Audubon Supports New Bipartisan House Bill Protecting Undeveloped Coastal Areas, Saving U.S. Tax Dollars, Promoting Public Safety
Legislation expands environmental protections on coastal habitats and communities.
WASHINGTON – “Conserving coastal environments is not only vital to protecting birds but is also key to preserving local communities and economies along America’s coastline,” said Dr. Karen Hyun, Audubon’s vice president of coastal policy, in support of bipartisan legislation introduced by Representative Neal Dunn (R-FL), Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Representative Thomas Rooney (R-FL) that would strengthen and expand the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.
“This bipartisan bill is a good first step, and Audubon thanks Representatives Dunn, Blunt Rochester and Rooney for their leadership on such an important conservation initiative for birds and people. We look forward to working with all members of the House in moving this legislation forward.”
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and expanded in 1990 with bipartisan support. CBRA prohibits most federal spending on certain undeveloped, high risk coastal areas, including barrier islands, beaches and wetlands along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes.
Passage of this bill will add thousands of acres to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act System along Delaware, North and South Carolina, Florida, and potentially Louisiana by using the latest maps developed from the Congress-authorized CBRA Digital Mapping Pilot Project. This complete package of new maps will save taxpayer dollars, improve public safety, make coastal communities more resilient in the face of a changing climate, and protect habitats that support fish, wildlife and coastal economies.
To learn more about Audubon’s Coasts programs, please click here.
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About the National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.
Media Contact: Chandler Lennon, clennon@audubon.org, (804) 832-0832