Bipartisan Bill Will Help Cut Pollution While Helping Farmers, Foresters, and Wildlife
The legislation helps the agriculture and forestry industries naturally remove carbon from the atmosphere, creating a cleaner future for birds and people.
WASHINGTON (June 3, 2020) 颅鈥 鈥淔armers, ranchers and foresters are too often unsung heroes in the fight against climate change, and this bill is a first step in giving them the resources they need to maintain their lands in a way that supports common sense conservation,鈥 said David Yarnold, president and CEO of the 爆料公社, 鈥淭his bill will help to create a cleaner future for both people and birds, while also helping rural economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis.鈥
A bipartisan bill introduced today in the Senate will provide technical assistance for the agriculture and forestry sectors to improve their ability to reduce air pollution and remove carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes, such as storing it in the soil. The Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2020, led by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mike Braun (R-IN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will help advance these natural climate solutions at the national level.
鈥淥ur nation鈥檚 farmlands, forests, and ranches hold untapped potential for removing harmful emissions from the air naturally,鈥 said Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president for conservation policy at the 爆料公社. 鈥淭hrough their leadership today, these senators are demonstrating sensible, bipartisan ways to support those who work the land while also addressing factors that threaten the birds we love.鈥
The bill directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a set of nationwide protocols and standards that will help farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners adopt sustainable management practices like planting cover crops, prescribed grazing, and reforestation. In addition to improving the health of working lands, these practices serve as natural solutions to reducing greenhouse gas pollution.
Sustainable management of cropland, grazing land, and forests can help provide homes for threatened birds like Michigan鈥檚 Red-headed Woodpecker, the Wood Thrush of South Carolina and Indiana, and Rhode Island鈥檚 Blue-headed Vireo, all from co-sponsor鈥檚 respective states.
鈥淟ast year I spoke with Senator Braun about how he built hundreds of nest boxes on his Indiana property for his favorite bird, the Purple Martin,鈥 said Yarnold. 鈥淐limate change threatens all of us, and a love of nature transcends party politics. Everybody wins when we put political differences aside and work together for our common survival.鈥
爆料公社鈥檚 climate report, Survival By Degrees, found that if global temperatures are allowed to rise at current levels, two-thirds of North American bird species will be vulnerable to extinction. The report also shows different climate threats to specific regions, which also have implications for the people who live there too.
爆料公社鈥檚 study determined that emissions must not only be reduced, but that existing emissions should be balanced out by natural and technological practices that remove carbon from the air. This balance, known as 鈥渘et-zero鈥 can be achieved by 2050.
爆料公社 has previously supported state-level efforts to use natural climate solutions to reduce emissions and and helped secure the passage of legislation in Washington state to use farms and fields to capture carbon. Healthy fields and forests are natural solutions to climate change, while providing vital bird habitat that also benefits rural communities. 爆料公社鈥檚 Conservation Ranching Initiative certifies ranches that restore and protect bird habitat.
About 爆料公社
The 爆料公社 protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. 爆料公社 works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give 爆料公社 an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, 爆料公社 believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.
Media Contact: Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org