Welcome to the latest installment of the Wednesday Wake-Up Call, a roundup of the most pressing conservation issues important to anglers. Working with our friends at Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, The Everglades Foundation, Captains for Clean Water, VoteWater.org, and Conservation Hawks (among others), we’ll make sure you’ve got the information you need to understand the issues and form solid opinions.
1. Small-Stream Clean Water Act Protections Upheld
Last week, President Biden today vetoed a Congressional resolution to block a revised, clearer definition of the “Waters of the United States” that would restore federal Clean Water Act protections for millions of miles of small streams and wetlands that are critical to healthy watersheds and wild and native fish.
The new rule in question replaces the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule, vacated by a federal court in 2021, and largely reinstates Clean Water Act protections in place since 1986, with changes to incorporate recent court decisions. The rule, finalized in December, maintains clear permit exemptions for all routine farming and ranching activities to bring certainty to producers, who are important TU partners in our conservation efforts on working lands. It also continues the decades-long requirement that construction projects, such as new roadways, pipelines, and housing developments, protect or restore affected wetlands or streams.
Click here to read more on TU.org and TRCP.org
2. The Kissimmee is Proof the Everglades Restoration is Possible
The Kissimmee River originally meandered through central Florida for 100 miles, its clean water filtered by marshes and grasslands before it flowed into Lake Okeechobee. But after a series of devastating floods in the 1940s, the river was rerouted and transformed into a straight, 50-mile channel, made up of six pools controlled by gates and locks, in an effort to manage the floods. Waterfowl practically disappeared, aquatic birds were replaced by terrestrial species, and wetland habitats became pastures for cattle. Public outcry, especially from hunters and anglers who saw fewer ducks and bass, started the decades-long road to restoration. Construction on the new river channel finally began in 2000 and was completed in the spring of 2021. The middle 22 miles of the Kissimmee have been restored to 40 miles of meandering river and floodplain, with water flowing through its historic channel.
A great article in National Geographic details the remarkable comeback of the floodplain’s wildlife:
“It’s a triumph of imagination [and] of partnership between the federal government and the state” and other organizations coming together, says Shannon Estenoz, assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks with the Department of Interior, who formerly worked for several different environmental organizations in Florida.
Click here for the full story on MSN.com
Click here for the “Follow the Water” Everglades restoration pages on orvis.com
Related stories:
3. What Does a Corporate Commitment to Conservation Really Mean?
Through our “5% for Nature” campaign and public support for causes such as Stop Pebble Mine and Everglades restoration, Orvis has a reputation as a company with a strong conservation ethos. But folks often wonder how the conservation work fits into the larger company itself. Is it just a marketing strategy that we hope will pay off? The fact is, almost every part of the business is informed by a desire to conserve nature and improve lives. As president Simon Perkins puts it:
At Orvis, passing our outdoor passions down from generation to generation is at the core of our business. That is why we are committed to the sustainable future of fly fishing, wingshooting and the natural world through protecting and restoring habitats, creating sustainable products and ensuring the next generation finds inspiration in the adventure and wonder in nature.
Click here to learn more about how Orvis incorporates conservation into our very business strategy
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