political action letters
Sample Letters
- Generic Letter Format
- Letter regarding The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
- Letter to a Land Manager
- Letter to a Legislator
- Letter regarding a Closure
- Look up your National Legislators
Here are some hints for writing effective letters to land managers, legislators, and elected officials. Writing letters is an important tool in our democracy, and—believe it or not—it works!
- Present yourself as a moderate—extremists quickly lose their credibility.
- Keep it brief and to the point. One page letters are best.
- Read the Access Fund's comments and Action Alerts for background, but write the letter in your own words.
- Letters are most effective, calls are second best, emails are almost ignored and form letters (and emails) are tossed almost immediately.
- Mention the Access Fund in your letter-associations lend credibility. Just like any form of marketing, the more times we are mentioned, the more likely the target will listen to you (and us) during future communications.
- State the importance of the issue to you, your family and friends, and ask your representative to let you know what action(s) they have taken on your behalf. Make sure they know you are a voting constituent.
- Attach more significance to your letter by having it delivered by priority mail, or by registered or certified mail, which require the signature of the recipient and provide a record of receipt. This can cost up to $3 per letter, but is most effective in generating a prompt response.
Silence is Consent
Writing Political Action Letters
Sometimes local activism is not enough-you need help from your elected and appointed officials in government to preserve climbing access. There is a formula for writing to government bureaucrats and congressional representatives that has proven effective in (a) getting the letter read, and (b) getting the addressee to take action on your behalf.
Writing letters to administrative agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service or the U.S. Forest Service, is very different from writing your elected officials. When addressing an elected official, you are generally asking for action on a legislative issue such as a budget bill that may affect outdoor recreation support and funding. An administrative official, in contrast, acts to implement laws already passed, such as various land use or environmental statutes. Administrative officials act in an interpretive capacity, translating the laws into management strategies that can affect your future on public lands. Your letters must reflect this understanding.
When writing to local, regional or federal agencies, stress the underlying compelling reasons why your preferred activity-such as climbing-is a reasonable, sustainable use of the land. Further emphasize how this activity can be balanced with other uses of the land to provide lasting opportunity for not only climbers but other recreationists as well. To do this, you will have to familiarize yourself with the issues that must coexist at your favorite crag. Emphasize your understanding on the complexity of competing resource demands, but remain adamant in your appeal for the opportunity to climb. You would be surprised how much influence a single person can have on government policy, if that person pushes the right buttons. The people who serve as your representatives in state and federal legislative bodies take personal letters from their constituents very seriously. Remember, they are supposed to represent your interests, or at least ensure that there is a balance between competing interests.
You can find the addresses and phone numbers of local, state, and federal congressional representatives in your phone book, or at the local library in the Congressional Directory. Or you can Look it up Here.
The address for all US Senators is:
The Honorable (name of senator)
US Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The address for all US Representatives is:
The Honorable (name of congressperson)
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515