In This Issue: Legislative Update Groundhog Day in July Goals for Gaining More Ground Programs, Events & Workshops Mass Audubon Advocacy Jack Clarke, Director of Public Policy & Government Relations Karen Heymann, Legislative Director Christina McDermott, Assistant to the Director Heidi Ricci, Senior Policy Analyst Support Our Advocacy Efforts at Mass Audubon About The Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup The Beacon Hill Weekly Roundup tracks the legislative priorities of Mass Audubon, focusing on the protection of the nature of Massachusetts. Join Mass Audubon's Action Network! Send us an email to sign up. Advocacy Resources Want to learn more about proceedings in the House and Senate? Read our Legislative Primer View live streaming and archived video of House and Senate sessions. Join Mass Audubon Membership dues provide vital support for Mass Audubon's advocacy work on Beacon Hill and across the state.

July 21, 2014 Legislative Update  With ten days left in the formal legislative session, we are still busy advocating for several priority issues before the deadline. We are working to see funding for Mass Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum restored in the state budget, as well as lobbying the newly-assigned conference committee on the environmental bond for its passage. We are also still working in support of the water infrastructure bill, which would improve drinking water and wastewater management in Massachusetts, and legislation that would put into place a climate adaptation management plan to deal with climate change impacts like rising sea level and more frequent storms. We will keep you posted on our outreach efforts as the session winds down. Groundhog Day in July     © Renata Pomponi The bill making Mass Audubon’s resident groundhog, Ms. G, the official state groundhog of Massachusetts is on a roll! Thanks to a campaign by Drumlin Farm and a group of Wellesley schoolchildren led by former WBZ meteorologist Mish Michaels, the bill was engrossed by the Senate last week and was just enacted in the House this morning. It is expected to be enacted by the Senate and signed into law by the end of the legislative session. Congratulations to Ms. G and her young supporters!   Goals for Gaining More Ground An Op Ed by Mass Audubon’s Jack Clarke on our newest edition of Losing Ground and the land conversation targets it sets is currently running statewide. You can read the column here. And see what we have to say in today’s Newburyport Daily News about an important provision in the environmental bond for purchasing from willing sellers coastal properties that are substantially and repeatedly damaged by storms.   Upcoming Programs, Events and Workshops * No events this week * Don't forget to VOTE YES on Question 2 to update the Bottle Bill this November!