Honorable Governor Youngkin & the Board,

These comments by Theodore Roosevelt, delivered on May 13, 1908 at the Conference on the Conservation of Natural Resources, reflected his visionary thinking about the need to preserve the natural world around us:

"Our nation has become great because of the lavish use of our resources, and we have just reason to be proud of our growth.  But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have been still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation.  These questions do not relate only to the next century or to the next generation.  It is time for us now as a nation to exercise the same reasonable foresight in dealing with our great natural resources that would be shown by any prudent man in conserving and widely using the property which contains the well-being for himself and his children."

As a member of the Republican Party, Roosevelt served as president from 1901 to 1909.  He had made huge and initial conservation efforts that were unprecedented in world history.  To be a conservative means to "conserve" or protect what we have.  My family has been Republican since the days of Theodore Roosevelt, many of them still are.  And, they have contributed to your campaign and to Republican causes within Virginia.  We would hope, as true conservatives, to set an example for others by protecting the environment within the borders of the commonwealth.  We trust that you would do so, as a conservative, by proudly announcing your support for remaining in RGGI. 

Thank you,

Mr. S.B. Preston