Current Actions

Urgent Action Needed: Ask Speaker Patterson to Move HB 3193 Forward

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Dear Constituent,

We need your help to ensure an important conservation bill gets a hearing in the House of Representatives.

House Bill 3193 would phase out certain single-use plastics in Missouri State Parks concession operations and restore local control by repealing the state’s plastic bag pre-emption law, allowing Missouri communities to decide what works best for them.

CFM has adopted multiple member-approved resolutions supporting waste reduction, limiting unnecessary single-use plastics, and restoring local authority to address plastic pollution. These include resolutions encouraging sustainable procurement and waste-avoidance practices and specifically supporting the repeal of Missouri’s plastic bag pre-emption law.

Right now, this bill has not been referred to a committee for a public hearing. Without this critical step, the bill cannot move forward in the legislative process.

We are asking Missourians - especially those in House District 30 and Senate District 8 - to contact Speaker of the House Jonathan Patterson and respectfully urge him to refer HB 3193 to a committee so it can receive a public hearing.

Missourians deserve the opportunity to have thoughtful discussions about reducing plastic waste, protecting our state parks, and supporting local decision-making. A committee hearing simply allows that conversation to begin.

Please take a moment today to contact Speaker Patterson and ask him to assign HB 3193 to committee.

Thank you for standing up for Missouri’s conservation legacy.
Sincerely,
Conservation Federation of Missouri
Legislative Action Center

Urgent Upcoming Congressional actions

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Two bills of concern are expected to be brought to the House floor soon. The PERMIT Act is scheduled for the week of December 8.

- H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, and

- H.R. 4776, the Standard Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED).

Key problems with these bills are noted below.

The PERMIT Act would:

- Allow more toxic chemicals in our water.

- Make it easier for industrial facilities to dump harmful “forever chemicals” into rivers and lakes by shielding polluters from liability.

- Weaken the authority of states to protect their own waters.

- Strip protections from wetlands and streams that don’t flow year-round.

If passed, this bill would increase pollution in our communities, harm wildlife, and threaten the waters we depend on for drinking, fishing, swimming, and paddling. To learn more, see the National Wildlife Federation’s recent blog post on the PERMIT Act.

The SPEED Act involves changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and would:

- Weaken environmental review standards.

- Exempt many projects from environmental review.

- Place restrictions on who can challenge projects.

- Shorten timelines for filing lawsuits, creating a disadvantage for small communities and others with limited resources.

In the past ten years, Congress has enacted several changes to improve NEPA implementation, including enforceable timelines for reviews. Many groups have pointed out that adequately funding review efforts would provide a better mechanism for improving the NEPA process and fear the proposed changes will further undermine meaningful public engagement on projects with potential to harm natural resources.

Please consider contacting your Representative today and urge them to vote NO on H.R. 3898, the PERMIT Act and NO on H.R. 4776.

Representatives:

District 1 – Wesley Bell – (202) 225-2406

District 2 – Ann Wagner – (202) 225-1621

District 3 – Robert Onder – (202) 225-2956

District 4 – Mark Alford – (202) 225-2876

District 5 – Emanuel Cleaver – (202) 225-4535

District 6 – Sam Graves – (202) 225-7041

District 7 – Eric Burlison – (202) 225-6536

District 8 – Jason Smith – (202) 225-4404

Waters of the U.S. Rulemaking

In addition to these legislative actions, on November 17, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule to modify the definition of Waters of the United States. Public comment on this rule is open for 45 days, ending January 5, 2026. The AATeam general consensus is the proposed changes will further undermine protections for the nation’s streams, lakes, and wetlands by dramatically reducing the scope of protected waters.

This American Rivers article concisely explains some of the issues with the proposed rule. The AATeam is preparing comments for CFM to submit to the regulatory docket. Affiliates and members with interest in water quality may want to consider developing their own comments.

Threats to Wildlife Conservation, Climate Progress, and Environmental Quality and Research

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Summary of potential threats to Conservation and Environmental Quality currently under consideration by Congress and various federal agencies:

Mass Layoffs and Program Elimination

- Thousands of federal employees have been laid off from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

- Over 32,000 AmeriCorps service members were abruptly terminated, ending programs supporting education, disaster relief, and public health.

- The U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, which monitors species and habitat health, is on track for elimination. Missouri-based research centers are at risk of closure.

Rollbacks of Bedrock Environmental and Wildlife Protections

- The Clean Water Act has been narrowed through the rollback of the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, endangering wetlands and small streams.

- The definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act is being stripped, making it harder to protect species’ habitats.

- Migratory Bird Treaty Act enforcement has been weakened by excluding “incidental take” from industrial activities.

H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill) and Public Land Threats

- As passed by the House, H.R.1 eliminates all remaining Inflation Reduction Act funding for the National Park Service – including $267 million that could have supported critical park staffing needs.

- Section 80121(h) of H.R. 1 would block courts from reviewing agency decisions on leases, permits, and protections—undermining judicial oversight nationwide.

- An amendment removed in the House would have sold over 500,000 acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada, but - Senator Mike Lee has signaled plans to reintroduce this in the Senate

Attacks on Science and Data

- Climate-related terms like “greenhouse gases” have been scrubbed from agency websites.

- Key environmental data has been deleted from USDA, EPA, NASA, and Department of Defense sites.

- EPA’s entire climate section was removed in April 2025. Legal action is ongoing to restore access to essential information.

Loss of Conservation Funding

- Proposed FY26 budget eliminates $171 million from vital Fish and Wildlife Service programs, including:

- State & Tribal Wildlife Grants

 - North American Wetlands Conservation Act

 - Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund

 - The National Park Service faces a $1.2 billion cut, risking the loss of federal protection for lesser-known public lands.

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