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Advocates Unite to Protect America’s Great Waters
Water advocates came together in Washington D.C. to unite behind a new approach to protecting America’s Great Waters. Local, regional and national groups combined their political strength by endorsing a new pledge modeled after the NATO strategy, whereby an attack on the restoration and protection of one Great Water is an attack on all Great Waters.
Iconic waters, like the Chesapeake Bay and the Everglades, provide jobs, food, drinking water, transportation, power, recreation and wildlife habitat. They also provide a sense of regional and national identity for many Americans. Members of the Great Waters Coalition traveled from all over the country to reach out to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Water advocates spoke out about how extreme budget cuts to restoration funding and harmful policy riders are placing vital water resources at risk, as well as the people and wildlife that depend on them. Great Waters Coalition members also met with water champions, like Great Lakes lawmaker Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who are also committed to protecting our precious national resources.
“We need to hold government accountable to reduce our debt, but abandoning clean water protection and putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy is shortsighted and wrong,” Sen. Stabenow said.
“America’s Great Waters are essential to our nation’s growth and prosperity, providing not only drinking water but valuable jobs to millions of Americans,” said Malia Hale, co-chair for the America’s Great Waters Coalition and director for national restoration and water resources at the National Wildlife Federation. “For example, a recent study by the Brookings Institution found that restoring the Great Lakes will bring the eight-state region at least $2 in economic benefits for every $1 of federal investment.”
More than 75 local, regional and national organizations speak with a united voice as part of America’s Great Waters Coalition. Click here to find out more about the coalition partners and the important work that they do.
