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TRCP Statement on Supreme Court Weakening Clean Water Act Protections
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v EPA will be bad for the environment and for hunting and fishing.
We are disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v EPA to limit the scope of the Clean Water Act to wetlands that “adjoin” a water body by a “continuous surface connection.” As every hunter and angler knows, wetlands are incredibly important whether they are connected by surface flow to a stream or not. In places like those in the Prairie Pothole Region (known as America’s duck factory) or in the headwaters of most trout and salmon streams, they provide nesting and rearing habitat for waterfowl and fish. They replenish groundwater sources and reduce flooding and clean the water that goes downstream. In the West, wet meadows provide important refuge areas during fire and reliable water and forage for wildlife during the dry summer and fall months.
The court’s ruling will be bad for the environment and for hunting and fishing. It is past time for Congress to specifically address the issue by defining the scope of the Clean Water Act in a way that protects the environment, provides certainty for landowners and industry, and sustains our sports.
Pennsylvania Must Help Reduce Chesapeake Bay Pollution
Following settlement, the state and EPA both can be held accountable if pollution reduction goals are not met and enforced
Last month, the EPA agreed to a lawsuit filed in 2020 by Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia that stated Pennsylvania must reduce its disproportionate impact in polluting the Chesapeake Bay. The litigation asserts that the EPA has failed to hold the state accountable for meeting pollution reduction goals, and the settlement now allows a means to hold EPA officials responsible if the state’s pollution requirements are not enforced.
Reducing nutrient runoff would mean cleaner waters in the state and a healthier Chesapeake Bay farther downstream.
Although great strides have been made in reducing pollution in recent years, one-quarter of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams still suffer from contamination. The Susquehanna River, which is the largest source of fresh water to the Chesapeake Bay, is also the largest source of nitrogen pollution to the Bay. Agricultural runoff, acid mine drainage, and suburban stormwater remain the leading sources of Pennsylvania pollution to the Bay. The negative impacts are not just felt in Bay waters, but also in the surrounding states.
A 2010 settlement required Pennsylvania and other states in the watershed to each implement a pollution reduction plan by 2025, known as the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint. But Pennsylvania hasn’t made enough progress on its piece of the plan.
Last month’s agreement established by the EPA, which must now go through a mandatory 30-day public comment period prior to implementation, lays out specific oversight actions such as necessitating an annual public report on Pennsylvania’s progress. EPA officials can be held accountable if the state again fails to enforce pollution requirements. The agreement also highlights the need for further grant funding opportunities to make the necessary changes to meet reduction goals in the state.
Pennsylvania contains more farmland than the other Bay watershed states. Farms can be a significant source of pollution due to the runoff of sediment and excess nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorous found in fertilizers, that the state has thus far been unable to address. The Commonwealth’s most recent state budget created a new funding source known as the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program to help farmers implement conservation practices that keep valuable topsoil in place and reduce potentially harmful material from reaching local waterways. This funding stream could prove to be crucial to ensuring Pennsylvania reaches its goals in the agreement set forth by the EPA.
Pennsylvanians, show your support for stronger Chesapeake Bay habitat and cleaner water throughout our state. This lawsuit aside, we’re all working toward a better future for the rivers and streams that support our hunting and fishing opportunities. Take action here to get involved.
The Ruby Mountains Protection Act Passes Energy and Natural Resources Committee with Bipartisan Support
This Nevada gem for big game, waterfowl, and endangered cutthroat trout seeks permanent protection
The Ruby Mountains Protection Act, reintroduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) in March of this year, passed out of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Wednesday morning with bi-partisan support. If passed into law, the act (S.706) would permanently withdraw over 450,000 acres in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Ruby Mountain Ranger District and the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas exploration.
The Ruby Mountains Protection Act has been introduced twice before by Senator Cortez Masto in response to interest to lease 54,000 acres for oil and gas exploration in the heart of the iconic Ruby Mountains. This area is home to one of Nevada’s largest mule deer herds, endangered Lahontan cutthroat trout, and a host of other wildlife including elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats.
“Growing up at the base of the Ruby Mountains, I took for granted the invaluable habitat in my backyard,” said Bryce Pollock, policy co-chair for the Nevada Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “This legislation will ensure the Rubies remain free of roads and development, which is a major win for the sportsmen and women in our state.”
The Rubies are recognized around the world as a premier big game hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation destination. They are also the source of one of the most important mule deer migration corridors in the state. The 40,000 acre Ruby Lake Refuge, added to the legislation in 2021, is a major stopover for migrating waterfowl on the Pacific flyway, breeding grounds for waterfowl and shorebirds, and the lake itself is the setting for an untold number of recreation days spent fishing for trout and bass.
“We are thankful this legislation is again moving through Congress and thank Senator Cortez Masto for continuing to fight for the wishes of the people of Nevada,” said Jay Lingenfelter, chairman of the Fallon Chapter of Nevada Bighorns Unlimited. “The Rubies are a very special place and should be permanently safeguarded.”
The bill will now move to the Senate floor for consideration. In the House, the Ruby Mountain Protection Act is a part of Congressman Mark Amodei’s (R-NV) larger conservation and land management legislation (H.R. 3173).
Plumer’s Senate Testimony Encourages Fish and Wildlife Focused Solutions to Water Management Challenges
Appearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, TRCP Chief Conservation Officer Christy Plumer encouraged lawmakers to make strategic investments and improve agency collaboration
Yesterday, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership was honored by the invitation to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure on water management issues including drought and water conservation.
The TRCP is dedicated to ensuring the places Americans love to hunt and fish are conserved and the species upon which we depend as hunters and anglers are managed at sustainable levels. Therefore, water conservation and federal and state authorities related to water quantity and quality are core to our mission.
Chief Conservation Officer, Christy Plumer, touched on the growing water management challenges, particularly in the West, and the opportunity for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to advance nature-based solutions. As Congress heads toward consideration of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, we are encouraging the Committee to invest in existing drought resilience programs including the Sustainable Rivers Program, Continuing Authority Program, and drought-specific WRDA 2022 provisions; strengthen technical assistance through the Silver Jackets Program and other community-based efforts; enhance cross-boundary partnerships; update the Corps’ benefit cost analysis to advance natural and nature-based infrastructure; and invest in recreational infrastructure through the LAKES Act (S. 1358). Click here to read Plumer’s written testimony.
We stand ready to work with the Subcommittee and full Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Congress, and the Corps to advance these fish and wildlife focused solutions.
View Plumer’s Senate testimony here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
From now until January 1, 2025, every donation you make will be matched by a TRCP Board member up to $500,000 to sustain TRCP’s work that promotes wildlife habitat, our sporting traditions, and hunter & angler access. Together, dollar for dollar, stride for stride, we can all step into the arena of conservation.
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