Conservation Strategies, Inc. (CSI) has more than 20 years of successful grassroots and direct lobbying experience in both the US Congress and the Washington State Legislature.  CSI advocates for clients who promote sound natural resource management andconservation of critical habitat and outdoor recreation lands.  CSI and/or Joe LaTourrette has taken the lead or been a key

player in recent campaigns which:

• Advocated important fish and wildlife conservation issues, as West Coast Representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (trcp.org),from 2006 through 2011. Issues included  reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and organizing sport fishing interests around salmon recovery issues, roadless expansion on  public land, and reform of the federal 1872 Mining Act.

• Established and partly funded a Washington Biodiversity Initiative, modeled after the successful Oregon Biodiversity Project.  Legislation passed by the Washington Legislature in 2002 established and funded a facilitated public-private biodiversity taskforce.  Joe LaTourrette co-managed this taskforce for two years with The Nature Conservancy and  was primary author of a taskforce report and recommendations provided to the Washington Legislature and Governor Gary Locke in October, 2003. In 2004, Governor Locke created the Washington Biodiversity Council by Executive Order.

•  Saw establishment of a joint legislative taskforce on funding for operation and maintenance of local parks and recreation facilities for the Washington Recreation and Park Association and passage of legislation to enable  city and county park departments in Washington  to establish voter-approved metropolitan park and taxing districts.  Passed additional legislation in 2002 and 2003 to implement taskforce recommendations for WRPA.

• Worked to restore significant federal funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program established by Congress in 1963 to fund  acquisition and development of national, state, and community parks, forests, wildlife refuges and open space.  From 1998 to 2001, Joe LaTourrette coordinated grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in four Northwest states to convince Congress to restore up to $900 million/year in federal funding for federal, state and local projects, and to increase funding for other conservation and outdoor recreation programs.  Significant funding for LWCF, Teaming with Wildlife and other programs was restored by Congress, beginning with the FY 2000 federal budget.

• Increased federal funding for the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) and other federal and state-funded programs to fund the permanent protection and restoration of important wetland habitats.  Since FY 2001, Congress has more than  tripled the amount available for NAWCA wetland grants. Established the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, which provides state funds from the sale of general obligation bonds for the acquisition and development of critical wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation lands.  Since the program was established in 1989, the Washington State Legislature has appropriated more than $500 million for state parks and habitat, as well as local matching grants for parks, trails, wildlife, habitat, natural areas and water access sites.