ICAST Summit Revisits Shark Depredation, Celebrates Fisheries Habitat Conservation

July 22, 2026

At the annual sportfishing trade show, TRCP moderated two panels to inform attendees about important fisheries conservation issues

TRCP hosts a fisheries conservation summit every year at ICAST, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, presented by the American Sportfishing Association. At last week’s 2026 summit, we were once again fortunate to provide expert panels to speak to a standing-room-only crowd of anglers, state and federal fisheries managers, and conservation partners committed to sound, science-based management. This year, panels again covered issues of top concern for recreational fisheries including working toward better stock assessments, ensuring fish habitat protections, and addressing shark depredation – also a key topic at the summit two years ago.

The Science Behind Shark Depredation

In the saltwater fishing community, there is growing concern over catch lost to sharks. Anglers aren’t just upset about shark bites leading to fewer fish for dinner or losing a lunker for a grip-and-grin photo. They’re also becoming increasingly concerned for the fish themselves, as they are killed while being reeled in or right after being returned to the water. And this can affect all the businesses that support saltwater fishing.

“Folks often don’t want to go fishing or are dramatically changing where and how they fish because they see so many fish getting killed by sharks,” said Chris Macaluso, director of TRCP’s Center for Marine Fisheries.

Photo Credit: Trey Spearman/ MSU Marine Fisheries Ecology Program

On a summit panel focused on the science behind depredation, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust provided an update on its ongoing efforts to extensively examine the impacts of increased shark depredation in the Florida Keys and beyond, to determine possible mitigation methods to help avoid losing more hooked fish to shark attacks. BTT’s research has focused on the Keys and Florida Bay, where the organization has worked with the fishing community to determine which fish species are most commonly depredated, which sharks are the most common culprits, and where depredation most commonly occurs. Preliminary findings indicate that:

Fewer than 25% of sharks were responsible for more than 50% of depredation. The sharks most likely to engage in depredation in the Keys were lemon and bull sharks.
Sportfish species most impacted are snook and redfish, followed by tarpon, bonefish, and permit.
Most depredation occurs in very limited areas. While 40% of the Keys/Florida Bay was experiencing depredation, only 2% of the total area examined was considered a “hotspot.” These hotspots, such as near Flamingo at the northern extent of Florida Bay (at the southern end of the Everglades), are areas where high degrees of biodiversity, fishing effort, predator abundance, and conservation focus all overlap.
Human-caused environmental degradation, such as seagrass die-off and water quality decline, contributes to the problem.
Hand feeding of sharks off Florida contributes to the larger issue, but efforts like the Florida Safe Seas Act are intended to help stop sharks from associating boats with food.

The panel indicated that what we are seeing is a classic example of human-wildlife conflict due to human population growth and habitat loss, just like with problem bears in the West or seals taking more striped bass in New England. BTT panelists asserted that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to understanding and dealing with shark depredation, as each region has its own unique circumstances. So, their data from South Florida won’t necessarily apply elsewhere. And broader messages they emphasized included the necessary consideration for global concerns over shark population declines, despite robust regulations and protections in the U.S.; the need for updated stock assessments; and the importance of improved angler identification of species involved in depredation, as well as better angler understanding of fishing methods that lead to more depredation.

“A huge component of this is education,” said Dr. Aaron Adams, Director of Science and Conservation for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

Next steps in his research will focus on the use of electric shark deterrents and necromones (essentially ground-up shark released in the water to warn sharks of potential danger), followed by tracking sharks to measure responses to these deterrents. The BTT panel also acknowledged the importance of the SHARKED Act to establish a task force of fisheries managers and shark experts to identify research priorities and funding opportunities to limit depredation. The act is being considered in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives in early 2025 and would increase research and coordination among state and federal agencies and scientists examining the reasons for increased shark depredation and how to curb the problem.

NFHP Celebrates 20 Years

The National Fish Habitat Partnership works with state and federal agencies, regional conservation partners, boards and commissions, and a host of corporate partners to build and improve fish habitats throughout America’s waterways. As a testament to the importance of this partnership to our own organization, TRCP Senior Government Affairs Manager Ian Nakayama serves alongside a team of natural resource managers, nonprofits, and corporate partners on the NFHP board.

