Advocacy at Audubon
Welcome to the Advocacy Page of The Audubon Society of Rhode Island. We are excited to share updates on our 2024 legislative and local priorities with you.
Through grassroots and direct advocacy, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island promotes public policies and initiatives that protect birds, other wildlife, and natural resources. Audubon organizes people into campaigns and coalitions to build a strong and respected environmental movement in Rhode Island and to increase the environmental literacy of elected officials and policymakers.
The challenges affecting today’s environment are on the rise as we face the climate crisis and new threats to our valuable natural resources. To remain a strong independent voice for nature, the support of Audubon volunteers, members, donors, and fellow community members is crucial.
Current Advocacy Priorities
We developed these priorities by engaging local advocates, other organizations, and our expert scientists, such as Audubon director of Avian Research Dr. Charles Clarkson and Senior Director of Conservation Dr. Scott Ruhren.
We encourage you to Take Action on each and every one of these pieces of legislation and local priorities.
If you are an elected official or member of the press and would like to learn more, please contact Director of Advocacy Phoenix Wheeler (they/them) at pwheeler@asri.org.
2024 Legislative Wrap-Up & Top Priority Updates
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Green BondS2336 | H7550
We facilitated conversations and organized with coalition partners to win back $13 million for land and farm conservation and management into the proposed Green Bond for 2024! The original proposal included zero dollars. This proposal will be put forth to voters like you to vote on in the election happening on November 5th, 2024. Image by Richard Staples -
SGARs BanS2745 | H7783
We worked with sponsors to introduce, for the first time, a statewide ban on Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), a category of deadly poisons that accumulate and can kill predators such as birds of prey. We worked hand in hand with many advocates like you to raise awareness in the state legislature on this concern and look forward to working with our sponsors during the off-season to strengthen this important bill. Image by Victoria Marshall -
Building Decarbonization ActS2952 | H7617
The Building Decarbonization Act was amended to require the state to produce a report and incorporate feedback on benchmarks for reducing the amount of carbon emissions produced by buildings. We encouraged membership involvement and look forward to working with legislators to promote the next steps in building decarbonization in order to meet benchmarks for carbon reduction outlined in the 2021 Act on Climate. -
Bottle BillS3144 | H8312
Legislation that would create a method to reimburse the public for bottle and can returns was introduced in the House and Senate, with a hearing in the House. The bill was modeled after Oregon’s bottle and can collection program and informed by the Bottle Bill study commission, which was thorough in its examination of bottle deposit laws and options. A member of Audubon’s board of directors was Aububon’s representative on this commission where they heard from experts throughout the country as well as from interests concerned about the impacts of a bottle deposit law. The implementation of bottle bills have been shown to have a tremendous impact on recycling rates in states in which they have been implemented.
Local Priorities
Stormwater Utility
Stormwater Utilities is an important way to help mitigate the impacts of stormwater on local communities. Audubon Society of Rhode Island is working with municipalities across Rhode Island to support this important tool.
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Visit our Take Action page to learn about how YOU can elevate a local priority in your community.
