Two Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are pressing Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to include a special program for natural resources in a sweeping energy and climate bill.

Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have prepared legislative language that would establish a national adaptation strategy and wildlife strategy center and set aside some revenue generated by the cap-and-trade program for adaptation.

Adaptation programs are a major issue for environmental and outdoors groups. They want climate legislation to include a robust plan to help government agencies monitor and prepare for the effects of climate change on habitat and wildlife and local economies that hinge on outdoor activities.

"What is important is this very clearly flags that Baucus and Whitehouse think this is an essential part of the cap-and-trade bill, that is pretty important," said Bob Dreher, senior vice president for climate change and conservation law at Defenders of Wildlife. "There has been some controversy about whether various stakeholders deserve special funding, and this sends a strong signal that they think natural resources adaptation is an essential part of the response; that is a very good thing."

The letter sent by Baucus on Friday lends a powerful voice to the issue. As the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the most senior Democrat on Boxer's committee -- he chaired the panel from 1993 to 1995 -- Baucus is positioned to play a major role in the climate debate. The six-term senator is a leading centrist Democrat with a voice that resonates in the leadership ranks.

Baucus has also staked a claim on the climate bill as part of his Finance Committee chairmanship. Both his panel and the Environment and Public Works Committee have asserted some jurisdiction over the distribution of what is projected to be hundreds of billions of dollars in emission allowances for a range of industries, adding another layer of complexity to a legislative debate already rife with trapdoors (E&E Daily, Aug. 7).

The letter highlights natural resource adaptation as a shared concern for Baucus and Whitehouse, outlining potential problems from climate change in each of their states: thinner snowpack in Montana and harm to the fishing industry off the shores of Rhode Island.

The proposed language is similar to a placeholder bill that Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) introduced on the House side last year. Some elements of that language made it into the climate and energy bill the House approved earlier this summer.

The proposal from Baucus and Whitehouse says some of the profits from the cap-and-trade system must be set aside for natural resources adaptation. The House bill makes the funding more optional, since it would have to go through the appropriations process.