Conservation Law Foundation
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| President | Phil Warburg |
|---|---|
| Established | 1966 |
| Offices | Boston, MA; Brunswick, ME Concord, NH Providence, RI Montpelier, VT |
| President's Compensation | $164,000 |
| Fundraising | FY2004: $3.5m in grants & donations |
| Major Advocacy Areas | Clean Energy Climate Change Clean Water Healthy Forests Smart Growth |
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. Since 1966, CLF's mission has been to advocate on behalf of the region's environment and its communities. CLF's advocacy work takes place in four program areas: Clean Energy & Climate Change, Clean Water & Healthy Forests, Healthy Oceans and Smart Growth. CLF works to promote renewable energy and fight air and water pollution; build healthy fishing communities and protect marine habitat; fight sprawl, promote public transit and defend public health. Conservation Law Foundation is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
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[edit] Notable Achievements
Originally founded in 1966 to stop the development of ski slopes on Massachusett's highest peak, Mount Greylock, CLF expanded its advocacy to address both environmental and community issues in all six New England states.
[edit] Traditional Environmental Advocacy
In 1977, the organization successfully fought the expansion plans for a federal divided highway through Franconia Notch, in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Since that time, CLF's legal advocacy has focused on several natural resources cases, including the clean up of Lake Champlain (by challenging state stormwater permits), the prevention of overfishing of groundfish--cod, haddock, and flounder--off the coast of New England (resulting in a settlement requiring the National Marine Fisheries Service to produce a management plan to eliminate overfishing), and the protection of the Vermont black bear habitat (by obtaining a federal court injunction halting destructive U.S. logging practices in southern Vermont's fragile Lamb Brook wilderness area, marking the first time an environmental group in the Northeast successfully challenges the U.S. Forest Service's clear-cutting policies).
[edit] Community & Transportation Advocacy
Believing cities and towns to be as important environmental constituencies as forests and rivers, CLF advocated for increased light rail and public transportation options in Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine. In a pre-suit settlement with CLF, state highway officials in Massachusetts agreed to implement measures to reduce air pollution, including rail and transit improvements, as part of Boston’s Central Artery project (also known as the Big Dig).
Additionally, CLF advocated for state laws to protect children from the threat of lead poisoning. In 1988, following a three-year campaign by CLF, Massachusetts passed the nation’s toughest law to protect its citizens, especially children, from lead poisoning.
[edit] Energy Advocacy
One of the cornerstones of CLF's modern advocacy is pushing states to invest in energy sources that have less propensity for pollution. In 1983, CLF took credit for the decision by the Public Service Company of New Hampshire, the largest electric company in the state, to abandon its plans for a second nuclear unit at Seabrook Nuclear Power Station after CLF testimony demonstrates that the construction of the facility would not make financial sense.
Later, in 2003, CLF claimed victory when the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection finalized a schedule requiring the Salem Harbor and Brayton Point coal-fired power plants to significantly reduce harmful emissions and comply with the "Filthy Five" regulations.
Recently, CLF has been lending its advocacy practices to supporting the development of a for-profit, offshore wind farm, known as Cape Wind.
[edit] Controversies
CLF has been the target of accusations that its advocacy reflects an anti-development bias. For example, in Vermont, its advocates have been locked in a dispute to prevent the construction of a Lowe's Home Center, although the two parties recently reached a landmark settlement that will allow construction to go forward once regulators in the Douglas Administration approve the necessary permits. As part of the agreement, the two sides planned to work together collaboratively on future Lowe's development in the state and Lowe's will install state of the art pollution control measures to better protect and improve water quality in Potash Brook watershed and Lake Champlain. CLF, along with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, and Vermont Smartgrowth Collaborative, has also succeeded in stalling the construction of the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway, because the project was based on flawed and outdated environmental analysis. The administration of Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, which is widely regarded as in the pocket of big-business and development interests, has noted that "CLF has been the loyal obstructionist to many projects in the state, without regard to compromise." [1]
[edit] Senator John H. Chafee Environmental Leadership Award
The Senator John H. Chafee Environmental Leadership Award was created to honor the late Rhode Island Senator John H. Chafee, who provided a model of environmental leadership during his years of public service. CLF notes that its commitment to pursuing non-partisan solutions to complex environmental problems is in the spirit of Senator Chafee’s lifetime dedication to tackling the toughest environmental challenges facing New England and the nation.
[edit] Past Honorees
2004 - Harold Ward (professor, Brown University)
2002 - Bruce Babbitt (former Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior)
2001 - Donella Meadows (author, environmentalist)
