On Conservation Day at the Indiana Statehouse, the Hoosier Chapter partnered with Indiana Forest Alliance so that we could reach more people about Indiana forest issues and to promote federal legislation S.2990: The Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area and Wilderness Establishment Act of 2023 that will expand the Deam Wilderness area and protect a huge part of the Hoosier National Forest and the watershed.
Hoosiers - please take action to support this legislation by calling US Representative Erin Houchin and ask her to introduce S.2990 to the US House of Representatives and call US Senator Todd Young and ask that he sign on to (Senator Mike Braun’s bill), S.2990.
Ninth District constituents (in So. Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Monroe, Ohio, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland, Washington Counties) click the following link to send a message to her through her website: houchin.house.gov/contact
For Sierra Club members and friends outside of the Ninth district, call Congresswoman Houchin's office at: 202-225-5315 to relay your views on S.2990.
Or send a letter:
Congresswoman Erin Houchin
1632 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Want to help even more? Please contact U.S. Senator Todd Young and ask him to cosponsor S.2990 along with Senator Braun, which will lead to its consideration by the Senate’s Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. This committee has jurisdiction over S.2990 and must sign off on the bill before it can be considered on the floor by the full Senate. Email Senator Todd Young via young.senate.gov/contact/email-todd or call 317-226-6700 and ask him to cosponsor S.2990!
Lora Kemp, Vice-Chair Hoosier Chapter ExCom, Steven Surette, Mountain Bike Indiana, Jennifer Christie, Director of Development, IFA, and Neil Goswami, IFA staff and Hoosier Chapter Political Comm Chair and ExCom member. Photo: Julie Lowe.
Hoosier Chapter Conservation Committee members as well as members of Owen-Putnam Friends of the Forest were present on Conservation Day to ask their state legislators to oppose HB 1383, the bill recently enacted by Gov. Holcomb that removed even more protections from Indiana wetlands. Other legislation we opposed included SB 241, Bobcat Taking, allowing a hunting season on bobcats which is expected to be enacted any day by the Governor. We opposed HB 1399, PFAS Chemicals that will lessen regulations. We supported SB 246 authored by Senator Glick, a bill that will help to protect wetlands and that bill continues in the House in the Ways and Means Committee so please call to show your support for wetland protections.
Please take another important action today and call your Indiana State Legislators to oppose HB 1399 that is attempting to cut down on what PFAS chemicals can be regulated before we even have regulations on PFAS in Indiana. The author of this bill, Senator Messmer, is proposing to exempt Hoosier manufacturers who want to keep using these dangerous PFAS chemicals even though they are toxic and extremely difficult to remove from our drinking water, referenced in this Republic News article.
Thank you to Jeff Marks, Lora Kemp, Marilyn Bauchat, Greg Grant, Mark Nowotarski, Neil Goswami, and Ashlyn Devine, Hoosier Chapter McKinney Fellow intern for helping to make Conservation Day at the Indiana Statehouse a successful day of networking with Indiana legislators and Hoosiers. Please vote for climate and conservation and thank you to those of you that do!
Julie Lowe,
Conservation Committee Chair,
Hoosier Chapter | Sierra Club