At the summit, a panel comprised of NFHP board members, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, and state natural resources division staff talked about the importance of collaboration to achieve the partnership’s success. The NFHP is currently engaged in 434 projects in 46 states, covering both marine and freshwater issues. A major current emphasis of the partnership is addressing barriers to fish passage.

The panel acknowledged that a major limiting factor for fish habitat restoration in the U.S. is lack of collaboration between federal, state, Tribal, and other management groups. In acknowledgment of this ongoing concern, NFHP seeks to bring groups together based on shared regions, species of interest, or habitat priorities to utilize connections to assess habitat and determine necessary projects. The panel also recognized the connectivity of fresh and saltwater systems, spanning watersheds from headwaters streams to estuarine marine systems, and how impacts in one part of the system can affect distant waters.

“A lot of times people focus on just what’s in the lake or reservoir and not the big picture,” said Gene Gilliland, BASS Conservation Director and NFHP board member.

The partnership seeks to change that.

Improving Federal Recreational Fisheries Data Collection

Laura Grimm, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA, also provided an update on the Trump Administration’s efforts to improve federal recreational fisheries data collection and other fisheries policy priorities. She discussed how an emphasis of the administration is increasing fisherman access and said that to meet its goals will require partnering with the recreational fishing community to utilize the on-the-water ecological knowledge only anglers can provide. This is being demonstrated through the administration’s approach to transitioning South Atlantic red snapper management to state control through pilot programs using NOAA Fisheries Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) that utilize states’ own data collection efforts to improve data accuracy and allow for state-specific snapper seasons.

“Your success is our success,” said Laura Grimm, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We want to extend our appreciation to both the panelists and attendees of the 2026 summit for convening to discuss these important issues. We also want to thank this year’s sponsors, without whom the summit wouldn’t have been possible:

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
National Fish Habitat Partnership
American Sportfishing Association
YETI

Banner image of depredated red snapper courtesy David Hay Jones/MSU Marine Fisheries Ecology Program

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by: Ryan Lockwood

posted in: Recreational Fisheries

In the Arena: Keith Lusher

TRCP’s “In the Arena” series highlights the individual voices of hunters and anglers who, as Theodore Roosevelt so famously said, strive valiantly in the worthy cause of conservation.

Keith Lusher

Hometown: Covington, Louisiana
Occupation: Outdoor writer, photographer, and website designer
Conservation credentials: Lusher has earned a multimedia hat trick as an award-winning outdoor writer, photographer, and website designer, with material centered on Louisiana and the Gulf Coast but that spans national issues. He serves on the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association board and his work frequently centers on conservation efforts and the need for hunter and angler engagement, including on issues TRCP helps champion like Gulf menhaden conservation and the importance of the Mississippi River to anglers. Lusher uses his voice to keep sportsmen and women updated on legislative and regulatory policy and ways in which they can influence it.

A native of South Louisiana, Lusher learned to throw a cast net and run crawfish nets not many years after he could walk. He created his first website, NorthShoreFishingReport.com, in 2012, which he still owns and operates. That launched a career leading to a weekly column in the Slidell Independent Newspaper called the Northshore Fishing Report, for which he has been writing about freshwater and saltwater angling for 13 years. Lusher also previously hosted the Northshore Fishing Report Radio Show from 2015 to 2020. He has written for many of the nation’s leading outdoor publications – among them, OutdoorHub, Wired2Fish, Mossy Oak, and Coastal Angler Magazine – producing tactical articles that help, in his own words, “anglers and hunters catch more and kill more.” He is an avid fisherman and dedicated photographer who throws caution to the wind to get the right shot.

Here is his story.

My dad introduced me to the outdoors. We had a camp in Laffite, La., and spent many weekends there. The only way to get there was by an hour-long boat ride, so it was definitely a clean separation from society, which was a good thing. I learned a lot out there, including how to read the water as far as tides and current.

Being a Gen Xer, I was left on my own to figure everything out, and I did. I remember getting on a redfish bite near the camp with my dad. They were only hitting live cocahoe minnows. We ran out of bait on the second day of our week there and I was contemplating making a trip back to the marina to buy more. But I thought back to when I had made a walk behind the camp on a prior visit, to where there were numerous duck ponds in the back in the marsh. I remembered seeing BIG cocahoe minnows in those ponds, so I rigged up a very tiny bream hook and broke off a piece of saltwater cork to use as a lightweight, small bobber. So basically I was fishing with a panfish setup. I had a piece of shrimp that I broke into small pieces and fed it onto the hook. It’s no exaggeration to say that on EVERY CAST I caught a cocahoe that was over five inches long.

