Advocacy - or influencing public policy and elected officials - is important to make sure we have a healthy environment, from stopping habitat destruction to creating more parks and protected areas. 

By attending meetings, speaking out and communicating with government officials, the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) works for strong conservation policies at the local, state and federal levels.  For example, the chapter has advocated for measures to:

• stop climate change,
• support stronger tree and habitat conservation,
• increase parks and protected areas,
• encourage more natural landscaping,
• ensure cleaner air and water,
• support low-impact development approaches, and
  
• develop more "green" and energy-saving buildings

ASNV serves on local governmental committees and commissions to help protect our environment.

Sign up for National Audubon's Action Alerts to keep current on what Congress is doing. Visit  audubonaction.org/audubon

Advocacy and citizen involvement will help address some of our area's startling environment facts:

• Unhealthy streams: Fairfax county has 980 miles of streams.  80% of the county’s streams were in fair to poor condition in 2006, up from 70% in 2005.
  
• Unhealthy river: The Potomac River got a D for its health in 2007 by – Chesapeake Bay Report Card, University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, May 2007 (on 2006).
  
  The Potomac River got a C+ for its health in 2006 (Interstate Commission on the Potomac River.)  Parts of the river are on the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s impaired rivers list.
  
• Unhealthy Bay:  The Chesapeake Bay got a grade of D+ for 2006, by the Chesapeake Bay Program.
  
• Unhealthy air:  Fairfax County does not meet federal ozone and particulate air quality standards.  Carbon dioxide emissions grew by 13% in the Washington region from 2001 to 2005 (by 18% in Northern Virginia), twice the national rate.  Fairfax County got an F for ozone and an F for particulate matter. – American Lung Association, May 1, 2007
  
• Trees lost: Fairfax county’s tree cover has plummeted from 75% in the 1970s to 40% today, according to the Fairfax County Urban Forestry Division.   American Forests recommends that suburban residential zones have at least 50% tree cover because tree cover is directly related to environmental quality and a sound “green infrastructure.” 
  
  If we do nothing, the tree cover will drop to 37%. To get to 50% by 2030, the county needs 1.9 million trees or 80,000 a year.  It takes ten years for a tree sapling to provide the functions or environmental services of a mature tree.  – GC 5/07.
  
• Invasives:  Many parks and nature reserves in Virginia typically consist of between 25 and 34% of non-native plants.  – U. S. National Park Service.
  
• Impervious surfaces:  Impervious surfaces send pollutants and other contaminants into our waterways.  The extent of impervious surfaces exceeds the standards recommended by the Center for Watershed Protection on some watersheds.
  
• Wetlands lost: Wetlands act as sponges, absorbing flood waters and filtering pollutants.  Virginia has lost almost half its wetlands, destroyed by development and other activities.   In Fairfax County’s, wetlands constitute less than half of 1% of the county.
  
• Little left:  Fairfax County is reaching “buildout.” County parks are 9.56% of the county. (Chairman Gerry Connolly, Oct. 2007.) Parks and natural areas constitute only 15% of the county.  (This includes state and federal parks.)
  
• Population increasing: Fairfax county now has over one million people, larger than some states.  By 2020, there will be 200,000 new people living in 80,000 new households.