NCC Eco-Justice Working Group -- Capsules: July 2005

July 2005

Eco-Justice Working Group

Church of the Brethren

Environmental Justice Office of Presbyterian Church (USA)

Presbyterian Washington Office

Episcopal Ecological Network

Greek Orthodox Church in America

Luthern Earthkeeping Network of the Synods

Reformed Church in America

United Church of Christ

United Methodist Board of Church and Society

NCC Launches Public Lands Initiative

[Washington, DC] - The Eco-Justice Program of the National Council of Churches USA has launched a new Public Lands Initiative to address growing threats to our nation's public lands and associated resources, particularly in the West. Previously, the NCC has conducted ecumenical and interfaith programs addressing a range of environmental issues including water pollution, global warming, and energy conservation. Now the NCC will encourage its member denominations, partner organizations, and all people of faith to make responsible stewardship and management of public lands an integral part of their efforts to build strong communities and care for God's creation.

Through worship, education, and advocacy, the NCC initiative aims to begin answering the Biblical call to protect and redeem God's lands. One of the initiative's first projects will be to create a series of ecumenical worship materials to celebrate lands and raise consciousness about faithful stewardship. NCC will also encourage congregations to join thousands of individuals nationwide in service projects, like trail maintenance or tree plantings, on National Public Lands Day (Saturday September 24th, 2005). "We have a lot to celebrate. The lands and wilderness God has entrusted to our care provide us with countless gifts from solitude, to recreational enjoyment, to food for our tables," said Christine Hoekenga, Public Lands Specialist for the NCC. "But we also have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to protecting lands held in the public trust."

In addition to raising consciousness generally, the new initiative will focus on oil and gas development, which has emerged as a major threat to the health and productivity of millions of the acres of western lands managed by the federal government. If not conducted responsibly, energy development can disturb or kill wildlife, degrade soil quality, pollute water sources, scar landscapes, destroy cultural artifacts, and disrupt other uses of the land, such as ranching and recreation.

"We try always to respond to God's call to be stewards of creation. In the case of our public lands, we want to ensure that they are managed responsibly, in a manner that protects these shared resources that sustain our cultures and economies and God's glorious web of life," said
Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the NCC. "For people of faith, there's too much at stake on our public lands and the threats are too great not to get involved."

Coordinated by Christine Hoekenga-a native Nevadan who most recently worked at the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) here in Washington-this 10-state campaign will mobilize people of faith to fight irresponsible actions such as opening natural treasures and ecologically sensitive areas to drilling, weakening permit processes for drilling projects, and making energy development the top priority on public lands to the detriment of Western communities and wildlife. Included in the 10 states are Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington.

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For more information about the Western Public Lands Initiative, contact Christine Hoekenga (choekenga@ncccusa.org; 202-544-2350) or visit the NCC Lands Page.