Within a half-hour I walked up to my dad with a bucket with so many minnows in it they were starting to float up because of lack of air. My dad was floored. He couldn’t believe the quality of “bait” that I caught using a rod and reel. That technique led to part of our future stays at the camp. We no longer need to buy cocahoes. It became part of the routine. When we arrived, I would immediately rig up my pole and head to the back of camp in the marsh to catch cocahoes for bait for the weekend.

“I heard Danny call out, ‘You got a gator coming your way, about 50 yards around that point.’”

I have so many fishing memories, but the really exciting memories have been during photo-shoots with anglers that I write about. One memory that sticks in my head is a trip I made with Danny Hunter of New Orleans Best Charters. I was writing an article about fishing for speckled trout in the marsh and after catching a limit of specks, I wanted to get a few “over-under” photos – those that capture the fish under the water as well as the angler in the boat fishing. We stopped in a duck pond just off the Intracoastal Waterway and I jumped in and swam to the marsh where I could stand and operate the camera to get a photo of the fish underwater and Danny in the background. After about 10 minutes of getting photos, I heard Danny call out, “You got a gator coming your way, about 50 yards around that point.” He pointed to the right and I shrugged it off.

I continued to take photos from different perspectives and then heard him say, “About 30 yards now.” I continued to work. Then I saw him put down his pole and walk over to his center console and open the door. He took out a pistol and loaded it, then set it down near the steering wheel. He then picked up the pole and we continued to work. I took a few more shots but knew the gator must have been close so I told him I was done and would swim over to him. He hollered back, “No, I’ll come get you,” as he cranked up the motor and idled over. Danny was relieved after I was in the boat. He then yelled out in relief, “Hardest working photographer in the industry!” Which was better than the usual, “Man, you’re crazy.”

When I got home to look through the photos, I was so happy that I took the time to get out in the marsh as I got some spectacular shots that were published along with my article. Danny liked the shots as well, as he’s used several of them for his charter business, including as the backboard for his cleaning table and serves as a great advertisement.

I normally fish the waters of Southeast Louisiana and that’s probably the best fishing that one could experience, but I really wish I could wade-fish the streams up north, like the Madison River in Montana, with a fly rod. I don’t ever get to fish cold, clean streams or rivers and I’d like to start doing that more.

Down here in Southeast Louisiana, there’s never a dull moment. Right now, the pogy boat ordeal is in the spotlight. Over the past few years, I’ve watched this battle over menhaden and am discouraged to watch how much power the commercial fishing industry has battling an extended buffer zone that was enacted to keep industrial fishing vessels after menhaden (referred to locally as pogy boats) away from the coastline. The commercial fishing industry clearly has more power than the recreational fishermen and that is evident in how you’ll see tighter limits being thrust onto the recreational anglers but not on the commercial fishermen.

Conservation is important for everyone because it protects the hunting and fishing traditions that we enjoy today and have enjoyed for decades. I’ve always said the best conservationists are the people who hunt and fish. While we do harvest fish and game, we also know how important every species is and that the future of fishing and hunting depends on using some sort of conservation strategy to make sure a species continues to have a strong population. Conservation is important for me personally because I have a large audience. I try to use my voice to keep all sportsmen and women updated on all the relevant new bills in Congress and all of the conservation efforts that could use their support.

We set an example for the next generation. It’s not complicated. Protect the fish and game that you enjoy fishing and hunting and the next generation will have it to enjoy as well.

Banner image courtesy Keith Lusher

by: Ryan Lockwood

posted in: Recreational Fisheries

June 24, 2026

$1.5 Billion in Annual Economic Output Generated From Recreational Angling That Involves Atlantic Menhaden as Bait

As the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission prepares to set a new menhaden catch limit and considers whether to initiate a reallocation process among states, a new study shows that recreational anglers rely on this keystone species as one of the most important baitfish

Atlantic menhaden are often called the “most important fish in the sea” because of the vital role they play in supporting striped bass, bluefish, tuna, ospreys, and countless other predators. But menhaden are more than a critical forage fish – they are also one of the most important bait sources for recreational and commercial fisheries along the Atlantic.

