In February Jacquelyn BonomoPennFuture’s President and CEO is. Announced her retirement in July. Bonomo’s held the position since 2017 and has worked in environmental advocacy for 37 years.
PennFuture says that under Bonomos leadership the organization increased its funding and grew its staff. They also expanded their work into more communities and towns in the state. Bonomo also established a paid internship program in 2020 for future environmental lawyers.
Kara Holsopple, Allegheny Fronts, recently spoke with Bonomo to discuss her career, the important issues that have impacted her and why she is still hopeful.
LISTEN to the interview
Kara Holsopple – How did you get involved in environmental advocacy?
Jacquelyn Bonomo:After living in the West for a while, I returned to my hometown a long time ago. I was a naturalist at that time and spent a lot more time at a “nature spot”. Nescopeck CreekIn southern Luzerne County in Pennsylvania. After developing a real attachment to the place, I realized that it was going out of business.
TThe state was planning to build a dam, flood the valley, and create a park with flat water recreation. I had gained such an appreciation for the biodiversity in that place, and I felt pretty strongly that it shouldn’t be put under water. I became a Sierra Club volunteer, and started the fight against Nescopeck Creek flooding.
Kara Holsopple – How did that happen?
Bonomo:It worked out well. We were able prevail and were able savor some beautiful bottomlands forest and a free-flowing stream of high-quality water. This was important as so much of the water in our anthracite region has been contaminated by coal mining.
We need to protect every drop of clean, fresh water we can find, as well the habitats that are streamside and in-stream that support it.
Holsopple: What are some of the other environmental successes that you’ve seen over your career?
Bonomo: I mean, there’s have been a lot. I would like to talk about some of the work that was done in Pennsylvania. It is really gratifying to have been part of the creation of the state’s Growing Greener programIt has saved a lot of land, both ecologically scenic and recreationally, over the years, and it has cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This money has also been used to do a lot in water quality restoration throughout the state.
The organization with which I was involved at the time, Western Pennsylvania ConservancyAlso, he was able do a lot tangible work on land preservation. I feel that the 17,000 acres we were able protect in western Pennsylvania during my time there is a tangible result, especially in relation to conservation in Pennsylvania.
Protecting NW Pennsylvania’s most pristine natural lakes requires constant vigilance
Holsopple: Could you mention some of the national successes that you’ve seen over the course of the last almost four decades?
Bonomo:Yes, my career has been brightened by national work. I like to think of my self as someone who was able sit at the table for some very important policy wins. We were able to, for example, get to the table early on. Reauthorize federal Clean Air Act.It was the first regulation of sulfur and other climate-polluting emissions, and the first to talk about alternative energy sources.
I was there when Chesapeake Bay was coined as a “a” twilight estuary.We thought we were witnessing a death of the bay. [I]The nation rallied around this bay in the early 1900s, and has continued to rally around other important estuaries ever since.
“We really did the work, the litigation and the planning that ultimately ended up in President Clinton’s forest plan protecting…what is remaining of the old-growth forests.”
Another piece of work that was truly meaningful to me was my time with the National Wildlife Federation. I was the senior staff member at the National Wildlife Federation in the Pacific Northwest during the height of the Great Depression. The controversy surrounding the spotted owl The fight for our ancient forests.
We really did the work, the litigation and the planning that ultimately ended up in President Clinton’s forest plan protecting what was remaining, what is remaining, of the old-growth forests in the United States and the myriad of species, some of them endangered, that go along with them. It was quite historic to have seen the good results and to have lived through it.
Holsopple, You got your start in 1980s. What are the major changes that have occurred in the environmental movement since your first days of work?
Bonomo: In the mid-’80s through around 1998, I was was working at the national level, and while environmental regulation was, you know, always a little unpopular, particularly among regulated entities, there was a lot more common ground among the general public among environmentalists, conservationists, hunters, anglers that really created a movement that was able to do a lot of really important things in the air and water space. Unfortunately, this broad-based coalition isn’t as strong today as it was.
“Here in Pennsylvania,… we spend a lot of time and energy appropriately defending those environmental victories that were so hard-fought and won back in the late ’70s and ’80s.
Particular divide in the country has fuelled a lot. It’s really slowed down a lot of forward momentum. Consequently, here in Pennsylvania in particular, we spend a lot of time and energy appropriately defending those environmental victories that were so hard-fought and won back in the late ’70s and ’80s victories in terms of addressing impacts from mining, for example, on our lands and water.
It’s been a fight to keep both those programs that protect those resources, and frankly, the agencies that are charged with protecting those resources, funded and able to do their job. That’s because theres anti-environmental sentiment in certain corners of the legislature and quarters of the legislature that control the pocketbooks. We spend a lot on defense.
Holsopple – How do you see this evolving or changing?
Bonomo: I think first and foremost that if there is any chance for the planet, particularly from a climate perspective and frankly, a better chance for building the economy of Pennsylvania, we’ve just got to grapple with our dependance on fossil fuels.
Although there has been some important work in recent years to accelerate that transition, we need to see proportionate investments in renewables, just as the taxpayer helps the fossil fuel industry.
It’s my sincere hope that a state like Pennsylvania with land resources and water resources that are so beloved, not only by people that visit our state as tourists coming here for outdoor recreation, but by the many, many Pennsylvanians who still love to paddle and love to angle and love to hunt and paddleboard and kayak, [they]They will help to defend the environment and build bridges.
And of course, we’ve got to spend a little bit of time acknowledging how important it’s going to continue to be to elevate the voices of communities that for so long have been overburdened by pollution impacts, largely our marginalized communities of color in proximity to so many industrial facilities that have exacted really negative tolls on both the well-being of those communities from not only a fabric of a community perspective but from a public health perspective.
Holsopple has been working in the environment for 37 years. I imagine it can feel sometimes like things aren’t improving quickly enough. How can you cope with discouragement at work?
Bonomo:I feel so lucky to have found work in something that was largely my passion and avocation. This privilege has fuelled my determination. And then the time that I have been able to spend in nature, you know, you understand how important nature is to our well-being and that it’s worth defending. This is what fuels my passion and energy.
I guess it’s probably fair to say that even though after 37 years of doing this work, I’m stepping down from my professional involvement, but kind of like once an advocate, always an advocate. You don’t leave that behind. So I’m going to continue to do my part, whatever that might look like once I’m off the payroll, let’s put it that way.
Jacquelyn Boronomo is the pPennFuture CEO and resident. She plans to retire in July.