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Government and Public Administration

Political Lobbyist

Real-Life Activities

Real-Life Communication

Lobbyists do a lot of communicating in their work. In fact, their job is to persuade people. The only tools they have are their ability to speak and write with conviction and authority.

You are a lobbyist. You work on behalf of a wildlife protection organization that hopes to block the sale of 500,000 acres of public land in Alaska to an oil drilling company.

You have just been hired and will be flying to Washington later this week to begin your in-person lobbying efforts. But you want to let lawmakers know you will be coming and what your agenda is.

To do so, you draft a letter to all 535 members of Congress. You want to include the following facts:

  • The land is home to moose, deer, grizzly bears and more than 300 other species of wildlife, from rare insects to tree-dwelling possums.
  • Allowing drilling on the land will force wildlife to find new habitat, which will almost certainly increase contact with nearby human populations. Grizzly bear attacks may be the most dangerous example.
  • In the past decade, 1.8 million acres of Alaskan land have been taken out of public hands and given over to lumber companies and oil drilling enterprises.
  • A local effort to raise the $5 million needed to buy the land is underway. With more time, it may succeed.