Public funding: Should skin color or ethnicity matter for conservation related public funding?

Arthas

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Are hunters and conservationists on this forum aware that skin color and ethnicity are important considerations by the Biden Adminstration and state governments for distribution of billions of dollars of public funding including funding directly tied to conservation?

Do hunters think skin color or ethnicity should play a role in the allocation of public funding?

Executive Order issued by the Biden Administration requires 40% of all funding from several incredibly large omnibus spending packages such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to go to environmental justice communities.

Known as Justice40, many states have developed and started to implement an environmental justice screening tool in order to accomodate the 40% EJ funding allocation requirement and receive funds from these enormous federal spending packages in addition to each states own environmental justice program.

Among the criteria for consideration as an environmental justice community is a demographic analysis that ranks a geographical area by the number of non-hispanic whites or people of color residing there. While it is possible to be considered an environmental justice community for other reasons, skin color is one criteria through which funding priority is allocated. For every 1 dollar allocated through these large federally funded programs, a MINIMUM of 40 cents must go to benefitting these environmental justice communities (Figure attached from Whitehouse Framework document).

Using WA as an example and EPAs map for a federal example:

Washington: Washington has gotten a lot of attention for its attacks on hunting and wildlife conservation. Washington in some ways is further along the path of environmental justice implementation than even places like California.

Washingtons Environmental Justice Mapping tool is located here: https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statist...shington-environmental-health-disparities-map

Here is the direct link for the reason of including race/ethnicity as a criteria for prioritization of funding in WA: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/wtn/WTNPortal#!q0=4707

Here is the description provided by the state of Washington showing this map provides data relevant to funding decision making:

"Health Disparities Map is an interactive mapping tool that compares communities across our state for environmental health disparities.

The map shows pollution measures such as diesel emissions and ozone, as well as proximity to hazardous waste sites. In addition, it displays measures like poverty and cardiovascular disease.

The map also provides new and rigorous insights into where public investments can be prioritized to buffer environmental health impacts on Washington's communities, so that everyone can benefit from clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment."

EPA map:


Plenty more information is available on this subject but I do not want make this post any longer. You can check your own states to see what information is available on funding allocation through this criteria.
 

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swavescatter

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The question is if conservation dollars are exempt from race/income criteria. My guess is that this is aimed at infrastructure and improvements based on race/income as one of many criteria.

Who's going to read the 1200 page omnibus and tell us?
 
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Arthas

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The question is if conservation dollars are exempt from race/income criteria. My guess is that this is aimed at infrastructure and improvements based on race/income as one of many criteria.

Who's going to read the 1200 page omnibus and tell us?
Me. Conservation related project are included.
 

swavescatter

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Me. Conservation related project are included.

Can you post the relevant page/paragraph?

Also we're in a CR so no omnibus has been passed for FY24? Must be a draft.

Double edit - you said it's an executive order?
 
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Arthas

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Can you post the relevant page/paragraph?

Also we're in a CR so no omnibus has been passed for FY24? Must be a draft.

Double edit - you said it's an executive order?


Environmental justice initiatives have been a thing since like 2012 or earlier in governmental agencies. They really started gaining steam in like 2019. 2020 thrust EJ as the top priority for every major corporation and government in the US and world really. 2021 the Biden Administration issued EO https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...d-communities-through-the-federal-government/
 

swavescatter

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This is specifically referencing the Justice40 initiative, which is two years old and generally speaks to waste remediation and clean water initiatives as the only thing semi related to conservation I can find. So apparently they're trying to focus spending on poor areas, AKA Flint Michigan still doesn't have clean water.

Your responses don't indicate to me that you're knowledgeable about the chain email rage bait you copy posted here, but I could be wrong.

Again, this is two years old. Carry on.


Full list

 
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Arthas

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This is specifically referencing the Justice40 initiative, which is two years old and generally speaks to waste remediation and clean water initiatives as the only thing semi related to conservation I can find. So apparently they're trying to focus spending on poor areas, AKA Flint Michigan still doesn't have clean water.

Your responses don't indicate to me that you're knowledgeable about the chain email rage bait you copy posted here, but I could be wrong.

Again, this is two years old. Carry on.


Full list

I have not posted a single opinion related o the topic. Everything in my post are 100% factual and back up by primary sources.

I am reporting what is occurring. With all do respect I think you are confusing your wish to not accept what the facts on the ground are with what the documents, press releases, policies, and initiatives are saying. I am not sure why, but I would suggest reading the words on the pages of the documents and thinking about what they are saying and what they mean.

Here are the covered programs from just the army Corp and doa from your link.

Are you suggesting the programs on just these pages are not related to conservation?

Are you suggestion climate change is not conservation related?

I mean #25 there is the LWCF. Randy Newberg spends years lobbying on that.

So no disrespect but I respectfully disagree with your post
 

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swavescatter

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Yawn.

Do I think the government should target spending SOME infrastructure dollars on poor and underserved communities that don't attract private investment? Yes I do. The role of government is a safety net to fix what capitalism won't.

Would you like to see government dollars spent on billionaire hunting ranches?
 
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Arthas

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Yawn.

Do I think the government should target spending SOME infrastructure dollars on poor and underserved communities that don't attract private investment? Yes I do. The role of government is a safety net to fix what capitalism won't.

Would you like to see government dollars spent on billionaire hunting ranches?
OK, that's your opinion. Thats why i posed the questions at the start. If i understand your responses, I would count you in the camp that believes that it is appropriate to allocate public funding to certain racial groups or exempt other racial groups from receiving funding. As far as being aware of what i posted, I think based on your responses, you were not aware of this policy matter prior to my posting about. That's why I asked the questions, I have genuine curiosity about the hunting communities level of awareness of it.

