Among other things, the RESTORE Act created the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which is a multi-state, multi-agency group that has been tasked with developing a comprehensive ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf. The Council is currently developing the plan, with a draft due for public comment this spring.

The Vanishing Paradise team is working to make sure the Council remembers the national hunting and fishing community was at the forefront of the efforts to pass the RESTORE Act, and we intend to see this through.

Our message to the Council is simple. We believe habitat restoration can drive and support economic recovery. The people, businesses, communities and economy of this region are undeniably reliant upon a healthy and productive Gulf, and ecosystem restoration should be the top priority in drafting and finalizing the Council’s comprehensive restoration plan.

This message will be delivered to the Restoration Council in the form of a letter that carries the signatures of roughly 350 hunting and angling businesses and organizations that believe investments in long-term ecosystem restoration will drive economic prosperity in the Gulf Coast region.

As the Council considers how best to “restore and protect the natural resources, ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches and coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast region,” we believe that they should engage the hunting and fishing community to ensure that their restoration plan reflects the interests and values of our country’s hunters and anglers.

Following up on this letter, we’ll be meeting with the Restoration Council early next month. We will deliver the message that sportsmen and women are paying attention, but more importantly we will also discuss a list of recommendations on restoration project selection, implementation and monitoring.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are some of the most important habitats American hunters and anglers will ever know. The sad truth is that this American treasure is disappearing before our eyes.

The future of the Mississippi River Delta has long been challenged by a severed connection between the river and its wetlands. Hurricanes that destroy our marshes made us famous. More recently the Gulf of Mexico was thrown another curveball, the 2010 oil spill.

The unprecedented release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf has caused near-term impacts to the fishery, coastal habitat and thousands of people’s livelihoods. It may cause significant long-term damage to the Gulf, affecting sportsmen and women throughout the country that rely on a healthy Gulf coast that serves as wintering grounds for nearly 10 million waterfowl and one of the absolute best fisheries in our country.

We all take something different from the field. Whether it’s an exciting adventure chasing the trophy of a lifetime, a quiet day at your favorite fishing hole or some good old-fashioned quality time with your grandkids.

Hunters and anglers rarely agree on everything, but there is a fundamental connection between people who hunt and fish. No matter what our goals or interests are, we all depend on quality habitat to enjoy our passion. It sounds simple, and it is. At the end of the day, despite all of our opinions, preferences and predispositions, the key to quality hunting and fishing opportunities all comes down to productive habitat.

That’s why sportsmen and women must be involved in the development of the Council’s restoration plan. Investments in projects that restore healthy and productive habitat mean a future full of quality hunting and angling opportunities. If the wild spaces of the Gulf region are protected and restored, sportsmen and women will have played an essential role in saving one of America’s last best places.

A legacy to be proud of indeed.

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund

Many of North Americans’ favorite fish—rainbow trout, smelt, striped bass, bonefish,  scamp, Alabama cavefish, snapper, black grouper, yellow perch, blackspotted stickleback, flounder, monkfish, and gefilte, to name a few—will be at risk if the sequester budget cuts go into effect. National Wildlife Federation’s four million members love to fish. And fishing and hunting are on the rise: according to the 2011 national survey released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, there has been a 9% increase in hunters and an 11% increased in anglers over the last five years.

Protect America’s fishing legacy!
Photo: Colorado Division of Wildlife

The WSFR exists thanks to two pieces of legislation: the 1937 Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which put an excise tax on sporting guns and ammunition in order to fund wildlife restoration, and the 1950 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act, which applied the same principle to fisheries restoration. Together, the two funds offer one of the most successful examples of the “user pay/user benefit” principle: the funds come entirely from a modest excise tax on fishing and hunting equipment, and are distributed to states by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be used for conservation projects that enhance wildlife recreation and hunting and fishing opportunities.  Nevertheless, these funds already reserved for conservation will be subject to deep and catastrophic cuts under sequestration.

