This week, host Margaret Walls talks with Benji Backer about attracting nonpartisan support for environmental conservation. Backer is the founder and CEO of Nature Is Nonpartisan—a nonprofit organization focused on redefining environmental issues as nonpartisan—and serves on the board of the American Conservation Coalition. In this episode, Backer discusses his approach to environmental issues by describing his conservation work, which includes helping to stop a recent policy proposal that aimed to sell public lands, aiding in the creation of a domestic conservation caucus in the Senate, and assisting in forming the Make America Beautiful Again Commission. He also speaks to the importance of accurately communicating the risks of climate change; people connecting with their land; and promoting conservation at all levels, including local, state, federal, and corporate.

References and recommendations:

“The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future” by Benji Backer; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730880/the-conservative-environmentalist-by-benji-backer/

Nature Is Nonpartisan; https://natureisnonpartisan.org/

American Conservation Coalition; https://acc.eco/

“The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey” by Candice Millard; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/114422/the-river-of-doubt-by-candice-millard/

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