Tell Congress: Support the Blue Carbon Protection Act WCS

Tell Congress: Support the Blue Carbon Protection Act

From the climate crisis to the plight of vulnerable species in the wild, our planet is facing crises like never before. The U.S. has the opportunity to be a global leader in conservation—if Congress takes action to protect ocean and coastal ecosystems that capture and store carbon and provide a home for a diverse array of species. Coastal blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass beds naturally store large quantities of carbon, often for hundreds of years. Protecting these special places simultaneously addresses the climate crisis and safeguards vulnerable wildlife.

Please tell your Representative today: Cosponsor H.R. 3906, the Blue Carbon Protection Act, to protect and restore these important ecosystems and help solve the climate crisis. Share your voice now.

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Subject Support the Blue Carbon Protection Act (H.R. 3906) today

Dear Representative,

Message

As your constituent and a supporter of the Wildlife Conservation Society, I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 3906, the Blue Carbon Protection Act to help protect and restore essential blue carbon ecosystems in the U.S.

Blue carbon is the carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems, including coastal habitats like seagrass beds, tidal marshes, kelp forests and mangroves that provide a home to a diverse range of birds, fishes, invertebrates and other species of marine wildlife. These ecosystems are being lost; up to 50% of some global blue carbon ecosystems have already been converted or degraded. Not only is this a problem for coastal and marine wildlife, but also means that the carbon that was stored is released into the atmosphere and significant sequestration capacity is also lost. The importance of these ecosystems for carbon sequestration and storage makes their protection and restoration an essential natural solution to tackle the climate crisis.

The Blue Carbon Protection Act would go a long way to protect and restore these essential blue carbon ecosystems. The Bill:

• Establishes the Blue Carbon Program within NOAA to further conservation objectives, research and evaluate blue carbon storage, and protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems.
• Establishes a Blue Carbon Partnership Grant Program to provide funding for projects at the local level that protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems and increase long-term carbon storage.
• Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate “blue carbon areas of significance” and establish guidelines and measures to ensure the protection of these areas, including consultation and mitigation requirements for any proposed agency action that has the potential to cause adverse impacts to these areas.
• Directs NOAA, the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct coastal and marine restoration and protection activities to sequester carbon dioxide and halt carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

I urge you to co-sponsor and help promote the passage of this important legislation. It is a win-win that will protect wildlife and help address the climate crisis.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Tell Congress: Support the Blue Carbon Protection Act