2024 Congressional Recess Action Kit

August 3rd will mark the start of Congress’ summer recess. Lawmakers will travel from Washington D.C. to their local districts as Congress begins a five-week recess. Traditionally, this recess marks an excellent time to engage with political representatives in their home offices and within their districts.

The Congressional summer recess is a perfect opportunity for Friends to invite your member of Congress to your refuge or schedule district office meetings to educate them about the issues facing your local refuge as well as actions they can take to help hurdle those challenges. Good laws and adequate funding are essential for the Refuge System to thrive, and Friends organizations are the most qualified to communicate these issues to congress.

To assist you in your advocacy efforts CORFA and NWRA have created a 2024 Recess Action Kit that will give you the tools you need to effectively communicate the challenges and resources that are needed for the refuge within their District to thrive. The kit includes the following:

• Background
• Connecting with your Lawmaker 
• Funding Fact Sheets on the NWRS and Funding Challenges
• Friends and Advocacy
• A Friends Flowchart to Lobbying
• Meeting report form
• Template for Letter to Lawmaker should you be unable to meet

Congress values your input and relies on constituent groups like yours to provide feedback on how they can be most helpful to the refuges within their District. Your group’s collective voice is one of the most powerful tools available to enhance the National Wildlife Refuge System. Don’t be afraid to use it!

Additional Resources:

Webinars to help your craft your messages for members of Congress and others.

• Effective Communications with Elected Officials and Other, Jen Burks,Senior Policy Advisor for U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), offers advice on meeting with your members of Congress. Jen’s comments come 20 minutes into the video.
• Why Refuges/Hatcheries Matter: Crafting your Message, the presentation slides provide tips for developing your messages for member of Congress and others.