A Legacy of Conservation

The WSFR has had perhaps more impact than any other single conservation program. The flexible distribution of the funds means that states have considerable agency in deciding how best to use them, and WSFR has been used for an incredible variety of conservation programs. Over the past 75 years, it has helped restore countless wildlife populations and habitats, supported outdoor recreation and education program, and assisted states in acquiring delicate wetlands.

In 2012, the WSFR gave out about $720 million to states for conservation and restoration programs, funding that is crucial to the day-to-day operation of state fish and wildlife agencies.

Under sequestration, however, spending by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund will be cut by a total of $65 million—funds that would otherwise go towards restoring critical wildlife habitats and fisheries.

What is more, the continued funding of sportsmen-valued programs like the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program is incredibly important to our economy:  in 2011, over 37 million hunters and anglers spent $90 billion in recreational expenditures nationwide.  The recent sportsmen’s poll released by National Wildlife Federation showed that, regardless of political affiliation, America’s sportsmen are committed to conservation programs like WSFR.

At a time when climate change was almost completely absent from the presidential election , it is more important than ever to fight for the crucial conservation programs we rely on to protect wildlife for our children’s future. Click on the button to contact your Senators and Representatives today to let them know that sequestration will have a huge impact on the conservation programs you care about, and urge them to work towards a balanced approach to raise revenue, reduce the deficit, and prevent these cuts. 

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the National Wildlife Federation asked you to share your ‘fishable’ photos and your stories about why clean water and fishing matter to you and your family. We had a wonderful response – a testament to the joy of being on the water. Here we celebrate our fishable waters by sharing with you just a few of the highlights.

You can peruse all of the NWF “fish-tales” photos here

Our celebration also spawned a few more in-depth and inspiring fish tales: Montana Sushi Girl, Fishing the Nottoway: A Clean Water Blessing, Hunters and Anglers Favor Restoring Clean Water Act Protections for Wetlands and Streams, and The Clean Water Act: Up Close and Personal.

The River Runs Through It

“Fish On!” shared this classic “River Runs Through It” fish pic capturing the serenity of fishing Alaska’s Russian River…

and his nice Russian River “Sockeye Salmon” catch! He inspires us with his call: “Let’s keep our waters clean and streams and rivers protected with a strong Clean Water Act so my son’s children can also enjoy the bounty our fresh water resources have to offer!”

Bass are Big in the Heartland!

Kristi Pupak, 23, grew up outside of Milwaukee and moved to Jamestown, Kentucky to work at a national fish hatchery. Working to educate others about how natural environments function, fishing has been the one constant in her life that has kept her balanced. “I’m passionate about fish, their habitat, behavior, and how to catch them. I’ve had this obsession all my life.” Fishing in Wisconsin waters for most of her life, and as a recent resident of Kentucky, has taught her a few things about different fishing techniques. A visit to Wisconsin this past summer led to an 18” largemouth bass caught in Washington County.

G-lyn’s neice caught this largemouth bass while fishing by herself at her uncle’s farm in Oklahoma. It was the biggest freshwater fish she had ever caught and she was so excited. She called her dad out to help her take it off the hook and got some great pictures. She would not have been able to have this experience without the clean water necessary for fish to thrive.

Fishing the Waccamaw, River to Bay

Thanks to the Waccamaw Riverkeeper for these Waccamaw fish tales from river to bay. “Fishing from the Bank” by Bill Gobbel shows an angler fishing from the banks of the Waccamaw River near Conway, South Carolina for redbreast to take home to the family. Redbreast is a local favorite.

Downstream, the Waccamaw flows into Winyah Bay near Georgetown, South Carolina, where Jay Preslar captured a mighty big tarpon in his “Tarpon Tales” photo. Tarpon fishing in Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina’s Grand Strand is a fun way to spend an afternoon. Keeping our water clean and healthy supports healthy fish populations, fun recreation and a healthy economy.

