Our Mission

Conservation Council of North Carolina is a bi-partisan, advocacy organization working statewide to protect, preserve, and enhance the quality of life for North Carolina citizens.  We do this by:

• Educating legislators and the public on critical environmental issues;
• Advocating for strong environmental policies;
• Holding legislators accountable for their decisions that impact the environment;
• Mobilizing voters to advocate for positive change in environmental policies; and
• Electing candidates for public office who will prioritize passing sound environmental laws.

For more than 40 years, we have worked on behalf of people just like you—North Carolinians who value clean air and water, beautiful lands and healthy communities.  We believe creating strong environmental policies to protect North Carolina’s future needs to be a top priority for elected officials, political candidates, and voters across the state.

The Conservation Council organizations are members of the League of Conservation Voters, an effective national organization advocating for strong environmental policies at the federal level and electing pro-environmental candidates who will prioritize such policies. 

Past, Present, & Future  

Conservation Council knows that the most important decisions made on the environment are made by elected officials.  We were one of the first organizations in North Carolina to invest in a lobbyist to make sure the environment had a consistent voice at the North Carolina General Assembly.  Conservation Council became known for its effective voice at the General Assembly. 

But we soon realized that, no matter how effective we were as advocates, if the elected officials we were lobbying didn’t prioritize the environment, we weren’t going to make consistent progress.  So in 1999, Conservation Council established the Conservation PAC, so that we could work to elect candidates to office who cared about clean air and clean water. 

Our vision for the future is a pro-conservation majority in the General Assembly setting sound environmental policies that protect North Carolina's environment.  To get there, we need more citizens thinking, acting, and voting on behalf of the environment.    

From the New River in the west, to Bald Head Island in the east, from hog waste to nuclear power, from the courtroom to the ballot box, from working to pass strong legislation, to making sure those laws are enforced, Conservation Council has fought to preserve the treasures of our state for future generations and ensure that we all have a better quality of life. 

You can see some of the issues we've worked on more recently by reviewing our recent and older legislative agendas.