Rep. Vindman, state lawmakers decry federal environmental rollbacks at Prince William Forest Park event
Dels. Josh Cole and Brianna Sewell joined Rep. Eugene Vindman at Prince William Forest Park to discuss the impacts of reduced federal funding for environmental issues.
By Sébastien Kraft
Email Sébastien Kraft
This article was republished with permission from FXBG Advance’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Elected leaders representing Prince William County and nearby areas joined U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman during a Friday news conference denouncing the Trump administration’s approach to environmental policy outside the Prince William Forest Park Visitor Center.
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters hosted the event, with speakers including Vindman, state Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-29th District; Del. Josh Thomas, D-21st; and Del. Josh Cole, D-65th (Fredericksburg); Shereen Hughes, ambassador for Wetlands Watch, a Norfolk-based organization; and Monica Sarmiento, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
Dels. Briana Sewell, D-25th District, and Rozia Henson, D-19th District were also on hand but didn't speak.
During the news conference, Vindman and McPike reminisced fondly on times spent at Prince William Forest Park – Vindman still visiting “every weekend” while living in nearby Dale City, with McPike having come during his childhood – and advocated for the preservation of local green spaces.
“Prince William Forest Park is a place that's near and dear to my heart,” McPike said, also citing his role as a Chesapeake Bay commissioner. “I grew up here as a kid, going hiking and going swimming here in the creeks, and so this place is a treasure trove of memories. Just several weeks ago, President Trump ordered an executive order to review the taking of lumber from all of our national forests – places like this absolutely must be preserved. They are an absolute national treasure and this cannot happen.”
McPike was referring to an order titled, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production.”
Vindman said elected leaders need to work locally in light of federal deregulation.
“This kind of vertical integration of local leaders and at the federal level is the type of leadership we need to represent our communities,” Vindman said. “We all have a role to play in developing plans that address climate change, that address the needs of the community, that address the environment and living conditions, and I'm glad to have that relationship with these local elected leaders.”
Following the event, Vindman told InsideNoVa he does not expect environmentally-friendly policies to gain much traction in the U.S. House of Representatives for the foreseeable future.
“We are focused on ridiculous pieces of legislation,” Vindman said. “Like yesterday, we spent time voting on the Gulf of America ... Obviously, what we're seeing from this administration [is] claiming to make cuts for efficiency with a chainsaw, cutting vital programs, including park rangers ...”
Vindman spoke to his role as the only Virginian member of the House Committee on Agriculture, a responsibility he said he “takes seriously.”
“Programs that affect conservation are being cut,” Vindman said. “The proposal is to cut something like $230 billion or $300 billion from the Farm Bill, from the Ag Committee, and that's going to obviously affect the environment and cuts to conservation programs.”
Blair St. Ledger-Olson, director of advocacy and campaigns for the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, told InsideNoVa the environmental stakes are ubiquitous.
“When we talk about the environment, people like to think about it as a secondary priority, but in reality, the environment is our clean air and our clean water,” St. Ledger-Olson said. “It impacts everything from our quality of life to the air we breathe and our public health.”
St. Ledger-Olson added, “When we see the federal government defunding both crucial funding for, in particular, rural communities out of Medicaid, while also attacking our clean air and clean water, those things double down and put people at such a significant disadvantage to thrive.”
Hughes, who also helped launch and coordinate the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Program – an initiative focused on teaching stormwater management and conservation landscaping – said both the program and Wetlands Watch have been impacted by the defunding of federal agencies.
“[Our communities] are being overwhelmed on a more regular basis, either by tidal flooding in the east or catastrophic flooding in the southwest and central Virginia,” Hughes said. “Our work and that of our partners are intricately aligned with the resources, technical expertise and funding of [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], [the Environmental Protection Agency], [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], and the Chesapeake Bay program.”
Sarmiento called for bipartisanship, harkening back to a 1990 President George H.W. Bush-era federal program, commonly known as TPS, that offered temporary protective status to foreign victims of natural disasters.
Cole, a pastor from the Fredericksburg area, took a different approach during the event, resorting to faith teachings and scripture.
“As a pastor, I believe in Psalm 24 that says, ‘The earth is the Lord and all the fullness thereof, and they that dwell within,’” Cole said. “It's important and incumbent upon each and every one of us, and I believe my colleagues who are here today understand the importance of protecting our environment, protecting our land. And it's not just about preservation, but it's about protection of people as well.”
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Thank you for covering this important topic & I thank our elected officials for speaking up on this matter. All the money in the world won't bring back the treasures of the natural world once we despoil and ruin them.