Fishable Waters for the Kids!

Fishing is great fun for kids, and we need to “hook ‘em” young so that they learn to love the waters and protect them for generations to come!

“K fishing” shows the West Branch of Perkiomen Creek in southeast PA — the first place this handsome man ever fished! It’s certainly not fit for boating at this point, but there’s no question that it’s an important water worth protecting, just like the even smaller streams that feed it and the nearby wetlands that keep pollution from getting into it.

And, from “Swamp Doc”…you gotta love it: Little Hank immersed in the fishing experience from head to toe!

So, Happy 40^th Birthday, Clean Water Act! Here’s to 40 more years of clean water and great fish tales!

Brown Trout. Flickr photo by Tony Warelius

Among other things, like the sublime experience of nature’s solitude and the ability to slow down and collect my thoughts miles away from the frenetic pace of daily life, I realized there was something else that was escaping my awareness during my fishing experience. It was perhaps the most important ingredient that makes my passionate hobby all possible and I was constantly looking at it but never really seeing it-clean water and healthy aquatic habitats. Sure, I could read water and determine the most likely places where the fish would be, but mostly I was looking through the water and past it, as if it was somehow separate from the fish it supported. And, ironically, at that point I had already spent a significant amount of time in a professional career advocating for national policy changes that would clean up this country’s threatened water resources. So it took some time to appreciate much larger considerations about the sport of fishing, its important connection to the world of public policy in which I was deeply and personally immersed, and the most important pillar upon which all aquatic species rely: the Clean Water Act.

Clean Water Act Successes

So as we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of this historic federal environmental law this week, I’m thankful it didn’t take me until my golden years to connect all the dots. Since its enactment in 1972, the Clean Water Act has resuscitated thousands of waterways across the country; in many cases bringing them back from their deathbeds. Prior to 1972, many of our rivers and streams were little more than open sewers, receptacles for untreated chemical and biological pollutants that suffocated and defiled them to such a degree that they held little to no life.

The beautiful Snake River in Wyoming. Flickr photo by Bala Sivakumar

The speed at which the Act aided in the recovery of the nation’s waterways was breathtaking. You’d have to look long and hard to find another national law that triggered these types of sweeping changes in such a short period of time. For the first time in the country’s history, strict limits were placed on the direct discharge of pollutants from factories and sewage plants into our waterways. As importantly, the Act created mechanisms to control the destructive impacts of explosive and poorly planned land development that destroyed wetlands and streams and sent massive loads of sediment and nutrient pollution into waterways choking out critical fish spawning habitat, depleting oxygen content to lethal levels for many aquatic species, and threatening the nation’s public drinking water supplies. Beyond that, the Act was also truly visionary.

Before it was fully understood in public policy circles and among many in the scientific community that addressing pollution concerns in rivers and streams required a comprehensive and holistic approach, the Act provided opportunities to control all sources of pollution at a watershed level. This is an experiment that is now unfolding in the Chesapeake Bay and possibly the only approach that will save one of this country’s most treasured great waters.  Decades of implementation of the Act’s key provisions has lead to new and innovative approaches and smarter thinking about ways to address water pollution and has spurred a national discourse about the economic benefits of clean water.

Study after study now reveals what most of us intuitively knew for many years, clean water plays a vital role in economic health, a lesson that could not be timelier in these days of dire fiscal challenges.  For these reasons the Clean Water Act, forty years later, continues to be a shining example of brilliant public policy that protects people, communities, wildlife, and the economy. And when I find fish these days, I’m thinking about a lot more than just catching them.

If you care about clean water and would like future generations to have fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters, take action and help restore clean water today! Also, please participate in our social media actions TODAY.

My Dad and I were fishing the Nottoway River in Virginia a few years ago, a river I grew up on and now protect as a Riverkeeper. We had fished all morning and caught a few fish, but were about one fish short of having enough for the whole family. We could not fish any longer as my Dad and I both had obligations that afternoon.

