This Week’s Trend: Water and Wildlife

Photo donated by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Sandra Rothenberg
Clean water is important for all: wildlife, habitats, and communities. Therefore, we are excited to see lots of positive action about water this week! Let’s dive into the latest news:

NWF’s Lawsuit Win for Clean Water

In a unanimous 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. EPA failed its responsibility under the Clean Water Act to protect U.S. waters from aquatic invasive species introduced by ballast water discharge. Ballast water invaders cost citizens, businesses, industry, and municipalities billions of dollars annually due to damages and control costs.  Now, the EPA must go back to the drawing board and craft a permit that protects U.S. waters from this serious threat. Read more by clicking on the link below:

Grant to Help Chesapeake Bay Area

The Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the recipients of a record $11.5 million in grants for restoration, conservation and environmental outreach across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  This announcement was held at Peace Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD, where we broke ground to help improve the storm water runoff management. By building more resilient communities, we will also improve local watersheds.

New Marine Sanctuaries Announced

During the 2015 Our Ocean Conference, President Obama announced that, for the first time since 2000, two new national marine sanctuaries have been identified for possible designation under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. These include an 875-square mile area of Lake Michigan and a 14-square mile area of the Potomac River. If both are approved, this will demonstrate a new approach to marine sanctuary designations, allowing communities to speak out about valuable coastal and marine areas. The public is invited to submit comments until January 15.

Step Towards Gulf Restoration

The federal government released nearly 2,000 pages of legal and scientific documents relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Monday. These documents outline steps forward for restoration and include previously unreleased information on the impacts of the oil spill. Learn more:

Button-Join-in-on-Twitter-2015_175x26Stay on the lookout for more water and wildlife related news by following @NWF on Twitter!

Make a splash for wildlife and clean water today. Photo donated by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Jose Francisco Mingorance

The images used in this blog were submitted by past participants in National Wildlife® Photo Contest.