A new study conducted by Southwick Associates provides the most comprehensive assessment to date of how recreational anglers use Atlantic menhaden and the value they place on access to this critical resource.

The study estimates that recreational Atlantic fishing trips involving menhaden generated approximately $804 million in angler spending and supported more than 7,200 jobs nationwide in 2025. But the economic effects of angler spending extended well beyond direct purchases.

“Atlantic fishing trips involving menhaden generate more than $1.5 billion in annual economic output,” said Ben Scuderi, lead economist at Southwick Associates. “That figure represents the full spectrum of spending that occurs for fishing trips where menhaden are used as bait, from direct purchases of equipment, food, fuel, and the many other items needed for a day of fishing, to the downstream effects that spending has on retailers, manufacturers, and countless other businesses.”

Photo Credit: Chris Crippen/Virginia Institute of Marine Science

The report also estimates that recreational anglers used menhaden on 13.9 million fishing days in 2025, demonstrating the species’ widespread importance as a bait source throughout the Atlantic Coast. Those fishing days occurred across the region:

6.3 million fishing days in the Mid-Atlantic
5.1 million fishing days in the South Atlantic
2.5 million fishing days in New England

The study showed that menhaden bait supports fisheries targeting some of the Atlantic Coast’s most popular recreational species, including striped bass, bluefish, tuna, weakfish, flounder, red drum, and cobia. Researchers also found that anglers depend heavily on access to menhaden products beyond live or dead fish as bait, such as menhaden chum or menhaden-based scent products.

“Together, these findings paint a clear picture. Atlantic menhaden are clearly not a niche bait source used by a small segment of anglers,” said Jaclyn Lunaas, forage fish program manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “They are a foundational component of recreational fishing across much of the East Coast.”

The report findings suggest that anglers view menhaden as more than just a single option for bait. The data indicate that for many fishermen, menhaden are a preferred and highly valued tool for pursuing the species they care most about.

The findings come at a pivotal moment for Atlantic menhaden management, as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission prepares to make major decisions about the future of the fishery this fall. In November, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is expected to establish a new coastwide total allowable catch (TAC) for Atlantic menhaden for 2027-2028. The Board may also decide whether to formally initiate a process to reallocate state menhaden quotas. Current state allocations are largely based on historical harvest and have remained mostly unchanged, despite major changes in fish availability, bait supply, and public demand for the resource.

“As the ASMFC considers updating the menhaden state allocation system, properly weighing the importance of menhaden as bait in recreational and commercial fisheries is essential,” said Mike Waine, Atlantic fisheries policy director for the American Sportfishing Association. “Atlantic tackle retailers, charter businesses, and recreational anglers generate hundreds of millions of dollars through the use of menhaden as bait, but those investments have not resulted in meaningful consideration of the recreational sector’s needs.”

Virginia currently receives approximately 75% of the coastwide allocation, with most of that harvest supporting a single foreign-owned reduction fishery. In contrast to the economic benefits provided by menhaden as bait for recreational angling, according to the reduction industry, “Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters together generate over $100 million in economic activity” from their Virginia-based operation.

Historically, Atlantic menhaden management discussions have focused on stock assessments, harvest levels, commercial landings, and ecological reference points, all critically important and central to management decisions.

“What has often been missing, however, is a coastwide understanding of how recreational anglers use menhaden and the role the species plays in supporting recreational fisheries,” said Lunaas. “This study helps fill that gap.”

Allocation decisions are ultimately about determining how access to a public resource is shared among competing user groups. To make those decisions effectively, managers require a clear understanding of the benefits the resource provides across all sectors. This new research could provide important information about recreational use that has historically been absent from allocation discussions at the ASMFC.

While the study does not prescribe a specific allocation outcome, it demonstrates that recreational anglers are a major stakeholder group whose reliance on Atlantic menhaden in different regions deserves consideration as ASMFC evaluates whether the current allocation system still reflects use of the resource.

“This study reinforces the enormous economic value that recreational fishing brings to our coastal communities, but it also highlights something that is often overlooked: the importance of menhaden as the foundation of both healthy fisheries and healthy recreational and commercial fishing businesses,” said David Sikorski, executive director of CCA Maryland and CCA Virginia. “This key information should now help shape decisions that support the broader ecosystem, the anglers and watermen who depend on it, and the coastal economies that benefit from bait to fuel fishing opportunity.”

