Some may call it beginner’s luck. We prefer to think of it as being prepared and putting yourself in a position to get lucky. First-time NRPA Legislative Forum attendee Eriks Janelsins recently helped achieve a long-held goal of NRPA advocacy efforts — to see a bill introduced that provides 40 percent of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) appropriations for the State Assistance Program. In July, a group of five bipartisan members of Congress introduced legislation (H.R. 2727) to amend the existing LWCF Act in a manner that places the State Assistance Program on a level playing field with the federal land acquisition program, which is guaranteed a minimum of 40 percent of total LWCF appropriations. Representatives David McKinley (R-WV), Gene Green (D-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC) introduced the measure and are now actively seeking additional co-sponsors of the bill.
“Maybe I’m just lucky. Maybe this whole situation was a number of positive things and years of work coming together at one specific moment,” ponders Janelsins, who is president of the Oglebay Foundation in Wheeling, West Virginia, and helps organize NRPA’s schools at the resort and conference center there. “From my end, the actual meeting, conversation and ask all seemed pretty effortless.”
As is often the case, Janelsins’ luck was assisted by a lot of advance preparation. Rep. McKinley was already quite familiar with Oglebay Park, thanks in part to Janelsins and his predecessor, Randy Worls. Although this was Janelsins’ first Legislative Forum, he already understood the importance of ongoing communication with Wheeling’s representative in Washington.
“Congressman McKinley knows who we are and our importance to the community. We spend significant time as an organization communicating out our impact related to economic development, conservation and health,” Janelsins explains. “With the specific language from NRPA including their briefing documents and their talking points, it all came together.”
Janelsins says that his conversation with Rep. McKinley was very pleasant.
“We started talking specifically about Oglebay and how LWCF has impacted the parks in the past,” Janelsins says. “Stacey Pine and her team at NRPA empowered me with the information about specific projects that benefit communities across the entire 1st Congressional District. I could show him that ‘the ask’ just wasn’t to only support Oglebay — revised legislation would significantly benefit the entire district. That was an eye opener for him, to be honest.”
“This is a textbook example of how the advocacy process is supposed to work,” notes Stacey Pine, NRPA’s vice president of government affairs. “NRPA equips our members with general data and talking points, our members share that message and their agency stories with their members of Congress, and then NRPA staff follow up with Congressional staff. The Legislative Forum provides a perfect venue in which to carry out this process, and this bill would not have been introduced without it.”
“The LWCF State Assistance Program is the only federal program dedicated to ensuring that Americans have access to local outdoor recreation opportunities,” continues NRPA President and CEO Barbara Tulipane. “Placing the State Assistance Program on a level playing field will enable the LWCF to fulfill its stated mission of helping preserve, develop and assure access to outdoor recreation facilities for the purpose of strengthening the health of U.S. citizens.”
Janelsins notes that advocacy is an important responsibility for all park and recreation professionals.
“It really is our responsibility to communicate outward about both the benefits and the needs of the parks to everyone — to the public and to local, state and national leaders. That is every staff member’s responsibility within a park system,” he says. “The stories we have to share in the parks and recreation industry often highlight great work being done to improve the quality of life in our communities. Those are fun stories.”