Mark R. Warner

Cleaning Up the Chesapeake Bay and Making a Commitment  to Conservation

The Commonwealth’s 3,300 miles of coastal resources provide significant economic contributions to tourism, recreation, commercial and sport fisheries, and wildlife enjoyment within our state. However, pollution, habitat loss, and other factors have taken their toll. A strong federal and state partnership is needed to more effectively tackle the critical issues facing our coastal, bay and ocean resources. Senator Warner believes that our federal and Bay state partners need to continue to work together to seek appropriate resources to preserve the Bay. Senator Warner intends to remain an active advocate for protecting the Bay, and has supported efforts to restore the Bay’s oyster population and commercial fisheries. 

Legislative Action

• Senator Warner cosponsored the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012, a compilation of nearly 20 different bipartisan bills important to the sportsmen’s community that focus on conservation of wildlife habitat and improving access to hunting and fishing.  The bill would increase access to the 35 million acres of public land that are currently restricted or limited in use. Additionally, the Sportsmen’s Act reauthorizes the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. This Act is a voluntary, landowner-friendly initiative that has conserved over 26 million acres of critical habitat for migratory birds. By reauthorizing this program, the Sportsmen’s Act promotes recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting while continuing to promote public-private partnerships that support conservation of fish and wildlife population.

• Senator Warner joined 50 of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle, in December of 2012, to ask Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell to work toward finding a lasting legislative and funding solution for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created to help preserve, develop and assure access to outdoor recreation facilities to strengthen the health of Americans.

• Senator Warner wrote to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White urging them to support Chesapeake Bay watershed farmers during the interim period since the lapse of the Farm Bill authorization. 

• Senators Warner and Webb joined a bipartisan letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of a temporary waiver of the federal ethanol mandate.  This waiver is intended to help Virginia’s agricultural community and consumers who have been hit hard by a dramatic rise in feed costs as a result of record droughts across the continental United States.

• Senator Warner voted in support of the bipartisan Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act, which would have benefitted Virginia farmers while continuing to provide a strong foundation for restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The 2012 Farm Bill, which would have saved taxpayers more than $23 billion, passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support on a 64-35 vote.

• In September 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution offered by Senators Warner and Webb commemorating the 75^th anniversary of Shenandoah National Park.  The resolution honors the cultural and ecological importance of Shenandoah, and affirms the support of Congress for Virginia’s national park.

• Virginia Senators Warner and Webb introduced legislation to bring increased accountability measures and a more collaborative management approach to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts.  The Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2011 would require the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a cross budget to better track the progress of Bay restoration efforts, comparing costs and the performance of restoration activities by the various federal agencies involved in the Bay preservation effort.

• Senator Warner supported the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which designated over 40,000 acres in the Jefferson National Forest as wilderness.