Challenge:

Did you know that nine out of every 10 fish caught by American recreational anglers are dependent on wetlands at some stage of their life cycles? Did you know that 5 to 7 million waterfowl depend on wetlands such as the prairie pothole region? America loses an average of 100,000 acres of natural wetlands per year to draining and development projects. This trend will continue and likely accelerate due to weakened federal protections for wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

Strategy:

The TRCP and a coalition of sportsman organizations on our Wetlands and Clean Water Working Group are organizing an education campaign to generate support for restoring protections that have been lost for our nation’s wetlands, streams, lakes and headwaters. While legislative action is required to permanently fix this problem, we also support meaningful administrative actions that can provide guidance as to exactly what waters are protected.

Action:

Our coalition believes that legislation is the best solution to address wetland losses and will provide the most clarity to landowners. With the ongoing loss of more than 100,000 acres of wetlands each year, however, we simply cannot wait on congressional leadership to address this issue. Immediate action is needed. In 2011, we are looking to the administration to commit to addressing these problems by initiating a new rule-making process. It’s time President Obama fulfills his campaign promise to amend the Clean Water Act and clarify that it protects isolated wetlands. We need to support clean water and science-based efforts to safeguard America’s waters with the interests of landowners in mind.

The TRCP will be engaging sportsmen from all across the country to support this important effort and weigh in with substantive comments during the administrative rule-making process. 

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