I would like to share the below request from the ASBPA Executive Director, Derek Brockbank, who is encouraging Texas Chapter members to attend the Washington Summit and to visit legislators. The Chapter has prepared the attached Federal Legislative Agenda to discuss with legislators while at the Summit.
Please let me know if you plan to attend. Many thanks.
Jerry Mohn
President
Subj: Attend ASBPA Coastal Summit in DC, Feb. 28 – Mar. 2, 2017
On behalf of the Texas Chapter of ASBPA, I will be attending the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association’s upcoming coastal policy summit, and but I’d like have a strong Texas contingent to make our voice heard in the nation’s capital. So I’d like to invite you to attend this National Coastal Summit, “A New Commitment to Our Coast”, in Washington, DC, from Feb. 28th – March 2nd, 2017. A new administration and dozens of new members of Congress means major changes in coastal policy and funding in the next few years. Now is a critical time to come to DC to learn what’s happening on coastal issues and speak with coastal decision-makers. If you want to be a strong advocate for you beaches and coastlines, you need to attend this year’s National Coastal Summit!
The summit has an incredible line-up of keynote speakers and panelists to explain the policies and funding issues that we can expect in the coming year. There are advocacy visits with five agencies critical to shore and beach preservation, and a Capitol Hill reception/celebration jointly with Coastal States Organization. Some highlights of the Summit include:
– Keynotes from US Army Corps of Engineers leadership: Maj General Donald Jackson and Dir. of Civil Works, James Dalton.
– A panel on getting the current DC “Lay of the Land” with top coastal lobbyists.
– Keynotes on advancing Nature-based coastal infrastructure with the presidents of National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
– A briefing on Capitol Hill with congressional committee staff on the “2017 Congressional coastal agenda”.
– Meetings with:
o U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
o Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
o U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
o National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
o Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
– And so much more!
Early registration deadline is January 27th – so register now!
Check out the website, http://asbpa.org/conferences/, for more information and updates. We hope you can attend the summit, and hope you will meet with your members of Congress and Agency staff, to advocate for healthy coasts!