Welcome to our April newsletter! You can email our newsletter editor with feedback and events at tony@i-strategies.net. Coalition members, please check your email inbox for the longer version exclusively for members.

GET ENGAGED

Coalition Launches Urban Parks and Greenspace Webinar Series. Join us for a 4-part webinar series, "Extreme Weather, Equity and Urban Parks, Green Spaces and Schoolyards" hosted by Urban Parks & Green Space Work Group (UPGSWG) on the last Fridays of the month from 11:00am-12:30pm EDT. Register at bit.ly/UPGSextremeweather. Webinar topics include April 25: The Basics, May 30: Local Stories, June 27: Resources and July 27: Policies.

Weathering Attacks on Equity Initiatives. There has been rapidly changing information around attacks on equity initiatives. It can be challenging to understand each development and dissect risk and misinformation in this environment while strategizing how to respond appropriately as an organization. Join Green 2.0 on April 22nd for a conversation with legal and communication experts on the current landscape and how we can tackle challenges head on to protect our organizations and sector. Register here.

RESOURCE RADAR

Demystifying the arguments for revoking monuments. A recent article from Grand Canyon Trust takes apart the arguments we may expect to hear from the administration that monument lands can be put to work to address a purported energy crisis. Get the facts. 

$peaking the economic language of Interior $ecretary Burgum The America the Beautiful for All coalition knows the ecological, cultural, historical, recreational and spiritual riches of our public lands and waters are a priceless heirloom to conserve for generations to come. However, in a political environment where we are talking dollars and cents, we’ve got tools to show that privatizing and extracting from public lands is financially a net loss for Americans. By accounting for the dollar value of ecosystem services, recreation, heritage conservation and the myriad of roles that nature plays in a thriving economy we can counteract false narratives about putting our public lands up for sale. Learn more about natural capital accounting (a policy priority of the ATB4A Coalition) in this new analysis compiled by the Center for Western Priorities. 

30x30 may be “effectively over” for oceans, but ocean conservation is not. In a recent column published on Mongabay, AtB4A’s ocean working group co-lead Angelo Villagomez and co-author Aliya Hidayat say political reality has forced a moment of reckoning that could create a different way of achieving success in ocean conservation around the world. Read Angelo’s essay here.

EPA rollbacks will mean dirtier air and more asthma attacks, but we can stop them. The rollbacks have consequences for public health that will impact children and the elderly, but Symons says we can stop them if we fight. Read his article here.  

Responding to government staffing cuts. Civic Match is a project by Work For America, a nonprofit initiative tackling the government staffing crisis in communities nationwide. Work for America helps state and local governments recruit, retain, and empower the next wave of public servants, ensuring better services and a stronger America. They’re regularly hosting virtual events, and have a repository of resources and insights. More information is here.   

Explore our new Coalition Website. With a new and more accessible look, the coalition’s new website can be a one-stop-shop for the most important information about the coalition’s priorities and how to get involved.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES 

Public and environmental health grant opportunity for community groups.  The National Council for Environmental Health and Equity is accepting applications through April 28th from community-based organizations to participate in a one-time capacity-building mini-grant program. The application is open to community-based organizations with a specific focus on environmental health hazards. Grants are for $25,000 by way of workshop(s), technical assistance, and/or community of practice sessions. Learn more here. 

Municipal park agency and NGO grant opportunity. On Common Ground is a national research and capacity building program at Trust for Public Land (TPL) that supports parks and public space projects to foster social connection and bridge community divides. They accept proposals on a rolling basis for community engagement projects that help community members connect across lines of difference. Learn more and apply here.

Emergency advocacy grants. The AJ Muste Foundation for Peace + Justice in New York City supports grassroots nonviolent activism for the liberation of all. The foundation for its Rapid Response grants program, which will award grants for the immediate and/or emergency needs of groups involved in grassroots nonviolent activism for the liberation of all. Grants will help groups respond quickly to unexpected needs and timely political opportunities with powerful organizing and direct actions. They will be approved on a rolling basis.

NEWS BRIEFS

Cuts damage public health and the environment . The funding on the chopping block address grants and programs for a huge variety of issues, including childhood asthma, Texas’s measles outbreak, wildfire preparedness, suicide prevention, and clean drinking water. State health departments began receiving notices recently that the public health grants, totaling more than $12 billion, were terminated immediately. That money was originally allocated to fight the pandemic. Democrats are protesting that cancellation of the environmental grants — which fund what the Environmental Protection Agency now deems “unnecessary programs” — violates both contractual obligations and court orders. (New York Times and Los Angeles Times) Center for American Progress has a new tracker to view cuts by city, state and congressional district. 

Half of National Forests Now Open to Logging. A multi-pronged attack is happening on our national forests. Above we discuss Congressional efforts we’re fighting, and now Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins followed up on an executive order from President Trump with a Secretarial Memo to expedite logging on over a hundred million acres of Forest Service lands. At the same time, Forest Service staff, including wildfire response teams, are being hollowed out by DOGE efforts.

And Even More Cuts Hit Conservation NGOs: The administration is continuing to take a sledgehammer to groups working on climate, justice and conservation issues. Two major examples: (1) The Climate Justice Alliance announced it was ending its program supporting lower income communities after funding was cut off by the administration. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin bragged about cutting the program on X, and (2) the Forest Service terminated $75 million awarded to the Arbor Day Foundation to help disadvantaged communities plant trees.

If you have events, training opportunities, or advocacy actions you would like included in future monthly newsletters, please contact our newsletter editor at tony@i-strategies.net.