Our Federal Lobby Day

Last Wednesday, we joined our national partner, Environment America, for our annual D.C lobby day.

Alaska Environment discussed the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act with staff for Rep. Peltola, a lead sponsor.Photo by Athel Rogers | TPIN

The Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act is a very commonsense piece of legislation that would make it illegal to dump or spill nurdles. Nurdles are lentil sized pellets that form the raw material for plastic manufacturing. They are small, cheap, and easily contaminated, so they’re often dumped by plastics manufacturers or spilled during transport. Approximately 10 trillion pellets enter our oceans each year, making them the second-largest source of marine microplastic by weight.

Rep. Peltola was an original cosponsor of the house bill.

We brought nurdles (plastic pellets) to legislative staff to illustrate the problems with microplastic. Here, Taylor hands nurdles to Jillian, one of Rep. Peltola’s staffers.Photo by Athel Rogers | TPIN

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would provide $1.3 billion in annual funding to state wildlife action plans. There are hundreds of species on Alaska’s plan ranging from all five species of salmon to polar bears, orcas, birds, and more. Alaska could use this funding to detect and mitigate population declines before they get to emergency levels- that’s good for the wildlife and good for Alaskans.

Environment America Conservation Director Steve Blackledge, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Environment State Director Dyani Chapman, and Environment America Federal Office Intern Taylor Brumagin pose for a photo after discussing Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.Photo by Athel Rogers | TPIN