Contact Your Congressional Representatives
A recent opinion piece by Rory Riley-Topping published in The Hill titled "'Influencers' are ruining public lands — all for Instagram photo ops" encourages the House and Senate Committees on Natural Resources to hold oversight hearings investigating the negative impact of social media influencers on public lands.
"Such a hearing would allow Committee members to understand the impact of damage to public areas as it coincides with the rise of social media, as well as the opportunity to consider legislative, regulatory and fiscal solutions that are not only more productive than the continuation of call-out culture but could also lead to better protection and enjoyment of public lands for years to come. "
I'm all for any solutions that will encourage influencers and the public at large to respect our public lands, which is why I'm encouraging you to reach out to the majority and minority House Committee on Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and your congressional representatives on this issue. Contact information for relevant committees, as well as a sample script for calls and/or emails are included below.
Sample script for contacting your Congressional Representatives:
Hello, my name is [NAME HERE] and, as a constituent of your office and someone who loves our public lands, I want to let you know that I’m concerned about the negative impact social media influencers are having on areas such as [INCLUDE SPECIFIC PUBLIC LANDS THAT ARE LOCAL TO YOU HERE] A disturbing op-ed titled "'Influencers' are ruining public lands — all for Instagram photo ops" that was published in "The Hill" on 1/19/20 by Rory Riley-Topping sheds more light on the issues I am concerned about. Would you be willing to work with the Natural Resources Committee to see if they could hold an oversight hearing on this topic to learn more about the problem and discuss potential solutions?
Thank you very much!
[SIGN HERE]
Find Your Congressional Representatives Here
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm
Sample script for contacting Congressional Committees
Hello, my name is [NAME HERE] and, as some who loves our public lands, I want to let you know that I’m concerned about the negative impact social media influencers are having on areas like [INCLUDE SPECIFIC PUBLIC LANDS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU HERE]. A disturbing op-ed titled "'Influencers' are ruining public lands — all for Instagram photo ops" that was published in "The Hill" on 1/19/20 by Rory Riley-Topping sheds more light on the issues I am concerned about. I think that this committee holding an oversight hearing on the topic to learn more about the problem would be an excellent way to discuss potential solutions before illegal and harmful behavior on our public lands becomes a bigger problem within the social fabric of our society.
Thank you very much!
[SIGN HERE]
Contact Information for Congressional Committees
House Committee on Natural Resources - Majority (Democratic Staff) - 202-225-6065 - nrdems@mail.house.gov
House Committee on Natural Resources - Minority (Republican Staff) - 202-225-2761 - Contact Form
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources - 202-224-4971