The Wilderness Society

Rebecca K. Leet, director of education

The Wilderness Society is a 65,000-member conser­vation organization founded in 1935 to ensure the pres­ervation of wilderness and the proper management of all federally-owned lands. It is the only national conser­vation organization whose sole focus is the protection

of all federal lands—national forests, national parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas and the lands ad­ministered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Although the Wilderness Society is a non-profit or­ganization and not a lobby in the traditional sense, it is active in the arenas where public debate shapes fed­eral policy. Primarily the Wilderness Society seeks to educate and influence decision-makers in a variety of ways. Sometimes it lobbies directly on specific legisla­tion, talking with members of Congress or their staffs to persuade them to support a particular bill. The Socie­ty also seeks to educate the public about important pub­lic land issues by maintaining close contact with the news media. The Society recognizes that reporters and editorial writers who are well-educated about impor­tant issues are very likely to turn around and inform their readers about these same issues.

In addition, the Society's staff discusses proper reg­ulation and management of public lands with key gov­ernment officials; sponsors workshops to teach citizens how to become involved in the policymaking process; analyzes and comments on new preservation and man­agement proposals; testifies at congressional hearings in support of or in opposition to public land measures; and establishes cooperative programs with other con­servation organizations. Occasionally the Society's staff has conducted original research. When the adminis­tration wanted to search for oil and gas deposits in wil­derness areas, the Society, using federal data, found that despite claims by the administration, only a negligi­ble amount of oil and gas exists in wilderness areas.

The fairest public policy is developed when a vari­ety of viewpoints are considered. The Wilderness Socie­ty considers that its role is to bring to the process of public policy formation a well researched and clearly articulated point of view that reflects the interests of the public—those concerned and those unaware—who depend on the federally-owned lands to provide recrea­tion, to protect the air and water supplies, to protect wildlife and fragile ecological areas and to ensure a sus­tained yield of renewable resources like trees and grasslands.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 157

Q Lobbyists and Their Issues

American Israel Public Affairs Committee

Thomas Dine, executive director

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the only American Jewish organization reg­istered to lobby Congress on legislation affecting Israel. Headquartered in Washington, AIPAC is the nation­wide American organization that has worked to strengthen U.S.-Israeli relations for more than 25 years. AIPAC has spearheaded efforts to defeat the sale of sophisticated American weaponry to hostile Arab re­gimes, and has helped to protect and defend foreign aid requests to Israel of more than $2.2 billion annually.

On a daily basis, AIPAC lobbyists meet with rep­resentatives, senators and their staffs to provide useful material, monitor all relevant legislation and anticipate legislative issues affecting Israel. In this way AIAPC lobbyists serve an invaluable function in the American political process. They are a vital informational and creative resource for members of Congress, helping them to deal with the multitude of issues that confront them every day.

In addition, AIPAC is active on university campuses, educating and involving pro-Israel students in the Am­erican political process and sensitizing America's future policymakers to Israel's strengths and needs.

Once a year all 34,000 members of AIPAC, including students, are invited to Washington to meet with their U.S. representatives and to formally approve AIPAC's policy statement, which serves as the organization's guide throughout the year.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 658