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Advocacy

Agriculture

Annual Report

Clean Air and Energy

Clean Water

  • Stream and Wetlands Publications Click on this link for information on books and videos on stream monitoring, restoration, and wetland protection; the SOS water quality monitoring data sheet; archived Wetland Sights and Sounds newsletters; and wetland fact sheets.     
  • Will We Sacrifice Our Water for Gas? Will We Sacrifice Our Water for Gas? The Marcellus shale formation may offer a new source of domestic fuel, but without proper guidelines in place, this “boom” gas industry could devastate fish and wildlife. Find out more about hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – and what it could mean to your community.     
  • Clean Water at a Crossroads  

Climate Change

Conservation Currents

Conservation Policies

Factsheets

  • Managing the Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth. The Izaak Walton League led the fight to create the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in 1924. Today, our efforts focus on reforming the river’s lock-and-dam navigation system and reducing polluted runoff from farms.     
  • Managing the Missouri River Manmade changes of the Missouri River’s natural flows for navigation have degraded habitat for fish and wildlife. Agricultural pollution is also a threat. The League is working to restore and protect the river for future generations.     
  • Conserving Farmland More than half of America’s land is used for agriculture. It’s critical that these lands, which provide food for our tables and habitat for wildlife, are managed in a way that balances production with conservation.     
  • Agriculture The League advocates for farming practices that sustain both natural resources and people.     
  • About Us The Izaak Walton League of America works at the local, regional, and national levels to advocate for sensible solutions to the most pressing challenges facing America’s natural resources.     
  • Clean Water The Izaak Walton League is committed to improving the health of America’s waterways through local action and national advocacy.     
  • Conserving Wetlands Wetlands provide habitat for countless birds, amphibians, fish, insects, and other species. They also act as natural filters, cleansing pollutants from runoff. Protecting wetlands is vital to safeguarding clean water.     
  • Monitoring and Restoring Streams The League has trained thousands of citizen stream monitors and empowered them to achieve watershed conservation and restoration goals using their monitoring data.     
  • Preserving Wilderness Areas Despite federal protection, wilderness areas face threats from unmanaged or improperly managed recreation, poor stewardship by understaffed agencies, and local political pressures to open up these areas for logging, drilling, and other uses. The League works to head off these threats.     
  • Managing Public Lands The League believes that outstanding lands should be set aside for special management as parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas. These lands provide some of the best wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities in the country. When these resources are threatened, League members step forward to protect them.     
  • Wilderness and Public Lands The Izaak Walton League has always been a staunch advocate of wilderness and has striven to improve the management of our forests, rangelands, national parks, and wildlife refuges. Protection of our nation’s public lands remains a major focal point of the League’s conservation efforts.     
  • Understanding Population and the Environment Many of the conservation challenges we face today are, at their root, caused by the staggering number of people using the Earth’s natural resources. We have nearly 7 billion people on the planet already and are adding nearly 80 million each year. That’s a lot of people tapping into resources like fresh water, fossil fuels, forests, and fisheries. The League promotes sensible solutions to the complex and difficult challenges presented by population growth.     
  • Promoting Sustainable Communities Across the nation and around the world, communities face the same challenge: How do we grow economically while still conserving our natural resources? The League works to raise awareness of how local communities can create a more sustainable future.     
  • Sustainability Education The Izaak Walton League believes it is possible to live a quality life today without sacrificing the natural resources left for future generations. Our Sustainability Education Program aims to identify practical ways we can all work together to create a sustainable future—one that meets the basic needs of all people today without compromising the Earth’s ability to meet the needs of future generations.     
  • Outdoor Ethics/Shooting Sports The Izaak Walton League inspires outdoor enthusiasts to take personal responsibility for protecting the outdoors and conserving fish and wildlife for future generations.     
  • Promoting Energy Efficiency For almost two decades, the League has worked to lay the building blocks for a more energy efficient economy. Working with citizen activists, government decision makers, and utilities, we craft solutions that make economic sense and protect our environment.     
  • Curtailing Global Warming A changing climate means a changing environment for both people and wildlife. In addition to documenting the effects climate change will have on wildlife and outdoor recreation, the League has been a leader in the fight to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.     
  • Cleaning the Air The League's recent work focused on cleaning up coal-fired power plants—a major source of air pollutants that contribute to smog, acid rain, mercury pollution, and global warming.     
  • Advancing Renewable Energy To reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil and better protect the environment, the League works to identify and promote new sources of renewable energy that are on the cutting edge of current technology.     
  • Energy How we obtain and use energy has far-reaching implications for human health, fish and wildlife, and the Earth’s climate. The Izaak Walton League works to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, prevent global warming, promote energy efficiency, and foster the use of renewable energy.     
  • Stopping the Spread of Invasive Species Invasive species such as zebra mussels and Eurasian milfoil have infested America’s waterways, crowding out native species and causing billions of dollars in damage to marinas, recreational fisheries, and other facilities. The League is working to stop the spread of invasive species by educating recreationists and advocating for better regulation of ballast water.     

