Welcome to the latest installment of the Wednesday Wake-Up Call, a weekly 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, Bullsugar.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.
If you know of an important issue–whether it’s national or local–that anglers should be paying attention to, comment below, and we’ll check it out!
1. Congress to Hear About the Dangers of Removing Roadless Protections in the Tongass
This afternoon, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands will hold an oversight hearing on “Roads to Ruin: Examining the Impacts of Removing National Forest Roadless Protections.” (Here’s a great article from The Guardian that outlines all the major issues involved.) Testimony will come from a variety of stakeholders, from Native American groups to the US Forest Service to Taxpayers for Common Sense–a group that argues that logging the Tongass is a money-losing operation.
Click here to make your voice heard on the
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers site.
2. Florida Governor Opens the Gates on New Everglades Restoration Project
There are many facets to Everglades restoration, but almost all are about sending water southward into the Sea of Grass. Last week, Gov. Ron Desantis opened a new water treatment reservoir that will be able to handle 46 billion gallons per year, filtering out contaminants and sending the water southward, rather than into the St. Lucie estuary. This will laos help reduce discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River, one of the cuases of massive algae blooms in recent years.
Click here for the full story.
3. TRCP Highlights Major Concerns About Pebble Voiced Before Congress
On the The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership blog, Kristyn Brady offers a great recap of the most important points made during testimony before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment recently. If you’ve been looking for a great, succinct explanation of why you should oppose Pebble Mine, this is a great place to start.
Click here to read “Fishermen Schooled Congress on
These Three Possible Impacts of Pebble Mine”
4. New Map Site Focuses on Public Lands
A cool new mapping site hosted by the University of Montana offers a series of maps that explain how important public lands are to this country and allow you to dig in an explore each special area. It’s a really cool tool that will teach you about all different kinds of public land in all parts of the country.