Disappointed, we were not going to have enough fish to eat later that night, I said: “Well, we came close to getting enough to eat, but I guess we’ll have to let these go barring a miracle from above.”

An osprey clutches its prey. Flickr photo by Bill Weaver.

Just as I was reaching into the live well to grab the first fish to throw back, there was a large splash beside the boat only four feet away. My dad, startled, said “WOW, what was that?!” I looked and there was a nice eating-size largemouth bass floating beside us. We then heard this big SWOOSH SWOOSH sound and looked up to see an osprey (which you don’t see often on my rivers) gaining altitude straight over our heads. I looked at my dad in disbelief and said, “That osprey just nearly dropped that fish right in the boat.” We dipped up the fish and it was still fresh and in one piece; it was the perfect fish to fill out our catch so we could feed the family.

“Well,” my Dad said, “there is your miracle from above.”

I now have a tattoo on my arm (my only tattoo) of an osprey, and the local Nottoway Indians call me Fish Hawk and say that the Great Spirit blessed us with that fish that day for looking after the river that bears their name, the River we call Nottoway.

Help Protect Clean Water!

Join hunters, anglers, and conservationists in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act! Speak out for clean water on Facebook and Twitter, and take action now to restore Clean Water Act protections for wetlands, lakes, and streams!

Jeff Turner was born and raised in the Southampton County area and has lived there all his life. Turner has camped and fished on the Blackwater & Nottoway Rivers all his life. Jeff works with state and local agencies to protect and enhance the watershed and is often sought out by these agencies for his intimate knowledge of the rivers. He currently sits on the Virginia Mercury Advisory Board, The Chowan Basin Flood Study Committee, the Albemarle Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) CAC committee and the International Paper CAC committee. In 2008 Jeff he won national recognition by winning runner-up in the Volvo Hometown Hero’s Volvo For Life Award winning $25,000 for the Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is pushing for a new approach to restoring salmon to Northwestern rivers and streams. Photo by U.S. FWS.

Please add your support today with a message to decision-makers. Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

With thirteen salmon and steelhead populations—and thousands of salmon-related jobs—at risk, twenty years of litigation over failed federal salmon plans, and more than $10 billion spent, the governor is proposing a different path forward. He is advocating a stakeholder-driven process to develop a plan that restores salmon and steelhead, creates jobs, invests in regional communities, and reduces the persistent uncertainty facing many businesses in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

A Stakeholder-Driven Process Might be Salmon’s Best Hope

Governor Kitzhaber thinks that the establishment of an inclusive stakeholder process may be the best way to craft a comprehensive, long-term salmon plan that works for both salmon and people. And he is asking other elected leaders in the Northwest and in Washington, D.C., to join him in making it a reality.

The governor published an op-ed on Sept 22nd in which he said, “By gathering the parties around a table, and working in good faith to reach common ground on a fisheries plan that is supported by sound science, we can come to the 2014 [court-ordered] deadline with a historic agreement that ends the 20-year chapter of salmon wars in the Columbia basin, an agreement that protects fish while maintaining our supply of clean and affordable energy.

While Governor Kitzhaber’s recent push is highly visible, he is not alone in seeking a new path forward. Tens of thousands of citizens, more than a thousand businesses, and scores of state and federal lawmakers have expressed similar support for a new approach that brings together the affected interests in the region to work together on an effective, science-based plan that restores Columbia Basin salmon and invests in Northwest communities and the economy.

Learn more about this “solutions table” for Columbia-Snake salmon.

Restoration Plans Mired in the Political Muck

For many years, efforts to restore salmon to this important watershed have proven both elusive and contentious. National Wildlife Federation initiated litigation in the early 1990s, following the listing of Snake River sockeye salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since then, twelve additional stocks of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin have been listed as threatened or endangered, and four of five federal plans developed by the federal government have been rejected as inadequate by the courts, most recently in 2011.

