National Wetlands Coalition
Encyclopedia
The National Wetlands Coalition, founded in 1989,http://www.law.miami.edu/library/everglades/news/2002/2002_01_index.html has opposed U.S. wetlands policy, saying "the federal government, while seeking to protect wetlands, casts a wide net and imposes burdensome and ineffective regulations on private property that does not function as or provide the ecosystem benefits of high-value wetlands". Time Magazine called it "a big-biz coalition against wetlands".
In 1995, the organization consisted of about 60 municipal associations, utilities and major industrial companies, such as Exxon
, Texaco
and Kerr-McGee
.
The National Wetlands Coalition has been characterized as the quintessential astroturf organization
... which is an organization that presents itself as a grassroots
organization, but was actually founded by (and is largely funded by) a separate commercial or political organization in order to promote its own agenda, while keeping its relationship to the new organization hidden.
The organization has been relatively inactive since around the late 1990s. http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/solutions.html. The website was being "reworked" from February 2001 http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.thenwc.org/home.htm through November 2005 http://web.archive.org/web/20051130221127/http://www.thenwc.org/; it went offline in December 2005.http://web.archive.org/web/20051211003317/http://www.thenwc.org/
In 1995, the organization consisted of about 60 municipal associations, utilities and major industrial companies, such as Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
, Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
and Kerr-McGee
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6...
.
The National Wetlands Coalition has been characterized as the quintessential astroturf organization
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
... which is an organization that presents itself as a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organization, but was actually founded by (and is largely funded by) a separate commercial or political organization in order to promote its own agenda, while keeping its relationship to the new organization hidden.
The organization has been relatively inactive since around the late 1990s. http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/solutions.html. The website was being "reworked" from February 2001 http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.thenwc.org/home.htm through November 2005 http://web.archive.org/web/20051130221127/http://www.thenwc.org/; it went offline in December 2005.http://web.archive.org/web/20051211003317/http://www.thenwc.org/
External links
- Official National Wetlands Coalition website (no longer functioning)