Washington, DC –-(Ammoland.com)- Today, GreenDecoys.com, a project of the nonprofit Environmental Policy Alliance, exposed the so-called Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) for being nothing more than a front group for radical environmentalist interests and labor unions.
While TRCP claims to be a coalition of “grassroots partners” and “individual advocates,” newly unveiled tax records show that the group gets 77% of its contributions from just 8 donors, much of it from San Francisco-area environmentalist foundations.
TRCP claims to be about benefiting hunters and other sportsmen, and the group’s press releases beat that drum incessantly, invoking the word “sportsmen” ad nauseam. However, TRCP runs advocacy campaigns such as “Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development,” which advocates against energy development, and founded the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, which seeks to lure union members into backing more liberal political candidates—receiving mega-bucks from both anti-energy development foundations and labor unions along the way.
“TRCP provides Big Green and Big Labor with a convenient mask for their agendas: Sportsmen,” said Will Coggin, senior research analyst at the Environmental Policy Alliance. “TRCP is nothing more than a puppet with a camo hat, in the pay and in the pocket of radical and left-wing interests.”
Overall, 84% of TRCP’s revenue comes from foundation grants. Major donors to TRCP include the Hewlett Foundation, Packard Foundation, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, Storer Foundation, and the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, a member union of the AFL-CIO.
Click here to view our analysis of TRCP’s tax records.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is only one of several “Green Decoy” groups that give camouflage to environmentalists. Trout Unlimited, which helped form TRCP, has taken tens of millions of dollars from San Francisco-area foundations that want to shut down major energy sources in America. The Izaak Walton League of America, meanwhile, has taken millions from anti-energy activists, including the anti-gun, Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, on whose board President Barack Obama sat for 8 years. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance, which are active in Western states, are also fronts for environmental activists.
“Sportsmen and other grassroots members of these organizations should be worried that they are being used as pawns by environmentalists,” continued Coggin. “You can’t receive the majority of your contributions from a handful of elitist urbanites and claim to be a credible voice for backwoods hunters and anglers.”
To learn more about environmentalist front organizations and their wealthy funders, visit www.GreenDecoys.com. To schedule an interview, please contact Alex Fitzsimmons at (202) 420-7875 or fitzsimmons@
The Environmental Policy Alliance, a project of the nonprofit Center for Organizational Research and Education, is devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies. CORE is supported by a wide variety of businesses and foundations, including those in the hospitality, agriculture, and energy industries.