Banner image courtesy Sergio Diaz

by: Ryan Lockwood

posted in: Recreational Fisheries

June 23, 2026

In the Arena: Sandy Moret

TRCP’s “In the Arena” series highlights the individual voices of hunters and anglers who, as Theodore Roosevelt so famously said, strive valiantly in the worthy cause of conservation.

Sandy Moret

Hometown: Islamorada, Florida
Occupation: Fly fishing school instructor, outfitter, and fly shop retailer
Conservation credentials: Moret is on the board of directors for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, an organization for which he was a founding member, and is past president of the Everglades Protection Association. He also has served on the East Everglades/Everglades National Park Advisory Board. In 2018, he received the Conservationist of the Year Award from Fly Fisherman magazine and the Lifetime Achievement Award from outdoor retailer Orvis for his work with the “Now or Neverglades” movement.

Originally hailing from Georgia, Moret moved to South Florida more than 50 years ago and quickly developed a passion for exploring the waters of the Keys and Everglades. Over the years, he became an expert at sight fishing for permit, bonefish, tarpon, and snook while learning alongside friends and mentors of the likes of legends such as Walker’s Cay Chronicles host Flip Pallot (Moret was also a guest angler on the show more than once) and renowned guide Steve Huff. He also has been featured on the Mill House Podcast. In the late ‘80s he founded the Florida Keys Fly Fishing School, which for three decades has continued to provide world-class instruction and ultimately led to the opening of Florida Keys Outfitters, a fly shop in Islamorada where Moret currently instructs. He has been the Grand Champion of the Florida Keys’ top fly fishing tournaments, the Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament and the Islamorada Invitational Bonefish Fly Championship, a combined eight times.

Here is his story.

I grew up in Atlanta, where my dad encouraged access to nearby bass fishing and quail hunting. On holidays the family would drive down to Crystal River on Florida’s Gulf Coast to fish for trout, mackerel, and redfish with live shrimp below our popping corks. If waterfowl season was open, we could hunt ducks as well. I vividly remember riding out the river in Captain Robby Edge’s boat and staring through the clear water. I was mesmerized seeing every blade of grass, redfish, crab, and bass on the bottom as we sped by. There were tens of thousands of ducks, coots, and wading birds in the basins. It was truly a paradise.

I moved to Miami for a business opportunity in 1972 and subsequently met Flip Pallot. He mentored me in the wonders of South Florida’s Everglades from the Keys, Biscayne and Florida Bays up to Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River. I learned firsthand how the interconnected segments created the “River of Grass.”

My first bonefish trip with Flip was to Elliots Key across Biscayne Bay. We began wading on the ocean side at dead low tide. As the tide began rising, bonefish returned, swimming, pushing, and tailing along the shoreline. They came in pairs, small groups, and herds. Excitement made me shake so I could hardly cast and spooked several. One came up so shallow its back was out. Flip put a fly just ahead of the fish and as it approached, he twitched the fly. The fish humped up on the fly and tore away for 80 yards. I was hooked.

Photo Credit: Erick Dent/Vineyard Vines Corporate

If you told me I could fish anywhere in the world I wanted, I would still be right where I am in Islamorada, on Florida Bay’s half-million acres at the bottom of the Florida Everglades! Where else could you fish for sailfish, tuna, mahi, bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, redfish, and black bass in the same day? You can fish over the myriad flats and basins of the Bay. You can run out to the reef or Gulfstream, or into the inland freshwater ponds and canals for bass.

“Each generation seems to be slipping farther away from the natural world and more dependent on digital developments, mechanical conveniences, and a synthetic lifestyle.”

I believe conservation is critical for humans to maintain a connection with our natural world, to feel the need to protect those resources. If people do not spend outdoor time with nature, it becomes easy to lose touch with the air, water, vegetation, and animals we share the planet with. Each generation seems to be slipping farther away from the natural world and more dependent on digital developments, mechanical conveniences, and a synthetic lifestyle.

The weight of humanity is heavy on Florida’s water quantity and quality. Unbridled development, golf courses, subdivisions, and agricultural runoff contribute to massive losses of green space and continued degradation of our water quality. Since I moved to Florida over 50 years ago, the population has grown from 7.5 million to 23.5 million residents. At any given time, there are an additional half-a-million tourists as well. Industries favoring strong growth advocacy have controlled our legislators’ governance to the detriment of the environment for decades.

