Defenders of Wildlife
Rural Updates!
October 7, 2004

SPECIAL ACTION ALERT!

TAKE ACTION: URGE CONGRESS TO PRESERVE FARM
BILL CONSERVATION FUNDING!!

Please call your Representatives and Senators TODAY and urge
them not to raid the farm bill conservation programs to pay for
agricultural disaster assistance!

Congress is currently debating a measure to provide disaster
assistance to producers who suffered damages from droughts,
floods and hurricanes this year.  These types of funding measures
are usually designated as emergency spending.  However, this year,
the leadership in the House is considering offsetting the cost of the
disaster assistance by taking money out of farm bill programs. 
Specifically, there is a move to pay for disaster assistance by
imposing a multi-year cap on the Conservation Security Program.

A host of commodity, conservation and producer groups are united
in their opposition to opening the Farm Bill in order to pay for
disaster assistance  --  Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife
Federation, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, National Association
of Conservation Districts, American Farm Bureau Federation,
National Farmers Organization, National Farmers Union and
American Corn Growers Assocation, to name just a few.  But
Congress needs to hear directly from you!
Please call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be
connected to your Representative. 

(If you don't know your Representative, you can find out at
www.vote- smart.org).  Ask to speak to their agriculture or
conservation staff person.  Tell them that you support the passage
of a disaster assistance package but that it should be funded as
emergency spending.  It should not be funded by modifying or
cutting any of the farm bill programs, particularly the conservation
title programs like the Conservation Security Program.  You can
also point out that 26 producer and commodity groups and a dozen
major conservation organizations are on record opposing funding
disaster assistance through changes in the farm bill. 

Finally, please urge your Representative to relay your concerns to
House Speaker Dennis Hastert.  Please forward this alert to others
in your action network, and please act quickly.  Funding levels for
important conservation programs, and the future of the CSP may
depend on it!