A historic election: Now where do we go from here?

We typically have strong support for our conservation priorities from both sides of the aisle. Still, with each election the land trust community needs to step up to educate a new crop of federal leaders — in the executive and legislative branches — about the importance of the work of land trusts in their districts and across the nation.

With a record-shattering number of votes cast, the 2020 general election was one for the history books. It saw the office of the president, each of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 seats in the U.S. Senate all up for grabs. In addition, countless state and local legislative positions, ordinances and ballot measures were put to a vote.

A Victory for All

Across 11 states, the American public voted in wide margins to support important conservation initiatives. According to information from the Trust for Public Land (accredited), all of the 26 conservation measures on the ballot passed. As a result, it is expected that nearly $3.7 billion in new funding will be available for state and local land conservation, parks, climate resiliency and habitat protection projects.

In a time where we’ve seen decreases in funding for land conservation programs as a result of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, we’ve also seen drastic cuts of state and local budgets, which is why the success at the ballot box is such welcome news. It continues a long history of voters supporting conservation initiatives on the ballot and underscores the importance of connecting people to conservation.

 A Roadmap Begins with Goal Setting

Now that the 117th Congress is seated, your land trust should be putting pen to paper to establish a series of both measurable and achievable short-term and long-term advocacy goals. These can be anything from committing to calling members of your congressional delegation to budgeting for staff to attend a virtual or in-person advocacy event like the Alliance’s annual Advocacy Days, happening virtually April 19-21.

Once your land trust has established its goals, the next action is to develop a plan for achieving them. This includes developing messaging that will resonate with the elected officials you are seeking to persuade. And then when you’re ready, you should begin to get to know your elected officials.

A Strategy for Engagement

While COVID-19 has altered the ways in which we advocate, it has not and must not stop us from connecting with our elected officials. While certain engagement strategies may be a bit more challenging now, there are still a multitude of ways for land trusts to ensure their voices are heard, including:

• Sending a congratulatory message. A simple phone call or email is a great way to introduce your land trust to newly elected officials and those already in office. The Alliance can help in obtaining contact information for officials.
• Scheduling a meeting. Arranging a video conference call is also a great activity for your land trust to consider in order to acquaint yourself with your congressional delegation. These discussions are typically no longer than 15-20 minutes and can be arranged by calling or emailing your elected officials’ schedulers. If you need contact information for those individuals, the Alliance can assist.
• Inviting elected officials out on the land. Even as in-person gatherings are put on hold, land trusts should consider inviting members of Congress and their staff to events and activities happening online. Examples might include year-end fundraisers, celebrations for newly conserved properties or other community-wide online events. These functions provide yet another opportunity for engagement and networking.

As we draw ever closer to Advocacy Days, it’s time for all land trusts to advocate for conservation policies that allow us to protect the lands we hold dear. The Alliance looks forward to working with every land trust in achieving said goal.

Robert Schwartz is ambassador program manager for the Land Trust Alliance.