Dear Friend,

On Wednesday, I met with the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) to discuss the group’s legislative priorities, including the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Despite the fact that my colleague Congressman Raul Grijalva has introduced legislation with majority support in the House to permanently reauthorize LWCF, Congress has yet to take up consideration of the bill. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation, and I support LCV’s newly-launched initiative called “Our Lands, Our Voice” to push Congress to reauthorize LWCF before it expires on September 30, 2018.

It was great to catch up with The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) New Hampshire chapter this week to discuss exciting new conservation projects that are happening across the state. The Conservancy has been pushing for greater protection of the Kimball Hill Forest in the Cardigan Highlands, which will safeguard 2,700 acres of forestland and 10 miles of rivers and streams. We also discussed the importance of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill, which has the potential to be one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation we will consider this Congress. I stand willing and ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance a common sense, bipartisan Farm Bill this year.

On Wednesday, Members of the New England Congressional Delegation had the opportunity to meet with Alexandra Dunn, who is the EPA’s Region 1 Administrator for New England. While I have serious concerns about Administrator Pruitt’s ability to effectively lead the EPA and have called on him to resign, I was pleased to hear that Alexandra Dunn and Region 1 staff are engaging with communities in New Hampshire regarding the high levels of toxic PFAS chemicals that have been identified throughout the state. New England has the highest concentration of PFAS contamination of anywhere in the country, and I remain committed to working with Region 1 leadership on this issue and ensuring that it remains a top priority for the EPA. 

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, concerns or ideas you want to share. You can call my Concord office at 603-226-1002 or my Washington, DC office at 202-225-5206. Thank you and have a great rest of the day!

Sincerely,