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HELP PROTECT OUR WATERS – SUPPORT CWARA!
OUR WATERS NEED YOUR HELP
SUPPORT THE CLEAN WATER AUTHORITY RESTORATION
ACT!
The Clean
Water Authority Restoration Act of 2007 would reaffirm the original
intent of the Clean Water Act to protect all of the nation's waters
from pollution. Over the last 34 years, the Clean Water Act has
led to great improvements in our water quality and protection of our
water resources. However, in January 2003, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers initiated a policy
that denies longstanding protections to many small streams, wetlands,
lakes and ponds. These waters are the lifeblood of the nation’s
diverse water systems, replenishing water supplies, filtering out
pollution, slowing flood waters and providing habitat for fish, birds
and other wildlife.
In
Michigan,
important water resources have already lost Clean Water Act
protection. Several miles of headwater streams have been
declared off-limits for federal
protection by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and protection has
been removed from many of Michigan's
wetlands, lakes and other waters. The effect of this guidance
could remove federal
protection from an estimated 930,856 acres of wetlands that are not
physically connected to lakes or streams. This acreage
represents approximately 17 percent of Michigan wetland resources.
Moreover, approximately 271,534 of these acres lack even state
protection.
Michigan has 51,438 miles of
streams and the health of these streams correlates directly to the
health of rivers and the Great Lakes.
Of these, half are intermittent (they only run part of the
year). Due to the guidance and because the term
"isolated" is not defined, these streams may lose
protection threatening the health of our magnificent, yet vulnerable,
Great Lakes. In addition, some
26,384 inland lakes and ponds in Michigan have no inlet or outlet,
or have an inlet only, and are thus isolated from stream
systems. The current federal
guidance may also remove federal
protection from these waters depending upon how the term
"navigable" is defined.
The attached
letter will be sent to the Michigan
federal delegation in the
House and Senate. Please take a few minutes to read it and give
us permission to include your group in the sign on. Please
reply to jenniferm@watershedcouncil.org
by next Wednesday, April 11,
2007 with your organization’s name and signatory. Your support is
greatly appreciated!
We need as
many members of Congress representing Great Lakes states to cosponsor
this legislation to ensure protection of all of the waters of the United States.
CALL FOR PAPERS – WETLANDS 2007
The Association of State Wetland
Managers, Inc., Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Institute of Marine
Science, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and Virginia Tech
invite you to submit a paper for Wetlands 2007. This national
symposium will examine scientific, legal and management tools
available to assess, sustain and improve the ecological and social
services provided by wetlands and related water resources.
For more information, visit http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2007/cfp.htm
NEW REPORT: FARM BILL PROGRAMS VITAL TO GREAT LAKES
 “Cultivating
Restoration: How Farm Bill Conservation Programs Help Heal Our Great
Lakes,” is a new report that discusses the importance of the federal Farm Bill to the restoration of the
Great Lakes. The Farm Bill contains many
critical programs that help the Great Lakes Basin
by providing funding and technical assistance to farmers to help
restore wildlife habitat, control soil erosion and reduce polluted
run-off. Support from the Farm
Bill affects nearly 10.2 million acres in Michigan, but the current caps on
funding for the Farm Bill have made it hard for farmers to participate
in these important restoration programs. Nearly 75% of U.S.
farmers are turned away from participating in the Farm Bill programs
due to these funding caps. We
need to urge Congress to expand funding for the Farm Bill so Michigan and the Great
Lakes can continue to benefit from the programs it
provides, such as the Wetland Reserve Program and the Wildlife
Habitat Incentives Program. To
view the report: “Cultivating Restoration: How Farm Bill Conservation
Programs Help Heal Our Great Lakes,” please visit www.healthylakes.org.
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