Contact: Chuck Porcari (cell: (240) 286-7566) or Mark Sokolove (cell: (703) 599-7656) or (202) 785-8683)

WASHINGTON - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community, today named Representative Ron Kind (D) as a 2004 Environmental Champion in his race for reelection to the 3rd district of Wisconsin.

LCV Environmental Champions are candidates who have proven their pro-environment commitment through substantive action.  LCV supports these outstanding leaders by rewarding them with direct contributions, fundraising, and occasionally running independent campaigns to help ensure they are reelected to Congress as we continue to build America³ pro-environment majority.

�ronmental Champion because of his steadfast commitment to serving the needs of the people of Wisconsin, including their desire to have a clean, safe and healthy environment to live, work and raise their families,� Vice President for Policy. �ost important Congressional leader on issues related to the upper Missisippi River basin.�le="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 80%">Wisconsin³ 3rd district borders more miles of the Mississippi River than any other Congressional District, and having grown up on the Mississippi Rep. Kind understands how important the health and integrity of this waterway is to his constituents. While home to a diverse array of fish and wildlife, the Mississippi River corridor is also used by 40% of North America's migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. As founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Upper Mississippi River Basin Congressional Task Force, Rep. Kind has led the effort to find effective approaches to resolving competing interests and uses of the upper basin, including commerce, habitat protection and water quality, agriculture and recreation.

In the latest legislative session Kind has sponsored a number of bills to further this effort. HR 961 aims to promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Kind also sponsored HR 4686 to help revitalize the Mississippi River.

In 2003, Rep. Kind earned a 95% score on the LCV scorecard and he has a lifetime 87% score. He opposed a number of harmful Bush Administration policies including the Bush/Cheney Energy Policy, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, providing Clean Water Act exemptions to oil and gas companies and attempts to open up National Forests to new road construction and logging.

For information on all of LCV³ 2004 Environmental Champions, visit our website.

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The nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community.  LCV, which is not a partisan organization, is the only national organization working full-time to hold Congress and the president accountable for their environmental actions.  For more information, please visit us on the web at www.lcv.org.