Dylan McDowell, CEO of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), describes how a nonpartisan network of state lawmakers from all 50 states shares environmental policy ideas across party lines. He explains that many legislators have little or no staff, that four states meet only every other year, and that New Mexico legislators are unpaid, which is why NCEL tracks 2,000 to 3,000 bills a year and offers short fact sheets and briefing books. He says data centers have become the dominant 2026 trend, with states in both parties looking at rate classes, siting, water use, and community agreements, and that outdoor access bills, including Georgia’s stewardship funding and Wyoming’s use of rural health funds, show bipartisan agreement. McDowell also says about 83% of state legislative seats are on the 2026 ballot, which means new committee chairs and a large class of new lawmakers in January, and that NCEL will launch a new name, logo, and website on November 9.

It is Election Day, and the people who write most of America’s environmental law are on the ballot. Dylan McDowell, CEO of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), joins Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds to explain the work of a nonpartisan network of state lawmakers, founded in 1996 by Maryland Delegate Leon Billings, a staff writer on the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in Congress. McDowell grew up in Yachats, Oregon, volunteered at the Oregon Coast Aquarium as a middle schooler, and found his way into policy through a university government relations office. He has now spent more than ten years at NCEL.

The conversation starts with how little support many state lawmakers have. Four states meet only every other year, New Mexico legislators are not paid, New Hampshire pays about $100 a year, and some legislators share one staffer among five members. NCEL acts as their remote environmental staff, with peer connections, expert briefings, short fact sheets and briefing books, and working groups. McDowell walks through how a good idea travels between statehouses, and what freshman legislators ask first (what have other states done?), with 83% of seats up this year. He then turns to the trends he is watching: data centers, which states are approaching as an energy, water, siting, and community-benefits question at once, and the surge of outdoor access, education, and funding bills, including Georgia’s outdoor gear sales tax funding and Wyoming’s use of rural health money. Along the way he talks about NCEL’s growing partnerships with local governments, and Anders and Bill trade Election Day picks for a wild animal to run the nation’s public lands.

The episode closes on what is changing for NCEL itself, a new name, logo, and website arriving November 9, and on McDowell’s message to listeners: state lawmakers are accessible, and they want to hear from the people they represent.

In this episode:

• Election Day and the animal vote Bill and Anders pick wild candidates for public lands, from turkey vultures to honeybees, and Anders opens a new Nerd Word of the Day, “pyrrhic.”
• How NCEL began Leon Billings, a Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act staff writer who became a Maryland delegate, started an informal network of state legislators in 1996.
• Lawmakers with little staff Biennial sessions, unpaid or nearly unpaid legislators, and a handful of well-resourced states; why NCEL is described as legislators’ remote environmental staff.
• Short, usable resources Why NCEL fact sheets and briefing books are built so a legislator can read one page before a committee hearing.
• A new class of lawmakers About 83% of state legislative seats are up in 2026, with leadership turnover expected and new members asking what other states have done.
• How ideas move between states Bill tracking, state leads, regional events, a national forum with more than 200 lawmakers, and issue working groups.
• Data centers as an environmental issue Rate classes, siting, water use, drought, and community agreements, and why red and blue states are working on it at the same time.
• Outdoors bills and funding More than 300 outdoors bills in 2025 and more than 200 in 2026, Georgia and Wyoming funding moves, and the link to children’s health and screen time.
• Local and state partnerships NCEL’s work with groups such as ICLEI and Climate Mayors, and why state and local implementation matters.
• A new name on November 9 A rebrand with a new logo and website, with the mission unchanged.

Links & Resources

Organizations & Initiatives:

• National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) — Nonpartisan network of state legislators founded in 1996 and focused on environmental policy. https://www.ncelenviro.org/about 
• NCEL Working Groups — Issue-focused groups that let state legislators go deeper on specific topics. https://www.ncelenviro.org/working-groups
• Nature and Health Alliance — Network of researchers sharing evidence on nature and health, which shares a fellow with NCEL. https://natureandhealthalliance.org/
• Trust for Public Land 10-Minute Walk campaign — Campaign with NRPA and ULI to put a park within a 10-minute walk of every person. https://10minutewalk.org/
• Oregon Coast Aquarium — Newport, Oregon aquarium where McDowell volunteered from middle school through high school. https://aquarium.org/
• Hatfield Marine Science Center — Oregon State University’s coastal marine science campus, where McDowell interned. https://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/
• Wild Idea Buffalo Company — South Dakota bison company mentioned in the episode’s Coming Up segment. https://www.wildideabuffalo.com/

Government & Policy:

• Wyoming H.B. 0122 (2026) — Wyoming law directing part of its federal rural health funding toward outdoor recreation and preventive health. https://wyoleg.gov/2026/Engross/HB0122.pdf
• Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act — Federal laws on which NCEL founder Leon Billings worked as a congressional staff writer.

Places & Landscapes:

• Yachats, Oregon — McDowell’s hometown on the central Oregon coast.
• Highway 101 between Yachats and Florence — Stretch of coast highway McDowell describes, including Heceta Head Lighthouse and Strawberry Hill.

People Mentioned:

• Leon Billings — Maryland delegate and former congressional staffer who founded NCEL in 1996.
• Ken Helm — Oregon state representative and Water Caucus leader whom McDowell names among departing committee leaders.
• Carrie Besnette Hauser and Pooja Tandon — Trust for Public Land leader and pediatric researcher. Catch our conversation with them in Ep 53. https://thewildidea.com/episode-53/

Dylan McDowell is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), a nonpartisan network of over 1,400 state lawmakers from all 50 states committed to advancing strong environmental policy. Over more than a decade with NCEL, Dylan has helped evolve the organization into a leading resource for state-level environmental action. Dylan is a trusted voice on state policy trends and works regularly with philanthropic organizations, stakeholder networks, and the media to elevate state leadership on environmental issues.

This episode of The Wild Idea is sponsored by The Wilderness Society. 

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