As Florida’s population has grown at a rate of a thousand new residents a day, the impact of human activities has compounded our environmental problems. Most newcomers from the past several decades have little or no understanding or connection to natural Florida and to the importance of the Everglades system to our ability to live on this flat, low-lying peninsula.

Based on solid science and common sense, the EPA and our legislators began creating environmentally sound laws and regulations from the mid ‘60s through recent years as Atlanta, L.A., Denver, and many urban areas developed massive overhead domes of haze. While South Florida’s air has generally been cleaner, we deal primarily with problems related to water. The Florida Keys have completed removal of all septic tanks and converted to central sewer. But our reefs are collapsing, and much of our marine life contains excessive amounts of mercury and human pharmaceuticals flushed into the system. Algae blooms continue to create seagrass die-offs, robbing our gamefish of quality habitat.

Recent legislative and regulatory attempts to abort protective measures and ignore conclusions drawn from solid science have become all too common. As stakeholders, whether anglers, hunters, photographers, hikers, or other users of our resources, we must be aggressive, outspoken, and insistent on maintaining and increasing protective measures well into the future. Otherwise, we will face a significant deterioration in the quality of life for everyone.

Banner image credit: David Mangum

by: Jaclyn Corbin

posted in: Recreational Fisheries

June 18, 2026

AZ State Budget a Win for Fisheries & Wildlife, But Highlights Future Needs for Water Protections

Bipartisan budget approved for 2027 after weeks of negotiations between state lawmakers and the Governor

After a challenging negotiation period, the Arizona State Legislature and Governor Hobbs agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year which includes some major wins for the hunting and fishing community and highlights avenues for future state investment in water and habitat conservation for fish and wildlife. Here’s a quick rundown.

Funds for Fisheries, Wildlife Crossings

One of the greatest wins in this year’s budget was the approval of $11.55 million to improve and modernize fish hatcheries throughout the state. The Arizona Game and Fish Department will use these funds to repair critical fish hatchery infrastructure and install technologies which will improve water use efficiency, prevent disease in hatchery populations, and increase fish production. The outcome of this investment will result in more healthy fish stocked in the state’s fishing ponds, streams, rivers, and lakes, bolstering rural economies and improving opportunities for Arizona anglers for generations to come.

In a separate win for wildlife connectivity, $700,000 was included in the state budget for wildlife crossing implementation and planning, which will improve habitat connectivity and increase motorist safety. Additionally, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) was allocated $10 million for wildfire suppression funding. This funding will also help address the need for vegetative fuels mitigation to improve forest and watershed health.

In a tight budget year, several other wins came in the form of avoiding cuts to critical departments that support natural resource protection, such as the Arizona Department of Water Resources and DFFM.

Action for Water Protection, but Room for Further Funding

Given the dire state of decreasing water levels in the Colorado River Basin, the West facing one of the lowest snowpacks on record, projected high wildfire risk this season, and ongoing drought, further financial commitment by the state to protect water supplies and fish and wildlife habitat is now more crucial than ever.

With ongoing negotiations among the seven Colorado River states, there was a notable budget win for water, with $9.5 million included to maintain the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s water protection programs that protect aquifers and ensure safe drinking water. Yet given the extreme drought conditions across the Basin, there is more work to be done.

A recent poll highlighted the ongoing water shortage crisis as the number-one issue of importance for Arizona voters. Despite this, several proposed budget items, such as creating a Colorado River Protection Fund (which the poll also indicated was strongly supported by voters) and funds for invasive salt cedar removal in riparian areas, which both had the potential to safeguard water and habitat resources in the state, were left out in budget negotiations.

The federal government has recently made its position clear: Addressing the effects of drought on Colorado River water supplies and Arizona’s economy must be a shared financial responsibility. Federal funding is likely available in the near term to assist Arizona water users to respond to drought, and as a path forward, Arizona should reduce its water usage and commit to durable solutions to address the Colorado River crisis in partnership with the other Basin states. Investing state dollars toward Colorado River water conservation is a viable avenue for establishing a good-faith water reduction plan while encouraging the other Basin states to do the same.

Looking Ahead

We can all celebrate the wins of this state budget cycle, but rest assured that TRCP will continue to urge decision makers to invest state resources to protect the land and waters we all depend on.

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