.

Whether it is supporting these five Priorities for the Environment, in the context of dealing with our budget shortfalls, or other important legislation that may come up that impacts our environment, we are united in our commitment to work with you to protect the qualities we value in our state.

For general information:
Contact Dan Crawford, Director of Governmental Relations, Conservation Council of NC, at (919) 839-0020 or dan@conservationcouncilnc.org