Commercial, sport, and tribal fishing communities and outdoor retail companies have been hit particularly hard by constrained fisheries and limited recreational opportunities and the loss of jobs and income caused by salmon population declines. Recovering salmon and steelhead to healthy, harvestable populations will restore thousands of jobs in the region’s salmon economy that have been lost in the last several decades. The development of an effective, science-based plan that has the support of the region’s leaders and stakeholders will increase certainty and help Northwest businesses and communities plan successfully for the future.

The question of whether to remove the lower Snake River dams in order to protect an irreplaceable Northwest icon has long been at the center of the debate on restoring salmon. Hundreds of fisheries biologists, including the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), and dozens of studies have concluded that the removal of the lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington must be part of any effective Columbia Basin restoration plan. Today, all remaining stocks in the Snake River—sockeye, steelhead, fall Chinook, and spring-summer Chinook—are listed under the ESA.

The Impacts of Climate Change also Hamper Recovery

Steadily rising water temperatures in the Columbia and Snake Rivers as a result of a warming climate and dam-restricted flow are increasing the scrutiny of these dams. Water temperatures in the lower Snake and lower Columbia exceeded 70 degrees for much of this summer—frequently violating Clean Water Act standards and harming salmon and steelhead migrating to and from the ocean.

A free-flowing lower Snake River would significantly lower water temperatures in both the Snake and Columbia rivers, and reconnect Snake River fish to pristine habitat in the mountains of central Idaho, in places like the Salmon River and Redfish Lake. Many of these high elevation refuges—though largely inaccessible for salmon today—are being called the Noah’s Ark for salmon in a world of climate change. Many of these areas remain cold and snowy for much of the year, and thus provide salmon the cold, clear water that they depend upon.

Restoring wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers remains an essential job and shared goal for the people of the Northwest and the nation. These fish represent critical threads in the Northwest’s economic, ecological, and cultural fabric: feeding ecosystems and people, sustaining jobs and ways of life.

With so much at stake, salmon and fishing advocates enthusiastically welcome Governor Kitzhaber’s call for a new approach, for a coming together of both allies and adversaries, to begin repairing what is broken in the Columbia Basin, in a manner that works for both salmon and people.

You can add your voice by taking action today: Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

Fly fishing on Catawaba. Photo by Tony Robinson.

I’m never happier than when my waders are wet. Short of the smiles on my grand children’s faces there is nothing in the world that lights me up like the iridescent color of a brook trout brought to hand in a North Carolina mountain stream, the shimmer of water that cascades from a largemouth bass blowing up on a popping bug or a group of pintails descending on a spread of decoys.

Good Fishing and Clean Water Go Hand in Hand

These are the moments in life I live for. Over a period of half a century I have spent more time and money than I care to admit trying to make the places these animals live better for them and for sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts who care about them. Working on wildlife issues has been a terrific journey that taught me that what is good for wildlife habitats is good for people and the American economy. The last half century has been good for wildlife and water quality. With pictures of rivers burning on TV, Congress took action and in a show of bipartisan support passed The Clean Water Act of 1972. Since that time water quality has dramatically improved in America and fishery and wildlife habitat followed suit.

Unfortunately, after driving clean water initiatives for forty years the Clean Water Act is under attack by polluters, developers and decision makers who are in their pocket. Over the last few years there has been an organized effort in Washington D.C. and in the courts to roll back clean water protections. These efforts are aimed at headwater streams and wetlands.

Bass fishing on Phelps Lake—one of the only three or four natural lakes in the state.

Sportsmen and women of North Carolina and nationwide support the Administration’s initiative to restore Clean Water Act protections for these vulnerable waters, and we urge the President to follow through and finalize this initiative. In this terribly fractious election year, it is worth noting that poll after poll shows that a strong majority of Americans support strong federal Clean Water Act protections in order to ensure clean water for all. In the September national sportsmens’ poll, 79 percent of likely voters of all political affiliations said that they favor restoring Clean Water Act protections to wetlands and waterways, including smaller creeks and streams.

