The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on a significant Clean Water Act case, Sackett vs. EPA, dealt a crippling blow to the future of our nation’s fish and aquatic ecosystems. The very narrow test established by the court for determining when wetlands are “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act removes federal safeguards for the majority of wetlands in the United States. The decision flies in the face of sound science and will have a staggering impact on fish, fisheries, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, and human health…Read AFS statement
Protect Our Headwaters and Wetlands
Cottonwood Creek is an intermittent tributary of the Gunnison River (Colorado River basin) in western Colorado that hosts large numbers of (b) Bluehead Sucker, (c) Flannelmouth Sucker, and (d) Roundtail Chub during spring spawning. Intermittent tributaries like these are critical for sustaining populations of these three species, which are the subject of rangewide conservation efforts to prevent listing under the ESA.
Headwaters are broadly defined as portions of a river basin that contribute to the development and maintenance of downstream navigable waters including rivers, lakes, and oceans. Headwaters include wetlands outside of floodplains, small stream tributaries with permanent flow, tributaries with intermittent flow (e.g., periodic or seasonal flows supported by groundwater or precipitation), or tributaries or areas of the landscape with ephemeral flows (e.g., short-term flows that occur as a direct result of a rainfall event). Headwater streams comprise the majority of river networks globally; in the conterminous United States, headwater streams comprise 79% of river length, and they directly drain just over 70% of the land area. Along with wetlands, these ecosystems are essential for sustaining fish and fisheries in the U.S. When headwaters are polluted, or headwater habitats are destroyed, fish, fisheries, and ecosystem services are compromised.
Because of the importance of headwaters, any rule that excludes their protection will have far reaching implications for fish, wildlife, and their habitats, as well as economies dependent on those systems. Headwaters are key to the sustainability of fish stocks in both upstream and downstream waters. Threatened and endangered species will be harder to recover, and more species will be at risk of becoming imperiled. Simply put, loss of protections for headwaters would have grave consequences for fish and fisheries. Ultimately, communities across the U.S. would lose the economic, social, and cultural benefits derived from headwaters.
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) supported the 2015 rule and the science underpinning its development, as documented by review of more than 1,200 peer-reviewed scientific studies by technical experts to determine degrees of connectivity and their ecological consequences between navigable waters, wetlands, and headwater streams. AFS is concerned that the very narrow test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the recent Sackett vs. EPA decision for determining when wetlands are “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act removes federal safeguards for the majority of wetlands in the United States.
April 23, 2025 Benita Best-WongDeputy Assistant Administrator for ManagementOffice of WaterU.S. Environmental Protection Agency1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington D.C. 20460 Robyn S. ColosimoSenior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)Department of the Army108 Army PentagonWashington, D.C. 20310 Submitted via regulations.govRE: Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093: Waters of the U.S. Definition Request
February 4, 2025 President Donald TrumpThe White House1600 Pennsylvania AvenueWashington, DC Dear President Trump: The American Fisheries Society (AFS), the world’s oldest and largest fisheries science society in the world, seeks to improve the conservation and sustainability of fisheries and aquatic ecosystems by advancing science and promoting the development of fisheries professionals. Our 8,000 members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2023 Contact: Drue Winters [email protected] FISHERIES, WATER QUALITY, AND HUMAN HEALTH AT RISK DUE TO LOSS OF WETLANDS PROTECTIONS UNDER SUPREME COURT SACKETT DECISION Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on a significant Clean Water Act case, Sackett vs. EPA, dealt a crippling blow to the future of our nation’s
American Fisheries Society * Arizona Wildlife Federation * Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Fly Fishers International * Indiana Wildlife Federation * Izaak Walton League of America National Wildlife Federation * Nevada Wildlife Federation * Ohio Conservation Federation Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership * Trout Unlimited The Honorable Charles E. Schumer Majority Leader United States Senate S-221
March 9, 2023 Chairman Tom Carper U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works 410 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Re: 2023 Biden Administration Waters of the U.S. Rule Dear Chairman Carper: On behalf of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), we write today to urge you to vote against S.J. Res. 7, the
On February 9, the Clean Water For All Coalition in concert with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Minority hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on Waters of the U.S. for House Democrats. Drue Banta Winters spoke on behalf of AFS regarding the importance of a science-based definition of Waters of the US that recognizes the
February 7, 2023 Chairman David Rouzer U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment 2165 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ranking Member Grace Napolitano U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment 2165 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC
American Fisheries Society • Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography • Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation • 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 February 7, 2022 Mr.
The Honorable Michael Regan Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Mail Code 1101A Mr. Jaime A. Pinkham Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) 108 Army Pentagon Washington, DC 20310-0108 Submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov RE: Docket ID
American Fisheries Society • Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography • Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation • 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 September 3, 2021 Mr.
American Fisheries Society • Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography • Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation • 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 March 18, 2021 The
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
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
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
American Fisheries Society ● Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation ● 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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2020
News for Immediate Release September 12, 2019 Contact: Marnee Banks, 202-639-8727 x19, [email protected] Conservation Organizations Oppose EPA’s Move to Finalize Rollback of Clean Water Protections Groups rally together to voice support for fish and wildlife habitat, wetlands, and headwater streams (Washington, D.C.) – Conservation groups are opposing the Administration’s rollback of the 2015 Clean Water Rule,
News for Immediate Release April 15, 2019 Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, [email protected] Hunting and Fishing Groups File Final Comments Opposing Clean Water Rollback 14 national groups and 70 local affiliate chapters oppose the proposed weakening of clean water standards that would threaten fish and wildlife habitat (Washington, D.C.) — Today, dozens of national, regional, and
American Fisheries Society 425 Barlow Place, Suite 110, Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Telephone: 301-897-8616 www.fisheries.org The Wildlife Society 425 Barlow Place, Suite 200, Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Telephone: 301-897-9770 www.wildlife.org April 12, 2019 Mr. R.D. James Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 441 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20314 Via
April 10, 2019 Mr. R.D. James Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 441 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20314 Via regulations.gov: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0149 Re: Scientific Societies Comments on Proposed Rule – Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States” (84 FR 4154; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0149)
Waters of the US (WOTUS): What You Need to Know About the Rule and How to Take Action from fisheries on Vimeo. This webinar was recorded on February 27, 2018. The video contains some sections with poor audio quality, and AFS staff will work to edit portions of this recording. Presenter slides: Gillian Davies –
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