I am not sure how you are making the leap from asking about skin color as criteria for allocating public funding to billionaire hunting ranches. Income is a criteria on EJ matrices. All the maps i link have it as a parameter that can be sorted. So even without the racial demographic criteria income inequality is measured/considered within the data set. Income gaps etc i think is a different dscussion though.
 
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Arthas

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I just wanted to clear up the uncertainty about whether conservation funds are included in the justice40 initiative for posters such as yawn @swavescatter and unsure @fwafwow

Here are screen shots from the fy 24 and fy 25 guidance for LWCF applications. So for those of you that ask why such and such agency does not purchase this acreage or that acreage...it's possible that area did not meet the criteria out lined in these documents. This is one program. There are dozens of conservation related programs subject to justice 40.

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fwafwow

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I just wanted to clear up the uncertainty about whether conservation funds are included in the justice40 initiative for posters such as yawn @swavescatter and unsure @fwafwow

Here are screen shots from the fy 24 and fy 25 guidance for LWCF applications. So for those of you that ask why such and such agency does not purchase this acreage or that acreage...it's possible that area did not meet the criteria out lined in these documents. This is one program. There are dozens of conservation related programs subject to justice 40.

View attachment 610779View attachment 610776View attachment 610774
You posted above that you were familiar with the documents and @swavescatter asked you “Can you post the relevant page/paragraph?” Maybe I missed your reply? Then I lost interest.
 
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Arthas

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You posted above that you were familiar with the documents and @swavescatter asked you “Can you post the relevant page/paragraph?” Maybe I missed your reply? Then I lost interest.
No problem. I was not accusing you of anything or saying anything negative. Just that my responses did not appear to be convincing or of interest. I just wanted to provide additional document evidence of the point I was making.
 
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It's not as simple as should it be, or shouldn't it be.

It shouldn't matter at all.

But my grandfather was part of the D Day invasion, yet didn't get many GI benefits, because of the color of his skin.

I'm the first hunter we know of in my family. Might that have been different if the opportunities available to my grandparents and great grandparents were different?
 
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Arthas

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It's not as simple as should it be, or shouldn't it be.

It shouldn't matter at all.

But my grandfather was part of the D Day invasion, yet didn't get many GI benefits, because of the color of his skin.

I'm the first hunter we know of in my family. Might that have been different if the opportunities available to my grandparents and great grandparents were different?
There are events and practices in every civilizations past that current or future citizen view as regrettable. I think most reasonable people would agree that your family member not receiving due benefits for such a reason is an injustice.

Unfortunately and incorrectly the modern social justice movement has pushed the fallacy that discrimination was limited to white discriminatory practices against non whites in the United States. Obviously, the woke social justice movement has been selective in which examples of such practices their choose to amplify. Many examples of discrimination that do not fit into that overly simplified model are available to find and learn about.

As far as the legacy of hunting, I just listened to a podcast with hunters of color. They spent time describing the extensive legacy of hunting amongst certain ethnic groups. Based on their description and the knowledge that not all white families have a hunting tradition, it is not prohibitive for one race or another to have a legacy of hunting in their family. I would make the argument that the break down of the family structure has been and will continue to be the most harmful factor in generational hunting traditions. Simply put, most people go and learn to hunt with their dad regardless of race.
 

TaperPin

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I grew up listening to the stories of old timers out west who were adults or nearly so during the Great Depression - they were not proud of all the things that happened, but it’s not easy fighting injustice when it’s happening on both sides of a ranch or property, and you have no choice but to interact with those doing the dirty work. We were taught about linchings in grade school, labeled as ’justifiable hanging of cattle rustlers”. An aweful lot of those were a shade off of white. Even as a pre-teen it seemed there was more to these stories than we were being told. Only in the past couple of decades have many of the historical accounts all across the west been brought to light of the wide spread ethnic cleansing - call it what you want. Had there been social media we’d know all about it, but it’s big country, then and now, and people still disappear out west with no hint of where they went.

I am glad to see realistic accounts of what history has to teach us, not just what the winner of the conflict had written in the history books to teach grade schoolers and cover up the facts.
 

Yoder

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I think it's this simple, doing anything based on race is by definition racist. Racism needs to stop. All kinds of people are poor. All kinds of people could use help. Why don't we leave race out of it? These things are meant to keep us divided. Favoring one race over another causes more racism.
 
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Arthas

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I grew up listening to the stories of old timers out west who were adults or nearly so during the Great Depression - they were not proud of all the things that happened, but it’s not easy fighting injustice when it’s happening on both sides of a ranch or property, and you have no choice but to interact with those doing the dirty work. We were taught about linchings in grade school, labeled as ’justifiable hanging of cattle rustlers”. An aweful lot of those were a shade off of white. Even as a pre-teen it seemed there was more to these stories than we were being told. Only in the past couple of decades have many of the historical accounts all across the west been brought to light of the wide spread ethnic cleansing - call it what you want. Had there been social media we’d know all about it, but it’s big country, then and now, and people still disappear out west with no hint of where they went.

I am glad to see realistic accounts of what history has to teach us, not just what the winner of the conflict had written in the history books to teach grade schoolers and cover up the facts.
Can you provide some names of these cattle rustlers of color that were linched or some of the ethnic cleansing examples. I would like to research and read more about them. Thanks.
 

TreeDux

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I appreciate the OPs information. He took time to bring up something that most of us should care about and some actually do. There is also a good bit of supporting documentation that gives context to the question of current political initiatives and race based allocations of resources and money. Allocating tax dollars on a racial/ethnic basis should be a very rare event IMO. Second is conservation funding in particular. EJ doesn’t give a damn about the mule deer population but certainly can leverage government funding away from projects that would benefit wildlife habitat, public access, etc.
 
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