Get Active!
|
|
|
| About Us | Calendar | Conservation | Contact Us | Education | Join NYNJTC |
| Links | News | Publications | Trails | Viewpoint | Volunteer |
Search Site by FreeFind. |
Not-for Profit organizations, 501 (3c), such as the Trail Conference cannot legally spend significant amounts of money on lobbying. However, they can educate officials and urge their members to participate. The Conference will attempt to keep you informed about issues that they think will affect trails and open space. It is up to you to take action and visit, write, call, fax, or e-mail appropriate officials with your own personal opinions, which may be the same (we hope) or different from any Trail Conference position. It is hard to participate actively if you are not a registered voter. Any call to action usually includes talking points that emphasize points in favor of good proposals or against bad proposals. These may be used (in your own words) in any communication with elected officials. Be creative and relate your own personal experiences relevant to the issues. For further information on broad national topics, look at the Congressional Research Service. See tips on communicating with officials. Know how your representatives have voted on similar issues, then you know whether you have an easy or hard sell. The League of Conservation Voters compiles records that may be relevant. See also NY League of Conservation Voters. Track how the voting went and congratulate those who voted correctly. Chide the laggards into doing better next time. Write letters to the editor or OpEd articles for your local newspaper. For national issues, contact some of these. Or look up media here or here. Many issues are most easily solved by being proactive and electing officials more sympathetic to your cause. It is important to get involved early in the campaign cycle to keep your candidates in the running. You might even consider volunteering to help a particularly attractive candidate. See the links below for websites that track candidates. National Issues
See if your congressperson is a member of the House Trails Caucus. They are generally favorable toward trails issues but may not be on any specific issue where there are other considerations. Congress.org also has issues and recent votes. Contact the PresidentThe Whitehouse website is http://www.whitehouse.gov or
e-mail at President@whitehouse.gov Contact Members of Congress
To contact your Member on-line:
NY State IssuesContact Governor Pataki. To Write To The Governor: For information about who to call, with contact information:
NYC Issues and ContactsFor NYC residents it is easy to get all of your representatives, from district council to US President by entering your address into NYPIRGs form. NJ State IssuesContact Governor Cody. For information about who to call, with contact information:
Local IssuesRead your local newspapers and note important issues that affect the trail community. Zoning and Planning Boards agendas are particularly important to watch. Many of you live near hiking areas that all members of the Trail Conference use. Tell the Trail Conference about these local issues via email, info@nynjtc.org. The Conference can alert other members with zip codes that are in the area. Letters to the editor are particularly effective on local issues. There are local/regional organizations that track issues, e.g. Scenic Hudson and Skylands CLEAN. NY State local information Links
|
V3 Last updated: July 14, 2005 Copyright © 1996-2005 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Privacy Statement.
