Idaho State Legislature

One of the Idaho Conservation League's most important activities is lobbying the Idaho Legislature on conservation issues and policy. In fact, we were founded in 1973 to be the voice for conservation in the Idaho Statehouse. We cover a range of environmental issues—like clean air, clean water and wildlife—that matter to you and families across the state.

ICL has one of the only full-time conservation lobbyists  providing information to elected officials and helping to draft legislation. Courtney Washburn, our lobbyist, works hard to make sure the issues that you care are represented. During the session, Courtney sends out weekly updates, called Your Voice for Conservation, summing up the conservation developments at the Statehouse.

Our priorities for the 2011 legislative session include:

Restore Environmental Protections in the Budget. We are working to ensure that the Idaho state budget restores the core environmental protections we depend on to keep our communities healthy and safe: clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, and the clean-up of toxic contamination.

Give Communities the Tools They Need. Communities across Idaho need the ability to raise funds to meet the needs of citizens.  Local option tax is a critical tool for raising funds.  Currently cities and counties do not have access to this option.  We are asking the Idaho legislature to allow local governments to use this tool.

Prioritize Energy Efficiency. The least cost and least damaging energy resource is using what we have more efficiently.  We are working to incentivize efficiency and to ensure energy projects and transmission-siting decisions protect Idaho’s natural places.

Safeguard Idaho’s wildlife. Idaho is home to over 1,000 species of wildlife, from grizzly bears to golden eagles. We are working to protect and restore our wildlife so our children and grandchildren can enjoy our wildlife heritage.

Check out our legislative tracker for more information on what we did last session!