NC Common Agenda

Conservation Council understands that in order to achieve success, you have to work together.  And so we play a key role in advocating for the  NC Common Agenda: Priorities for the Environment. 

The Common Agenda represents the environmental legislative priorities that have been agreed upon by a network of environmental groups in the state.  While each group may have particular issues they focus on – energy, water, or transportation for example – during the Common Agenda process they come together to work on a select number of priorities during the Legislative Session.  This kind of focus and collaboration is a powerful tool in influencing legislative outcomes, and will help us to begin to regularly set a more pro-active environmental agenda or the state.

The Common Agenda is supported by a growing alliance of environmental organizations across the state.  2009 marks the third year that participating groups have set forth a shared list of priorities. While the Common Agenda represents a set of shared priorities, there will always be other critical environmental issues being considered by the General Assembly, and represented by these and other environmental organizations.

The 2009 Priorities are:
• Clean up Jordan Lake: Enact the proposed Jordan Lake Rules to keep this water supply clean and sustainable.
• Green Jobs & Water Quality: Invest in the Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP) to help communities clean up and protect water supplies.
• Water Resources for the Future: Create the framework for better management of our water supplies before a drought dries up our economy and our quality of life.
• Keep our Beaches Public & Natural: Defend our coast from hardened structures.
• Mountain Pride: Create a Mountain Resource Commission to help western North Carolina prosper in a sustainable way.

These priorities have been endorsed by the following organizations:
• American Rivers www.americanrivers.org
• Audubon NC www.nc.audubon.org
• Cartaret County Crossroads www.carteretcrossroads.org
• Conservation Council of NC www.conservationcouncilnc.org
• Down East Tomorrow
• ECO Environmental and Conservation Organization www.eco-wnc.org
• Environment NC www.environmentnorthcarolina.org
• Environmental Defense Fund www.edf.org
• French Broad Riverkeeper www.riverlink.org
• Haw River Assembly www.hawriver.org
• Mountain Voices Alliance www.mvalliance.net
• NC Coastal Federation www.nccoast.org
• NC Conservation Network www.ncconservationnetwork.org
• Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation www.neuseriverkeeper.org
• Pamlico-Tar River Foundation www.ptrf.org
• Penderwatch & Conservancy www.penderwatch.org
• Save Our Slopes-Polk County www.sospolk.org
• Southern Environmental Law Center www.southernenvironment.org
• Western NC Alliance www.wnca.org
• White Oak-New Riverkeeper Alliance www.wonriverkeeper.org
• Yadkin Riverkeeper www.yadkinriverkeeper.org