May 18, 2009
Contacts:
Nathan Lott, (804)370-7972
Hilary Harp Falk, (443)759-3406
New Coalition to Launch “Choose Clean Water” Campaign
More than 50 organizations call for federal action
More than 50 nonprofit organizations representing hundreds of thousands of members will join together Wednesday on Capitol Hill to launch a new campaign for stronger federal action to restore rivers in Virginia and the six state Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Participating organizations will host a press conference and briefing for the media on Wednesday, May 20th at 4 p.m. The briefing will be held in the North Congressional Meeting Room of the US Capitol Visitors Center.
Congressional leaders including US Senator Ben Cardin (MD), US Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11), US Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD-08), and US Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD-01) will join with leaders of regional and national conservation organizations at the briefing.
“Conservationists, sportsmen, and community groups throughout our region are working together to clean our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Nathan Lott, executive director of Virginia Conservation Network. “It’s time for our elected leaders to get serious and work together, too.”
The coalition has identified several opportunities to improve water quality at the federal level, including implementation of President Obama’s recent executive order on Chesapeake Bay restoration. “With President Obama’s new executive order seeking a stronger federal response to bay restoration efforts, we have a unique opportunity to shape the federal role and ensure everyone’s right to clean water,” said coalition director Hilary Harp Falk.
“The state of the Chesapeake is only the cumulative result of the many policy decisions made by our leaders every day, and together we will provide the public voice and the mandate for change. From now on when faced with a choice, we must choose clean water,” said Bill Street, executive director of the James River Association.
Virginia Conservation Network is a statewide network of environmental and conservation organizations, as well as Virginia’s official affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. The network’s 100 plus affiliated organizations work on a wide range of natural resource, land use, transportation, and energy issues. Learn more online at www.vcnva.org.
Participating nonprofit organizations
1,000 Friends of Maryland
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
Adkins Arboretum
American Rivers
Anacostia Riverkeeper
Anacostia Watershed Society
Audubon MD-DC
Audubon Naturalist Society
Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper
Bay Hundred Foundation
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage
Chester River Association
Choptank River Eastern Bay Conservancy
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
Delaware Nature Society
Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth
Ducks Unlimited
Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
Environment Maryland
Environment Virginia
Environmental Working Group
Friends of Dyke Marsh
Friends of the Rappahannock
Herring Run Watershed Association
James River Association
Jones Falls Watershed Association
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
National Parks Conservation Association
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
PennEnvironment
Piedmont Environmental Council
Potomac Conservancy
Potomac Riverkeeper
Queen Annes Conservation Association
Sassafras River Association
Severn Riverkeeper
Shenandoah Valley Network
South River Federation
Southern Environmental Law Center
Talbot Rivers Protection Association
Virginia Conservation Network
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
Wetlands Watch
Wicomico Environmental Trust