Celebrate Clean Water: Share Your Fish Tales

The Clean Water Act turns 40 this October. Let’s celebrate clean water and good fishing by reminding our elected leaders that anglers, boaters, hunters, and wildlife advocates support clean water and healthy habitat for wildlife, for people, and for the economy.

*For a bit of fishing fun, join me in celebrating clean water by sharing your fish tale with us on-line*

G. Richard Mode serves as the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) Affiliate Representative to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and NWF Outreach Coordinator in North Carolina. He was the founding President of the local Table Rock Chapter for Trout Unlimited (TU) and served as the President and Chairman of the Board of National TU. Among his achievements he was honored as the 2007 Budweiser/National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Conservationist of the Year. For years, Richard’s goal has been to bring American hunters, anglers, and wildlife enthusiasts to the public policy decision table to protect the special places and wildlife resources in America.

The Delacroix Island where my grandfather was raised will never exist again. I’m okay with that. I’ve come to terms with it. I love Delacroix for what it is now, and that’s exactly why I went there on Sunday to survey the damage after Hurricane Isaac’s storm surge flooded the area last week.

Delacroix is situated about an hour’s drive outside New Orleans on Bayou Terre-aux-Boeufs in St. Bernard Parish (map). My Spanish and French ancestors settled there in the early 1800s, and I feel a deep connection to the place. I go down there often to experience the bounty of nature while hunting and fishing.

A pelican wounded during the storm sits helplessly on a ridge of destroyed marsh.

My last trip to Delacroix was on the Monday before Isaac struck. As its tropical storm force winds began to swing their way into the coast, I snuck in a pretty decent fishing trip that yielded an ice chest full of redfish. Everything was very alive on that day. The golden-green marsh grass swayed in the wind, mottled ducks called back and forth to each other, and bait fish and blue crabs scurried in and out of the submerged aquatic vegetation. I took it all in, but in the back of my mind I feared the worst and hoped for the best.

I waited out the storm at a friend’s house in New Orleans. After hearing the news that the town of Braithwaite in Plaquemines Parish was flooded by a surge of up to 12 feet, I knew that Delacroix would have taken a major hit. I decided that as soon as the water went down I would make a trip to survey the damage.

Fishing lodge owner Joe Guinta cleans up after Isaac’s surge, a thick layer of mud below his feet.

A large tree washed up onto the docks of this boat shed.

When I turned from the main bayou out into the marsh, the smell of dead fish and stale marsh mud hit me like a freight train. Chunks of land had been picked up and moved to open water. Small trees and brush were toppled over one another and the once green marsh grass all blended together in a wasteland of grey. This is to be expected when a major surge of saltwater passes over a brackish marsh, but it still stings when you see it.

All of the submerged aquatic vegetation that once covered the shallow ponds was washed up and killed by the surge. These plants are important to the ecosystem. They provide shelter for small fish and crabs, and their seeds are food for waterfowl.

After seeing all the destruction to the marsh it was a sweet relief to land the fish.

We toured the marsh until the scene had left a lasting impression. The verdict was that the marsh took a big hit with Hurricane Isaac—similar to the effects felt after Hurricane Katrina, but not nearly as bad. Vital marsh land will be lost, and I’m sure satellite imagery from before and after Isaac will reveal approximately how much. What hurts more is that we have once again lost more of our natural protection from storm surge. Most of us were spared as the federal levee system did its job to protect communities, but other areas were not as fortunate as the floodwater inundated areas outside the federal levees. Many citizens must once again consider their plans to rebuild.

Now that Isaac has passed, it is time to get to work putting the pieces back together here in the Mississippi River Delta. As we tackle the challenge before us, I hope the rest of the country takes note of our plight, but there is no need to feel sorry for us. We choose to be here. We know that sustaining our unique culture and way of life is directly tied to how we manage this dynamic landscape.

