Looking Back, Looking Ahead
2025 Marks KCC's 50th Year—
Made Possible by YOU
2025 Kentucky General Assembly convenes on January 7, 2023
KCC Legislative Summit and Annual Meeting at KSU, January 26, 2025
Fifty Years—Looking Back and Looking Forward
It’s hard to believe that as we bring in the new year, that 2025 marks the Kentucky Conservation Committee’s 50th year!
Taking a step back to reflect on the circumstances that brought this organization into being, KCC was formed in 1975 following a panel discussion on the University of Kentucky campus. The theme of the panel discussion was the need for an organized lobbying presence in Frankfort FOR the environment— to try to offset the voices of lobbyists who were working against the environment.
This came in the context of what was happening in the larger landscape. A few years earlier, our nation celebrated the very first Earth Day (on April 22, 1970). The event was celebrated in Washington, D.C. and in college campuses around the country, and came about after growing concerns about pollution and issues such as acid rain and nuclear waste—and where citizens educated themselves on environmental impacts happening in our planet through works such as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
Our historical archives at KCC have come from individual members, and one of those described the organization’s origin as follows: “KCC is a loose coalition of concerned citizens and representatives of environmental and civic groups including Sierra Club, Audubon, Kentucky Rivers Coalition, and the League of Women Voters. It was formed in 1975 to coordinate legislative efforts of environmentalists.” We had a full time and part time lobbyist during the 1976 and 1978 sessions, where our first focus was on the “bottle bill” (container legislation).
Our first legislative "success" was in 1976 with our support for scenic easement legislation as an addition to the Kentucky Planning and Zoning Statute at KRS 100. This legislation did not result in many scenic easements, but it set the stage for the PACE program – (Purchase of Agriculture Conservation Easements).
Over the years, we have continued to have legislative successes partnering with citizens and a growing base of organizations—and have done our best to be a representative voice for you in Frankfort. However, our work at the Kentucky Conservation is simply a means to support YOUR voice.
It is amazing to see how many of our current members have been with us from the beginning and have continued to support this work. KCC was founded in order to amplify and support the personal commitment that all of you have to protect Kentucky’s environment—where ordinary people can make a difference.
We need to continue to build a base of strong, committed leaders to continue this work into the next generation. And for that, we ask for your help to share your stories and pass them on to others who are looking for that support to make their world a better, cleaner, stronger place for their children to live. We also ask that you share the link to our “Build the Base” campaign with your friends and their children to help us build that capacity for future generations of environmental champions.
We also hope you will join us on January 26th, for the Kentucky Conservation Committee’s Legislative Summit and Annual Meeting (see below), where we will be updating you on the present and emerging environmental issues we will be working on this year.
We thank you for your fifty years personal commitment to protecting the resources and the beauty of Kentucky and the planet. (Watch this space for future celebrations of our 50-year milestone later in the year).
January 26, 2025: KCC Legislative Summit - Special Guest Author and Journalist Alice Driver
Acclaimed writer and journalist Alice Driver will be the featured speaker at the Kentucky Conservation Committee’s 2025 Legislative Summit on Sunday afternoon, January 26, in Frankfort, Kentucky. The conference will take place at Kentucky State University and will highlight pressing issues affecting the state, bringing together policymakers, advocates, and community leaders to discuss critical legislative priorities related to the environment and conservation. The conference is open to the public and free to KCC members. We encourage all KCC members and supporters to attend.
Dr. Driver will focus on themes from her newly released book, Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America's Largest Meatpacking Company.
Her work reveals the challenges faced by immigrant laborers in America’s meatpacking industry, including hazardous conditions and systemic exploitation. Her book is especially relevant to legislation passed in Kentucky during the 2024 session, Senate Bill 16, which reduces protections to workers in slaughterhouses and animal feedlot operations and makes it more difficult to report violations at those facilities. Dr. Driver’s book illuminates how such legislation exacerbates economic and social inequities, leaving workers vulnerable and communities at risk.
(Our thanks to our allies at the Kentucky Sierra Club for partnering with us to bring in this feature guest).
The 2025 Legislative Summit will convene key voices in conservation and public policy to address issues at the intersection of environmental protection, labor, social justice, and the economy. The summit will also include presentations on policy efforts relating to conservation funding, wildlife corridors, and transitions to a cleaner energy economy.
Reserve your space now. More information is available at kyconservation.org/legislative-summit-2025.
KCC members in good standing are also encouraged to VOTE for KCC's 2025 Board of Directors.
(Copies of Life and Death of the American Worker will be available for signing).
Thank Your for Supporting KCC
Because the Kentucky Conservation Committee is a 501c4 nonprofit that focuses on direct lobbying, we particularly depend on the direct contributions of our members, supporters and strategic partners. So we want to thank you for the support you give to us every year. You are a critical partner in the success of our work. (Donations to KCC are not tax-deductible due to our effective environmental lobbying efforts.)