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Action Alerts

IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT

On Thursday, October 3, 2024 the Tennessee State Legislature will meet to consider changes in how the State protects our wetlands – reviving an issue that sparked intensive debate earlier this year when the Bill was first introduced to roll back environmental oversight over nearly half a million acres of the State’s fragile ecosystems. 

 
West TN Representative Kevin Vaughn (R-95) is the lead sponsor for proposed legislation.
 
Tennessee has about 780,000 acres of wetlands.  Vaughn’s legislations focuses mainly on ‘isolated wetland’ with NO surface connection to a river or lake. Nearly half of TN’s wetlands fall into the category.  But as we know EVERYTHING is CONNECTED no matter what a map reveals.  Draining these wetlands and building on them is a slippery slope. 
 
The Tennessee Department of Conservation released a 183-page reporting outlining 18 recommendations…they are a ‘slight’ improvement from the original January proposal but still fall short of what’s necessary to fully protect these fragile ecosystems.  Four most troubling recommendations are as follows:
 
1. Doubling the size of wetlands developers can build on without having to pay environmental mitigation from the current quarter acre to half.
2.  Lowering current 2:1 ration that requires developers to fund two acres of wetland restoration for every acre disturbed to 1:1.
3.  Streamlining current process to obtain a permit to build on a wetland.
4.  Eliminating a requirement for paid newspaper ads detailing plans to develop a wetland.

TODAY IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS.  LET THEM KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS.  It’s time to put ‘conserve’ in conservative and more importantly conservation!!

 
Thank you.
 
TOS Conservation and Policy Committee 

Colonial Waterbird Survey – We need your help!

David Hanni and Intern Maddy are collecting informaiton on their ongoing Colonial Waterbird Study.  If you know of an active Rookery in Tennessee, please send the latitude and longitude of said location to David at TWRA.  His address is David.Hanni@tn.gov.

The more eyes out there looking the more information we can gather.

Thank you!!

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Tennessee Warbler

At-Large Membership

At-large members may use the online form or mail a check to:

Pam Lasley, TOS Treasurer
5886 Willshire Dr
Nashville, TN 37215

Please include name, address, phone, e-mail with payment.

The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is an excellent source of information about things members can do to help birds.  ABC builds on sound science, and works in partnership to achieve conservation results for birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.

Members can go here for information on:

  • Threats. For instance, window collisions, feral cats, pesticides, wind turbines
  • Habitat protection, be they wetlands, forests, grasslands, or coastal
  • Endangered and threatened species
  • Living a “bird-friendly” life
  • Unifying conservation and bird-watching groups through the Bird Conservation Alliance