We now have a comprehensive, scientifically-sound plan to restore our coast, the 2012 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. With funding we can begin major projects that will build land and protect our communities.

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking input until Thursday on an important project that will restore wetlands and help protect  communities from hurricanes. Make your voice heard!

My Daughter, Cidney, with her first fish

I love this little girl.

Celebrating Clean Water

This month we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, which was signed into law in 1972 with strong bipartisan support to protect waters and wetlands that are vital to people and wildlife. This particular piece of legislation is special to me.  It works to ensure that my daughter will be able catch and eat blue-ribbon trout with her children just 30 minutes from the urban sprawl of Missoula. It is also special because my friend and mentor, Jim Range, contributed to the writing and passage of the Clean Water Act while working for Senator Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), the Senate Majority Leader at the time. While Jim has unfortunately passed on, the image of him casting into the fading sunlight on the Missouri River, a river he helped protect, will always be etched in my memory.

The National Wildlife Federation has played a key role in this great conservation win, mobilizing members and our affiliates to support and defend the Clean Water Act for all of its 40 years. I couldn’t be more proud of our efforts and countless other hunters and anglers from across the country who have made clean water a priority. Our rivers are no longer burning and no longer smelling of odors so foul you’d be crazy to so much as dip a toe in them. This is quite a success story. Sadly, too many take this success for granted. For years now, the Clean Water Act has been under attack in Washington D.C. and across the country. We are losing Clean Water Act protections for streams, lakes, and wetlands. Despite the great strides we have made, some of the most important habitats for fish and wildlife are now at risk.

Share Your Fish Tales

My daughter and I fishing on Rock Creek

Here’s the idea: post your fish photos and stories in support of clean water on our “fish-tales” Flickr group. Now, if your photos are anything like my mine, you’ve got plenty of happily “gripping and grinning” shots with big fish. But don’t feel limited to just your greatest catch—submit photos of the water body your fish came from, and pictures of your child’s first fishing experience, and other fishing memories. Send along your short fish tale and describe why clean water matters to you.

My daughter turned four this year and caught her first fish. Well, let’s say the fish caught her. Her smile says it all. Let us celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and know that when its upheld and made stronger that a whole new generation of Montana “Sushi Girls” are waiting in the wings, counting on us to provide them with the same opportunities my daughter has today.

Join me in standing up for Mountain Heroes–add your photo to the petition.

Stand in Solidarity with Mountain Heroes

Join me today in standing in solidarity with Mountain Heroes — add your photo and words of support to the online photo petition hosted by our friends at Earthjustice.

The heroes fighting for the mountains they know and love are asking us to stand with them against mountaintop removal mining and for a better way forward by joining the Mountain Heroes petition.

Mountains & Wildlife Destroyed

As I stood with local activists in the Coal River Mountain Valley, they pointed to the nearest mountain ridge and explained that hidden just beyond it were vast expanses of destruction.

The rich forests and streams where my new friends grew up exploring, searching for ginseng, and fishing were gone–replaced with rubble that resembled a moonscape.

The forests and streams of central Appalachia are abundant with diverse plants and wildlife–bears, coyotes, foxes, owls, Wild Turkeys, salamanders, trout and colorful darters. But, coal companies are blasting vast mountain ranges and dumping the rubble into huge valleys, destroying forests and communities. Coal processing plants are spreading coal dust and endangering the lives of everyone living in the valleys below the massive toxic slurry ponds, built with earthen dams that have collapsed with deadly consequences.

Join the Struggle Against Mountaintop Removal

Seeing the contrast from rich wildlife habitat to wasteland while visiting the struggling communities kept poor by “King Coal” is unlike anything I’ve seen before or since. Yet, people fighting for their homes and mountains are undaunted. They continue the struggle against wealthy coal companies and their massive tools of destruction.

Show your solidarity with Mountain Heroes against mountaintop removal and for clean energy.