How-To's

  • How To: Build a Bee House (Appropriate for All Ages w/ Supervision) Honey bees may be getting all the press, but they’re not the only pollinators in town. The United States is home to almost 4,000 native bee species (honey bees are non-natives brought here from Europe). One way you can help protect pollinators is to build a home for them.     
  • How To: Build a Bird Feeder with Recycled Materials (Appropriate for All Ages) Bird feeders—and bird watching—are a great way to involve youth in wildlife conservation. Using an old milk carton or juice bottle for construction offers additional eco-benefits.     
  • How To: Build a Model Watershed (Appropriate for All Ages) It's a simple matter of gravity: Water runs downhill. This model watershed demonstrates how water picks up sediment and pollutants as it flows—and that simple measures can reduce the amount of polluted runoff that ends up in your watershed. This is a good project for talking with school children about water pollution and what they can do to prevent it.     
  • How To: Vermicompost (Worm Compost) (Appropriate for All Ages) Vermicomposting is the process of recycling food waste by feeding it to worms. Because a worm will eat its weight in table scraps, vermicomposting is a triple win: You recycle waste, produce organic fertilizer for house and garden plants, and raise worms you can use for fishing.     
  • How To: Collect and Plant Nuts (Appropriate for All Ages) With autumn comes an abundance of acorns, walnuts, and other nuts strewn across the ground. These native seeds can be collected and put to good use. They can be planted in areas where more trees are needed or be raised as seedlings for local conservation projects.     
  • How To: Build a Wood Duck Box (Appropriate for Teens/Adults) Most waterfowl nest on the ground, but wood ducks prefer depositing their eggs in the holes of mature trees -- which means the ducks lose their nesting sites whenever forests are cleared. America’s wood duck population has dropped significantly over the last century. Fortunately, wood ducks readily adapt to nest boxes.     
  • How To: Build a Vernal Pond (Appropriate for Adults) A vernal pond is a pretty sight, but it's even more delightful to hear: A chorus of song emerges from this type of wetland, thanks to the frogs and other creatures it attracts. These ponds provide wildlife habitat, attract mosquito-eating critters, reduce runoff, and serve as teaching tools.     
  • How To: Build a Rain Garden (Appropriate for All Ages) Stormwater runoff is a leading cause of pollution in our streams and lakes. Driveways, roads, and parking lots block water from draining into the ground. Lawns are not much better, unless they have a place where the water can go. Enter the rain garden. It can fill your backyard or be as small as a baby pool. It can beautify your home and invite birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, including those that eat mosquitoes.     
  • How To: Build a Rain Barrel (Appropriate for Adults) The average American family uses 120 gallons of water each day for outdoor use, much of it for watering lawns and gardens. One way you can help ease the strain on reservoirs and wells is to build a rain barrel—a container that’s hooked up to a downspout to collect and recycle rainwater. You’ll even reduce your water bill and the runoff entering local storm drains.     
  • How To: Build a Fish Crib (Appropriate for All Ages) Discarded PVC pipes can be used to build “fish cribs”—places where bass, bluegills, and other lake species can hide, feed, and reproduce, making for better fishing and aquatic health. Any discarded plastic materials that can create a solid structure could be used, so be creative.     
  • How To: Build a Bug Aquarium (Appropriate for All Ages w/ Supervision) Bugs are a key indicator of a stream’s water quality. Teaching people about stream health means showing them how to identify macroinvertebrates. So whether you’re setting up an educational booth or talking to a group of first-time stream monitors, it helps to have a working aquarium that can showcase living critters such as mayfly and caddisfly nymphs.     
  • How To: Build a Bat Box (Appropriate for Teens/Adults) More than half the bat species in the United States are declining or already listed as endangered, mostly because of habitat loss. The disappearance of bats would devastate ecosystems. Not only do they help control insect populations (a single bat can eat up to 2,000 mosquitoes in one night), they also pollinate plants and disperse seeds. To help compensate for habitat loss, you can build a “bat box.”     
  • How To: Build a 3-Bin Composter (Appropriate for Teens/Adults) Whether you have an abundance of leaves and lawn clippings or want to keep table scraps out of the landfill, you can easily turn waste into useful compost—and help the environment in the process.     

Outdoor America

  • Asian Carp: A Hungry Invader Asian Carp: A Hungry Invader Asian carp have migrated more than 1,000 miles from the Mississippi River watershed to the doorstep of Lake Michigan. Will this invasive fish turn the Great Lakes into carp lakes? (Outdoor America, Spring 2010)     
  • Outdoor America Spring 2010 In This Issue: "Asian Carp: A Hungry Invader Eating Its Way to the Great Lakes"; "Will We Sacrifice Our Water for Gas?" (Marcellus shale); 2010 National Convention Preview: "Preserving America's Wilderness"     
  • Outdoor America Winter 2010 In this issue: "Clean Water at a Crossroads," National Wildlife Refuge System -- recreation opportunities and funding challenges, and "The Mighty Mississippi: All Locked Up." Other topics include keeping green energy "green" and the trend toward leasing land for huting and fishing.     
  • Outdoor America Fall 2009 In this issue: "Greening Your Chapter," "Species Survival: Pacific Salmon," "and Project Watershed: Connecting Students With Nature." Other topics include conservation education, threats to clean water, and the ethics of feeding wildlife.     

Outdoor Ethics

Sustainability

Wilderness and Public Lands

2008 IWLA Annual Report (PDF)

Conservation Policies

 
 
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