Policy News
Seventeen states filed suit challenging the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California asserting that the NWPR is contrary to the Clean Water Act (CWA) and arbitrary and capricious, in part, because of the EPA’s and the Army Corps’ disregard of scientific evidence. The plaintiff’s asked... Read More
The Clean Water Act survived a significant challenge with a 6-3 decision U.S. Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund. At issue was whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to a pollutant that reaches navigable waters only after it leaves a point source and then travels through groundwater before reaching navigable... Read More
Dear Members of the American Fisheries Society Family, Fifty years ago, in the backyard of the American Fisheries Society’s (AFS), the Potomac River was filled with so much sewage it filled the air with a putrid, vile stench. Ohio’s polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire for the 13th time spurring an environmental revolution in the United... Read More
April 13, 2020 Bill Northey Undersecretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20250 Richard Fordyce Administrator Farm Service Agency U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20250 Dear Undersecretary Northey and Administrator Fordyce, We the undersigned, representing a broad swath of... Read More
AFS and other organizations garnered support from members of Congress for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program with letters of support to relevant House and Senate subcommittees. The program, slated for deep cuts in the President’s FY2021 budget is critical for addressing species before they become endangered. The chronic underfunding and the proposed budget... Read More
During a half-day session at its mid-year meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, the AFS Governing Board identified four key climate change activities on which the Society will focus in the coming year. Look for more information in subsequent e-newsletters about how to get involved. Climate Change Communications: Develop a group of about 25 AFS members... Read More
American Fisheries Society ● Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Ecological Society of America ● Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society International Association for Great Lakes Research ● North American Lake Management Society Phycological Society of America ● Society for Freshwater Science Society of Wetland Scientists ● The Wildlife Society 10 March 2020 U.S. Council on Environmental Quality... Read More
March 6, 2020 The Honorable Betty McCollum Chair House Committee on Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies The Honorable David Joyce Ranking Member House Committee on Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Dear Chair McCollum, Ranking Member Joyce, and Honorable Committee Members: Improving the future health and sustainability of the nation’s forests, grasslands, and... Read More
EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) sharply criticized the agency’s recent decision to narrow the definition of the Waters of the US (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act in a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on February 27. “In summary, current scientific understanding of the connectivity of surface and ground water, which has been reviewed... Read More
By Patrick Shirey, AFS Resource Policy Committee Chair The impact of dams on aquatic ecosystems and fisheries is well established. For dams that have reached the end of their usable life, or that no longer provide societal benefits that exceed their costs, dam removal is often a desired management outcome for safety, cost efficiency, and... Read More
