Getting to know and work with legislators: Some do's and don'ts for working with legislators to further conservation efforts

Lee B. Shields

Some do's and don'ts for working with legislators to further conservation efforts

Excerpt

MEMBERS of the Soil Conservation Society of America must get involved in the political process if they wish to influence decisions about land and water resources. But how do you go about that? Whom do you deal with? How can you be helpful without being a pest?.

Answers to these questions are important to your actions, as an individual member, a member of an SCSA chapter, or an employee or leader of an agency or group represented in SCSAs membership.

What follows are the elements of a game plan for legislative relations. These elements were gained from discussions with staff members and committee consultants in the Congress as well as from my experience as a LEGIS Fellow on Vermont Congressman James M. Jeffords' staff in 1980 and 1981. Most of the principles apply to state as well as national legislators.

Why get involved?

Why do we need better relations with legislators? There are a number of reasons:

•Land and …

Footnotes

Lee B. Shields is senior public information officer for the Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington. D.C. 20013.
Copyright 1982 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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