Register Today for Dozens of Policy Events at Rally 2010

Rally 2010 in Hartford, CT, October 2-5 is the Land Trust Alliance's national meeting -- and it provides key opportunities to advance your land trust's advocacy skills, learn how to tap new federal funding for land conservation, and network with your peers about important policy opportunities and problems.  We realize budgets are tight, but if you could use some help from a government partner, now is the time to learn how to get it.  The deadline for Rally registration and discounted hotel reservations is next Friday, September 17.

Rally features hundreds of different events, including more than three dozen workshops and seminars on public policy.  In this email, we're eager to highlight a few sessions where your participation, questions and feedback are particularly important to our policy success in the year ahead.  Click here for a full listing of policy-related sessions at Rally.

A Key Session: Lobbying -- Lessons from the Trenches

Workshop A18 -- Monday, Oct 4, 10:00am - Noon -- CTCC Room 11
Have you been tempted by our Advocacy seminar in previous years, but unwilling to invest a full day and $140?  This year we're instead offering a free workshop where panelists from different sized land trusts active in local, state and federal advocacy will discuss their experiences developing and implementing successful policy advocacy programs and campaigns.  Learn how to maximize relationships with elected officials, their staff and coalition partners so that government can help you achieve your conservation mission. Read more>>

Panelists include:  Will Abbott of Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Mike Beam of Ranchland Trust of Kansas, Andy Chmar of Hudson Highlands Land Trust (NY), Andy Bicking of Scenic Hudson, Inc. (NY) and Greg Yankee of Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts.

One Workshop to Review The Alliance's Policy Work -- and Guide Its Future!

Workshop B21 -- Monday, Oct 4, 1:30-3:30pm -- CTCC Room 11
This year we're combining our 2010 Federal Policy Update and 2011 Public Policy Review into a single workshop.  Russ Shay will kick off this session with the latest news on progress towards our five public policy goals for 2010.  The latter part of this session is an open meeting of the Alliance's Policy Advisory Council, allowing Land Trust Alliance members an opportunity to discuss and provide input on the Alliance's public policy program, and what it should focus on in 2011.

Come prepared to share your ideas and make a case to the Alliance and your fellow land trusts for the policies you consider a priority.  Watch your inbox next week for a memo discussing the issues we see on the horizon and ways to respond online.

More Featured Sessions

Beyond the 9 workshops of the Public Policy track, there are at least 46 sessions at Rally related to Public Policy.   The following are just a few highlights of sessions we hope you'll find worthwhile:

• The annual Working With the IRS panel discussion: Workshop C18, Monday, Oct 4, 4:00-5:30pm (moved from early morning based on last year's feedback)
• A daylong seminar on Energy Development Threats to Conservation, SEM-32, Sunday, Oct 3, 9:00am – 5:00pm, complemented by workshops on responding to condemnation, electric transmission lines, wind power development, and gas drilling.
• Workshops discussing America's Great Outdoors and related initiatives, hosted by Department of Interior on Monday and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition on Tuesday.
  
• Workshops discussing farm bill conservation programs, including A23, B25, and the NRCS federal partner session.
• Learn about more funding opportunities at additional government partner sessions with the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Defense, U.S. Army, Bureau of Land Management, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the agencies of our Coastal Conservation Networking Collaborative.

Thanks for attending Rally!

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