The US Forest Service has teamed up with the Ad Council to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act, which occurred in August 2018.  I just heard one of the radio advertisements today.  

This PSA campaign couldn't come at a more pressing time. In a world inundated with technology and constant notifications, we, especially kids, are spending more time looking down than around.  Stop reading this for 30 seconds and take a look around yourself.  

This campaign doesn't promote putting the technology away completely.  Several of the tools are interactive trails and forest locators.  And it also doesn't blowing the dust off the encyclopedias, but the campaign does emphasizes getting outside to get some questions answered.  After all, that's how it was done.

Check out more of the PSAs here and see why "some answers can only be found on the trail."

​Earlier this month, the Senate recently passed the Natural Resource Management Act.  This package contains a lot of information - including more than 100 different bills - that all impact public lands and conservation in one way or another.  

Why do we care? Within this Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) would be permanently reauthorized.  This program is an avenue for Captina Conservancy to use to acquire lands for conservation and access as we continue to grow.  Learn more about LWCF and how you can help by calling your Representative.

Another important piece of the package is the reauthorization of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.  The is a program that our partner agency, Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District, has actively used to complete a variety of projects with the assistance of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Projects completed include: vernal pool creation, pollinator habitats, and habitat restoration within Captina Creek Watershed.

The full Natural Resource Management Act needs to get through the House and the rest of the legislative process, but this is a tremendous step for conservation within these United States.   The Wildlife Society wrote a good article summarizing the main points of the Act.  And if you are up for some light reading, you can check out the full Act (S 47) here.

<<UPDATE>>
The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act became law on March 12, 2019.  This is a momentous achievement for the world of conservation.  You can read the final Act here.

Thank you to Ohio's senators and representatives that supported the passage of this act:  Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Rob Portman, Representative Joyce Beatty, Representative Bill Johnson, Representative David Joyce, Representative Robert Latta, Representative Bob Gibbs, Representative Marcy Kaptur, Representative Michael Turner, Representative Marcia Fudge, Representative Troy Balderson, Representative Anthony Gonzalez, Representative Tim Ryan, and Representative Steve Stivers