Press RoomPress ReleaseFor Immediate Release
January 13, 2006
For more information contact:
George Cooper, (202) 508-3421 Leading Conservation Organizations Weigh In On Crucial Supreme Court Wetlands Case
TRCP Joins Amicus Arguing For Clean Water Act ProtectionJanuary 13, 2006 – Washington DC – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) along with several of its partner organizations and other leading national groups and outdoor businesses joined an amicus brief filed today with the United States Supreme Court. The brief argues for upholding vitally important Clean Water Act protection of headwater wetlands and streams. Development and other factors have led to a rapid loss of this sort of wetlands which fill a unique and crucial link in the chain of North American fish and wildlife habitat and our clean water supply. The amicus brief filed today is for consideration in combined cases the Supreme Court will hear on February 21st. Carabell v. United States and United States v. Rapanos were combined and are on appeal from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In both cases the lower court upheld Clean Water Act protection of headwater wetlands which are wetlands upstream of rivers, lakes, estuaries or riparian complexes, or are wetlands in fringe areas adjacent to such waterbodies. These wetlands and their associated streams provide water quality functions for adjacent and downstream waters. The Clean Water Act protection in question has been in place for since 1972 and covers more than half of the nation’s remaining wetlands and countless stream miles. A ruling by the Supreme Court on this case reversing the lower court would represent a crushing blow to fish and wildlife and to our ability to provide clean water benefits for future generations. American sportsmen in particular are watching this case closely as its outcome could have a swift and profound impact on the hunting and fishing they love. Ducks Unlimited’s Scott Sutherland, Chair of TRCP’s Wetlands Conservation Working Group said “This case is not only important for hunters and anglers – it’s important for any American who cares about fish and wildlife habitat and clean water.” Added Sutherland, “Conserving wetlands is already an uphill fight. We can’t afford to lose this basic protection provided by the Clean Water Act.” TRCP President Matt Connolly commented “The Clean Water Act was passed to put in place broad protections for an extremely valuable set of our country’s natural resources. More than 30 years after it passage, those protections are needed more than ever as we continue to watch our national supply of wetlands shrink by the day.” The coalition filing the brief is supporting the Bush administration’s position that Congress intended to protect headwater wetlands and tributaries under the Clean Water Act when it was passed in 1972. This coalition is led by Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation and includes along with the TRCP: the American Fisheries Society, American Sportfishing Association, Bass Pro Shops, Boone & Crockett Club, the Izaak Walton League of America, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Orvis, Pheasants Forever, The Wildlife Society, Trout Unlimited and Wildlife Management Institute. *** The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a coalition of leading conservation organizations and individual grassroots partners, working together to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitat, increase funding for conservation and management, and expand access to places to hunt and fish. |