1. CARA AWAITS SENATE VOTE:  The combined total for the region is impressive a possible $333 million could be spent across the Northeast to protect open space, fund wildlife conservation and historic preservation, and assist urban parks and coastal areas. That is, if the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) passes the Senate and other hurdles. Then, Connecticut could receive $23 million, Maine $36 million, Massachusetts $48 million, New Hampshire $16 million, New Jersey $60 million, New York $100 million, and Pennsylvania $50 million, each year to be spent on these programs. CARA recently passed the House of Representatives by a 3:1 margin showing strong bipartisan support. The bill is currently in the U.S. Senate, and if passed would fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in addition to other important conservation programs. If this bill passes the Senate, we could see an unprecedented $2.8 billion each year go to conservation funding nationwide.

* Contact your Senators today and ask them to pass landmark conservation legislation this year, which will fully and permanently fund LWCF.

* Call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Senators' offices.

* Get more information or join an action team by contacting Amy McNamara at 617-523-0655 x385 or amcnamara@amcinfo.org

2. EPA STANDARDS WOULD COVER TRUCKS AND BUSES: New rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would require both diesel and gasoline engines in heavy trucks to meet strict emissions standards, which would reduce harmful emissions from these trucks and buses by up to 95 percent. Although emissions standards for cars have gotten tighter over the years, trucks and buses have not been under the same pressure to reduce pollutants. The proposal would reduce smog causing nitrogen oxides from these vehicles by 95 percent, and it would reduce soot by 90 percent. Each year in the U.S., smog and soot account for 15,000 premature deaths, one million respiratory problems, 400,000 asthma attacks, and thousands of cases of aggravated asthma, especially in children, the EPA reports. There is also increasing evidence that soot may contribute to raising regional temperatures. More than 100 million Americans now live in urban areas that have difficulty meeting clean air standards.

3. BRONX RIVER FESTIVAL 2000 SLATED FOR JUNE 3: Come celebrate National Trails Day and National Rivers Week by joining a flotilla or working on a river trail Saturday, June 3. You can paddle in a small boat flotilla, starting at 8 a.m., join the big boat flotilla at 12 noon, or take boats out for free. Call the boat flotilla hotline at 718-430-4668. To take part in the AMC Trail Blazing Project, meet at 9:30 a.m. at the "D" train going to Burke Ave and the river. Call 718-733-2123.

For more information on these and other activities happening that day, contact Jerry Willis at Waterways & Trailways at 718 430-4667 or at ironboun@parklan.cn.ci.nyc.ny.us

4. WMNF SUMMARY DOCUMENT EXPECTED IN JULY: The public comment period for the White Mountain National Forest management plan revision closed on May 23. Because of volunteer and AMC member efforts to write letters of support for the Whites, the U.S. Forest Service received a strong conservation message. Among other information, the Forest Service sought comments on whether remaining roadless areas in the Whites should be protected and whether off-road vehicles should be introduced as a new use on the forest. Forest Service personnel will now spend the next month reading and analyzing more than 3,000 comments they received from citizens concerned about the future of the Whites. As early as July, a summary document of the written comments is expected to be available for public review. This document will guide the Forest Service over the next year as it works with local planning groups to develop management strategies. These management strategies called "alternatives," will ultimately be published in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (or DEIS) to be released in early 2001.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Stay tuned to Network News and www.outdoors.org/conservation for developments on the White Mountain National Forest planning process.

5. LCHIP AWAITS N.H. GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE: Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted recently to pass the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), which is now waiting for the Governor's signature. LCHIP was created to preserve New Hampshire's environmental, historical, and cultural resources. For its first year, $3 million will be appropriated from the state's economic development fund from which local communities and non-profit groups will receive matching grants for approved projects. Citizens will work with the Governor and legislature to identify a sustainable funding mechanism for LCHIP and to pass additional funding next year. The first funds from LCHIP will not be available for distribution until April 1, 2001. In the meantime, local conservationists and historic preservationists can prepare projects. If CARA passes the Senate (see item No. 1 above), it will help provide a source of matching grants to local communities for LCHIP.

For more information, contact Brian Hart at 603-230-9729 or via email: bhart@igc.org. Also check http://www.specialplaces.org.

6. URBAN SPRAWL IN PENNSYLVANIA ADDRESSED IN BILLS: It appears quite certain that the Pennsylvania State legislature will act on two land use bills in early June before adjourning for the summer. As of now, sponsors Senator Jim Gerlach and representative Dave Steil plan to run the bills as a package House Bill 14, authorizing multi-municipal planning and implementation, and Senate Bill 300, which would encourage consistency between local and county plans. These bills would give counties and municipalities meaningful new tools for achieving "smart growth" and the conservation of natural resources.

* Contact your Pennsylvania legislators and urge them to pass HB 14. Find your State Representative or Senator at http://www.legis.state.pa.us

7. NEW YORK GOVERNOR GOES BEYOND CLEAN AIR ACT: New York's Governor Pataki has gone beyond the requirements of the Clean Air Act by signing legislation that prohibits New York power plants from selling theirpollution credits to other utilities in the Midwestern and Southern states. The credits are usually sold to older power plants which would rather buy the rights to continue polluting than to modernize their plants to reduce their emissions. This is an attempt by Pataki to cut down on the amount of pollution that drifts over from those states causing acid rain here in the Northeast.

8. AIR QUALITY BILL MANDATES MODEST REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS: In April, the Connecticut legislature proposed a bill that would have brought the Filthy Five "grandfathered" plants in the state up to modern emission standards, but it failed. This May, Governor Rowland issued an executive order that he said would clean up its Filthy Five. However, the Governor's order is seen as a weak measure because it mandates modest reductions in statewide emissions rather than requiring the Filthy Five to meet Clean Air Act standards. The order also sets no deadlines for compliance and allows the utilities, through the national pollution credits system, to pay up instead of clean up. Three of the facilities are located in the densely populated coastal region between Norwalk and New Haven and there's little chance that those residents would see any improvement of their air quality in the near future under Governor Rowland's executive order.

* Contact Governor Rowland and insist that the Executive Order achieve significant improvements in CT's air quality; Governor's Office, State Capitol, 210 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106 860-566-4840 GovernorRowland@po.state.ct.us

* Attend a public hearing on the executive order, which will likely be held in June or July.

* Get more information contact Frank Junga, co-conservation chair with AMC's Connecticut Chapter, at fjunga@aol.com, or call Clean Water Action at 413-584-9830.