EPA Report Highlights Clean Water Issues

WASHINGTON – As millions of American sportsmen head out their doors this fall – to rivers, streams, lakes, marshes and wetlands – they will rely on the federal Clean Water Act to protect habitats that sustain the fish, ducks and other aquatic resources key to our outdoor traditions.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a report that will guide development of a soon-to-be-released rule clarifying the federal Clean Water Act’s role in safeguarding the so-called “waters of the United States.” With this report and rulemaking, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers opened a new and welcome chapter on the issue, including the opportunity to resolve inconsistencies resulting from conflicting Supreme Court decisions concerning what constitutes the “waters of the United States” – and therefore which wetlands and streams the federal government has jurisdiction to regulate – and subsequent agency guidance.

According to the EPA, the report represents the state of the science on the connectivity and isolation of waters in the United States. Join prominent aquatic scientists who will discuss the report’s findings – as well as why the streams and wetlands at issue are so important to all Americans, especially hunters and anglers.

Who:

• Helen Neville, Research Scientist, Trout Unlimited

• Scott Yaich, Director of Conservation Programs, Ducks Unlimited

• Joy Zedler, Aldo Leopold Professor of Restoration Ecology, Botany Department and Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Moderator: Steve Moyer, Vice President for Government Affairs, Trout Unlimited

When: Thursday, Oct. 10, at 12 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. CDT/10 a.m. MDT/9 a.m. PDT

To join, call 800-311-9403 and enter access code “175716.”

RSVP to Katie McKalip at kmckalip@trcp.org or 406-240-9262.

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Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.