Peter Jackson and I visited Washington DC last week to promote the American Alps Legacy Project. It was a great trip. "Citizen lobbyists off to DC." We did not know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised at the positive reception.
We visited with several people in the House (Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris Rogers) and key staff for Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Rick Larsen, and Norm Dicks. We were also able to visit with Senate and House committee staffers (the people who make things happen).
We received no promises, but a lot of interest and encouragement. Fortunately, the North Cascades Mountains are an easy sell. They all wanted to get out sightseeing and hiking in the North Cascades this summer.
Everyone was interested in our American Alps slideshow, maps, fact sheets, and the list of family-friendly amenities we are proposing. The new hot-off-the-presses economic study of American Alps was a big hit (1,000 new jobs and millions in additional income for gateway communities). We will be releasing the full study in the next few weeks and you will see it first here.
All of our contacts said we need to let more people know about American Alps; we need to convince more conservation and recreation groups to sponsor American Alps; and we need to encourage individuals and businesses in gateway communities to support American Alps.
This is your cue to help us make this happen.
1 comment:
Way to go, Jim! Nice work! Amazing that you were able to get their attention away (if briefly) from such pressing matters as foreign wars and domestic oil spills. Ultimately, for AmAlps to succeed we'll need to get things to happen in DC, and your work will I'm sure prove to be crucial. Thanks!!
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